News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily News, Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said at the company's Q2 earnings call that while the company has previously allocated nearly "100% of its funds to Bitcoin," it may adopt a combined strategy of holding both cash and BTC going forward. He stated, "Perhaps the best way to buy the most Bitcoin is not to buy the most Bitcoin immediately."TD Cowen and Benchmark both maintained their Buy ratings on Strategy following the Q2 earnings call. The two firms believe that the core goal of the company's current management has shifted toward bringing its STRC preferred stock price back to near par value, thereby restoring its ability to function as a financing tool.TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza said the most important takeaway from the call was management's strong focus on STRC. Company executives repeatedly emphasized that restoring STRC to par value is the core objective, and noted that despite recent price deviations in the security, institutional adoption continues to rise.Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer holds a similar view. He pointed out that Saylor and his team spent most of the 90-minute call focused on the same goal: restoring STRC to the $99–$100 range, making it once again the primary engine for the company to raise capital and purchase Bitcoin.
Odaily Equity Research raised its target price for Hut 8 to $195 from $165 on Wednesday, citing the full commercialization of the company's Beacon Point AI data center campus in Texas.This is the second time Benchmark has raised its target price for Hut 8 this month. Last week, analyst Mark Palmer had already incorporated the first phase of the Beacon Point project into his valuation, raising the target from $85 to $165. The new target implies approximately 75% upside from Hut 8's stock price of around $111 on Wednesday.Hut 8 has now signed contracts for 949 megawatts of AI data center capacity, indicating its business is further pivoting from traditional Bitcoin mining towards AI infrastructure and power-driven data center models. Benchmark believes the company is evolving into a "power-first data center REIT," an infrastructure platform centered around power resources and data center assets.Hut 8's stock rose about 2% on Wednesday, bringing its year-to-date gains to nearly 120%. As demand for AI computing power continues to grow, the market is reassessing the value of the substantial power and data center resources held by Bitcoin mining companies.
Odaily Benchmark has raised its price target for Hut 8 (HUT) from $85 to $165, citing the company's accelerated commercialization of its AI data center business and a total of $16.8 billion in long-term contracts for AI infrastructure. Analyst Mark Palmer stated that the commercialization progress of Hut 8's Beacon Point AI data center campus in Texas "has changed the company's valuation logic," significantly increasing the project's value.Currently, Hut 8's stock price is approximately $97, meaning Benchmark's new target implies roughly 69% upside. The stock had previously fallen nearly 30% over the past six weeks.According to Benchmark's estimates, the redesigned first phase of the Beacon Point campus will support 352MW of IT capacity, a 57% increase from the original 224MW plan. The base term value of the lease for this initial phase is approximately $9.8 billion, with an estimated annualized net operating income of around $655 million.Additionally, the lease agreement for Hut 8's River Bend data center, signed with Fluidstack and supported by Google, is valued at approximately $7 billion. The combined base term value of the two contracts reaches $16.8 billion. If tenants exercise the included 5-year renewal options, the potential total value could rise to $42.8 billion. (The Block)
Odaily Strategy sold nearly $467 million worth of MSTR common stock last week but did not increase its Bitcoin holdings. Analysts believe this indicates that the company is implementing its recently proposed Digital Credit Capital Framework and beginning to prioritize strengthening its balance sheet, rather than solely pursuing short-term BTC accumulation.According to the latest filings, Strategy has increased its U.S. dollar cash reserves to $3 billion, while its Bitcoin holdings remain unchanged at 843,775 BTC. Both Benchmark and TD Cowen believe this move strengthens the company's balance sheet and helps boost market confidence in its preferred equity financing model.TD Cowen reiterated its "Buy" rating and $260 price target for Strategy stock, stating that this operation is an early signal of management executing the new capital allocation framework. The firm noted that Strategy's choice to expand dollar reserves and pause Bitcoin purchases demonstrates a greater emphasis on balance sheet discipline rather than maximizing short-term BTC accumulation.Benchmark also maintained its "Buy" rating with a $570 price target. On Monday, Strategy's stock price traded at approximately $91.50, near its long-term low. Overall, analysts believe that amid pressure on preferred equity financing tools like STRC and market focus on dividend coverage capacity, Strategy's increase in cash reserves may help alleviate investor concerns regarding a forced sale of BTC.
Odaily Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated in a recent CNBC interview that he remains long-term bullish on Bitcoin, while strongly criticizing Michael Saylor and his strategy of continuously purchasing Bitcoin by financing through preferred stock, arguing that this "financial engineering" approach is negatively impacting the crypto market.Garlinghouse pointed out that Strategy's reliance on issuing preferred stock (such as STRC) to raise funds for Bitcoin purchases essentially acts as a distraction in the market rather than creating long-term value. He emphasized: "Financial engineering does not create long-term value; the long-term value of digital assets comes from real utility." He specifically noted that STRC's stock price has fallen to a discount of approximately 25% from its par value, which he described as a "strong vote of no confidence" in that financing structure. Against the backdrop of market pressure this week, Strategy's common stock hit its lowest level since February 2024, and Bitcoin briefly fell below $59,000.On the market front, a CryptoQuant report indicated that if the dividend structure continues, Strategy's cash buffer has decreased from over seven years to approximately 14 months, suggesting a pause in Bitcoin purchases and a rebuilding of reserve funds. Currently, STRC trading below $100 has also rendered its "issue tokens—buy Bitcoin" funding flywheel temporarily ineffective. However, Benchmark-StoneX analyst Mark Palmer believes this model reflects more of a "decline in efficiency" rather than a systemic breakdown. Meanwhile, Ripple continues to adopt an industry-contrarian perspective, reiterating the distinct value path of its ecosystem asset XRP compared to Bitcoin. (CoinDesk)
Benchmark-StoneX 分析师 Mark Palmer 指出，Strategy 旗下 STRC 产品虽近期波动，但其机制与导致 Terra 崩溃的算法稳定币存在根本差异。
Benchmark has maintained a "Buy" rating for Coinbase with a $270 price target, implying approximately 59.5% upside from its Tuesday closing price of $169.27. The firm noted that Coinbase's latest "System Update" indicates it is accelerating its transformation from a crypto trading platform into an "everything exchange" that bridges traditional finance and the on-chain economy.Analyst Mark Palmer stated that this product update covers tokenized stocks, stock and crypto options, pre-IPO perpetual contracts, prediction markets, AI-driven investment tools, agent payment infrastructure, and retail financial products, signaling the continuous expansion of its business boundaries.Key progress highlighted by Benchmark also includes: the U.S. CFTC's approval for it to operate as a regulated Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), global derivatives capabilities obtained through the acquisition of Deribit, and integrating crypto perpetuals and options into a compliant framework, thereby achieving cross-market liquidity consolidation.Furthermore, the company's strategic moves in the Base ecosystem, prediction markets, and AI agent payments are also seen as key signals of its evolution from "spot crypto trading" to a comprehensive on-chain financial infrastructure. (The Block)
According to independent analyst Markus Thielen, Sam Altman’s dual role as co-founder of both OpenAI and Worldcoin has led some capital in the secondary market to view WLD as a highly liquid alternative for speculating on OpenAI’s future IPO. Following SpaceX’s recent listing—whose stock price has remained robust—the market’s attention toward IPOs of AI “star” companies has intensified, prompting some traders to treat WLD as a tradable asset that already reflects this sentiment. On the near-term catalyst front, Eightco Holdings disclosed holding approximately 283 million WLD tokens, representing 8.4% of the circulating supply. Should market expectations around OpenAI’s potential IPO as early as September this year continue to strengthen, WLD’s trading thesis—as a proxy asset—may still have further room for development.
research firm Benchmark Equity Research has highlighted that the market structure reform proposal put forward by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 11 could be one of the most far-reaching regulatory actions for the U.S. crypto industry this year. The proposal aims to abolish Rule 611 and Rule 610(e) of Regulation NMS, two core rules that have governed the routing and execution of U.S. stock trades since 2005, which are seen as having long constrained the development of tokenized stocks and on-chain trading.Rule 611 (Order Protection Rule) requires trading venues to avoid executing trades at prices inferior to "protected quotations" on other markets, thereby enforcing the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) system. Rule 610(e) prohibits locked and crossed markets, restricting quotation overlaps and price mismatches.Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer stated that if the rules are repealed, it would remove key legal barriers hindering DeFi trading models, such as automated market makers (AMMs), allowing them to operate without relying on traditional order routing systems. The regulatory changes would directly benefit infrastructure for tokenized stocks and crypto securities trading, with Securitize identified as the most immediate beneficiary. Additionally, Coinbase and Galaxy Digital could also benefit from the expansion of trading, custody, and market-making businesses.However, Benchmark also noted that even with looser rules, critical issues such as exchange registration, clearing and settlement, and custody frameworks remain unresolved. The market is still anticipating the SEC's potential introduction of an "innovation exemption" mechanism. The SEC has opened a 60-day public comment period, and Benchmark expects a final vote could take place in early 2027. (The Block)
According to The Block, three Wall Street firms—Benchmark, TD Cowen, and Mizuho—maintained “Buy” ratings on four crypto-related companies—Bitdeer, DeFi Technologies, Strive, and Gemini—on Monday, noting that the market continues to value these platforms, which have pivoted toward AI infrastructure, capital markets tools, and structured financial products, using trading-business valuation multiples. Benchmark analysts reiterated their “Buy” rating on Bitdeer and $27 price target, highlighting its global power asset portfolio of approximately 3.0 GW and the growth of its AI cloud business’s annual recurring revenue—from roughly $10 million at the end of January to approximately $69 million by the end of April. TD Cowen raised its price target for Strive to $30, forecasting a 26.1% Bitcoin yield for the company in 2026. Mizuho maintained its “Outperform” rating on Gemini but lowered its price target from $12 to $10, noting that although Q1 trading volume declined by over 50%, trading revenue remained largely flat—reflecting higher fee rates and an optimized revenue mix.
the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has advanced the crypto market structure bill, the Clarity Act, by a vote of 15 to 9. The bill aims to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the crypto industry at the federal level for the first time, garnering support from Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks.While the industry generally views the committee's passage as positive progress, analysts believe the bill still faces significant obstacles before becoming law. TD Cowen has raised the bill's passage probability from approximately one-third to 40%, noting that some Democratic lawmakers are showing willingness to find a path to support it, though substantive disagreements have not been fully resolved.Previously, the bill had long been affected by issues such as stablecoin yield arrangements, conflicts of interest, and ethical provisions. Additionally, to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, the bill will need to secure more Democratic support than it currently has. Benchmark analysts also pointed out that the current number of supporting votes is insufficient to ensure its eventual passage. (The Block)
market分歧 has widened regarding Strategy's financing model of continuously accumulating Bitcoin through its preferred stock STRC. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer stated in his latest report that the interpretation of the STRC model as a "circular financing or Ponzi structure" is a "serious misreading" and emphasized that the mechanism is an "intentionally designed and sustainable capital framework," with the core logic being to convert market demand for yield into long-term Bitcoin exposure.According to an SEC 8-K filing, Strategy raised approximately $3.5 billion in the first three weeks of April, with over 85% coming from STRC issuance. Subsequently, it made three consecutive purchases within the following three weeks, acquiring a total of 51,364 Bitcoins worth approximately $3.9 billion. Strategy's total Bitcoin holdings have now increased to 818,334 BTC, with a market value of around $62.5 billion, and it has recently returned to an unrealized profit of about $700 million.Benchmark believes that this structure does not rely on continuous issuance to sustain itself and could even sell a portion of its Bitcoin to pay preferred stock dividends if necessary. However, significant market skepticism remains, with some arguing that selling financed assets to pay dividends could be perceived as a risk signal, potentially triggering broader market pressure. (The Block)