Articles by Anders Bylund

Technology

1 Stock That Rose 66% and Fell 6% in the Same Month

It's no secret that Nebius Group (NBIS 6.27%) is a volatile stock. The provider of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for mega-scale software companies has gained 373% over the last year, including a 19.5% price drop in the week ending on Nov. 12. The stock carries a beta value of 5.8, so it tends to move in the same direction as the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.66%) market index -- just 5.8 times faster. Even so, it's kind of shocking when you take a closer look at Nebius' whipsaw price moves. For example, the stock ended August's last trading day at $68.32 per share. By Sept. 8, the stock had fallen 6.2% to $61.06. But that was just before another sudden price swing. Less than three weeks later, Nebius had soared 65.7% in September, trading at $113.23. Buckle up for the Nebius roller coaster Nebius's unpredictable chart continued in October, notching a top gain of 20.7% and a max price drop of 12.2% that month. The quick jumps have their reasons, of course. The huge jump in September was inspired by a massive AI infrastructure contract with Microsoft. Widespread concerns about an AI bubble caused the swift drop in October. Nebius is like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you're gonna get. Nebius used to be the Dutch parent of Russian online services giant Yandex, but the company is working hard to distance itself from that Russian connection. The rebranded company is all about providing data center capacity and cloud services to other tech titans. So far, it has been an unpredictable thrill ride. For now, investors should expect the unexpected. Make sure your stomach and your portfolio can handle the G-forces.

Technology

Bitcoin Falls 10% After Federal Reserve Rate Cut -- Should Investors Be Concerned?

Bitcoin (BTC 8.18%) usually rises when the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. For example, three quick announcements lowered Fed rates from 5.33% to 4.33% in the fall of 2024 and Bitcoin gained approximately 72% in that three-month period. But the latest rate cut kicked off the opposite cryptocurrency reaction. The Fed lowered long-term rates by 0.25% on October 29 and Bitcoin dropped 4% the next day. And the pain has continued. As of this writing on November 12, Bitcoin is down to $101,667 per coin -- 10% below its price before the rate cut. Is this price drop just another squiggle on Bitcoin's volatile price chart, or is it the start of a darker downtrend? Let's look at the evidence. Remember those other scary Bitcoin drops? Me neither. First of all, nobody really knows what's next for Bitcoin. It's down 10% in two weeks, not 75% overnight. A small change to the Fed's interest rates is neither a deal-breaker nor a game-changing victory for crypto investors. It's just another small economic adjustment among many, easily missed when you look at a long-term chart. The drop is similar in scope to the 8% retreat in the last week of May or the 10% drop just before last Christmas. You may need to look those events up. I sure did. The holiday price cut was also a counterintuitive reaction to a lower Fed rate, with a side of challenging inflation and unemployment comments. Six months later, a Chinese ban on crypto trading did the trick. If those events sprang to mind immediately, I envy your long-term memory. In any case, the chart bumps are barely noticeable anymore and Bitcoin rose to an all-time high of $126,198 in early October. The price cuts didn't have staying power. Bitcoin has some new tricks up its digital sleeve I can't guarantee that this new fall will be just as forgettable in the long run. The next crypto winter could be right around the corner, or maybe it already started. But things could really be different this time, thanks to several fundamental steps forward. There are spot-priced Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) now, and more American crypto regulation than ever, and deep-pocketed institutional investors are taking crypto seriously nowadays. Moreover, crypto miners have found savvy ways to stay afloat when Bitcoin prices are too low to support profitable mining operations. In 2025, leading names like MARA Holdings (MARA 11.31%), Riot Platforms (RIOT 10.15%), and Cipher Mining (CIFR 14.10%) are selling electricity and data center space to artificial intelligence (AI) experts when it makes sense. The pressure to always keep Bitcoin's price floating higher over time could fade under these circumstances. Only time will tell whether that's good or bad news for Bitcoin investors, or perhaps just a dampener on the cryptocurrency's price swings. Either way, you're about to find out -- and I honestly can't tell you where Bitcoin is going in the next year or two. Why I'm not panicking, as usual My time machine is in for repairs as usual -- that's what I get for buying the cheapest model at the flea market. I'm not losing sleep over this 10% Bitcoin tumble, though. The tailwinds are still in play, too: institutional adoption keeps climbing, the 2024 halving's supply squeeze is still fresh, and someone somewhere is probably explaining blockchain to their grandma right now. That's what it looks like when a radical new idea goes mainstream. Long story short? Bitcoin's gonna Bitcoin. Expect more potholes on this unmapped road -- maybe even a few sinkholes -- but the destination hasn't changed. This latest drop feels less like a game-changing catastrophe and more like a normal Tuesday night for Satoshi Nakamoto. If you've kept your Bitcoin allocation reasonable (key word there), this dip shouldn't have you reaching for the panic button. Zoom out far enough on that price chart, and even 10% drops start looking like those anonymous squiggles I mentioned earlier. I don't think this one's a big deal, either.

Technology

Why Cipher Mining Stock Soared on Monday Morning

Shares of Cipher Mining (CIFR +22.76%) skyrocketed on Monday morning. The jump peaked around 10 a.m ET with a 34.6% gain. Cipher's stock cooled down somewhat to a 20.1% increase by 2:15 p.m. ET. The Bitcoin mining company published third-quarter results early in the morning, missing Wall Street's expectations across the board. Cipher's Q3 results and a big AWS announcement You read that right -- Cipher fell short of analysts' consensus earnings and revenue estimates, but the stock soared anyhow. The company's Bitcoin mining revenue nearly tripled year over year, from $24.1 million to $71.7 million. Adjusted earnings swung from a net loss of $0.01 per share to a net profit of $0.10 per share. Analysts had expected more with their average targets set at $76.5 million and $0.11 per share, respectively. But none of that mattered, because Cipher also announced a large deal with Amazon today. Cipher signed a 15-year deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS), offering data center space and electric power for Amazon's artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. The service will start in 2026, with the first rent payment due in August next year. The computing assets that are good for the Bitcoin mining goose are also useful to the AI-focused gander. It's a $5.5 billion contract, stepping up the data center capacity over many years. Bitcoin miners are becoming AI landlords Once the AWS agreement kicks in and starts to generate revenue, Cipher becomes an AI-oriented data center manager with a side gig in Bitcoin mining, instead of the other way around. It's a dramatic strategy shift, building on the earlier data center agreement with Fluidstack and Google Cloud. I was about to say that time will tell how this shift works out in comparison to fully committed Bitcoin miners, but most of them are exploring similar AI-focused ideas at this point. It's good to see an entire industry adopting a second revenue stream that's more predictable than the original plan. Bitcoin mining is hot stuff when the crypto market is on the rise, but the less volatile AI deals should be helpful when Bitcoin prices are going down.