Are We in a Bitcoin “Death Spiral”?

Are We in a Bitcoin “Death Spiral”?

Famed investor Michael Burry certainly thinks so, warning on his Substack earlier this week that a self-reinforcing “death spiral” could potentially hurt companies, such as Strategy [MSTR], that have stockpiled the token over the past year. He argued that bitcoin remains largely speculative, not a hedge like gold, according to Bloomberg. Further declines could force widespread selling and “there is no organic use case reason for bitcoin to slow or stop its descent”.

US Moves to Secure Minerals 

Washington has launched an initiative to create a trade zone for critical minerals, aiming to reduce China’s dominance of the sector. The first Critical Minerals Ministerial, held Wednesday, brought together the UK, the EU, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to discuss access to minerals used in chips and electric vehicle (EV) batteries, the BBC reported.

QCOM Smashes Q1

The chip firm [QCOM] reported record Q1 2026 revenues of $12.3bn and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50. CEO Cristiano Amon highlighted QCT revenues of $10.6bn driven by flagship handsets, record automotive revenue and growth in IoT, edge networking and smart glasses. The company guided Q2 revenue of $10.2bn–11bn and non-GAAP EPS of $2.45–2.65. Major partnerships included ByteDance's first “Agentic AI smartphone” powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Humanoid Robots: Which Stocks Are Leading the Way?

ARK Invest’s ‘Big Ideas’ report for 2026 is extremely bullish on robotics, arguing that automation is “likely” to create a $26trn opportunity. However, unlocking this value will depend on a “shift from fixed-task specialized equipment to relatively open-ended general-purpose platforms”. OPTO look at some of the companies that are closest to unleashing humanoid robots on the world, starting with ARK’s darling, Tesla.

Chinese BYD Challenger Gathers Momentum

Leapmotor [9863:HK] has quietly carved out a niche in the global EV race, the Financial Times detailed. The Chinese automaker produces low-cost, no-frills EVs that have resonated with domestic buyers, selling nearly 600,000 plug-in hybrids and battery EVs last year — double 2024’s sales and four times 2023’s. Leapmotor is now eyeing international markets, supported by a partnership with Stellantis [STLA] to build and sell cars in Europe.

Arm Drags Down SoftBank

Shares of SoftBank Group [SFTBY] dropped 7% after Arm Holdings [ARM], its majority-owned chip design unit, reported Q3 licensing revenue of $505m, below Wall Street’s $519.9m estimate, even while revenue grew 26% year-over-year to $1.24bn and royalty revenue grew 27%, Seeking Alpha outlined. Arm expects Q4 royalties to rise in the low teens and licensing in the high teens. 

Magnificent 7 Earnings, Part 1

Earning reports from the ‘magnificent seven’ are often taken as a bellwether for the broader tech space, not to mention the stock market more broadly. During the week of January 26, four of the seven reported earnings: Apple [AAPL], Meta [META], Microsoft [MSFT] and Tesla. The reports show strong top-line growth but diverging margins. Now that the dust has settled, OPTO unpacks their respective performances.