Summing Up The Week

The week kicked off with a bang as markets rallied on the back of promises from the Trump Administration that a deal would be ironed out with China. On Wednesday, the party got busted when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell came out hawkish about a rate cut in December.

However, after a brief respite pullback on Thursday, investors got back on the horse when Amazon (AMZN) reported a blowout quarter after the bell.

Where will we go from here? Read on to discover the news that moved the markets as well as next week’s gameplan!

Market News

Trump adds extra tariff to Canada over trade ad

On Saturday, President Trump announced he was smacking Canada with an additional 10% tariff in retaliation for an advertisement featuring President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, reported CNBC.

“Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement in Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”

Contrary to Trump’s claim in his TruthSocial post, Reagan was known for being anti-tariffs because – rightfully so – tariffs are a tax on American consumers and not a penalty for other countries with many companies importing goods from elsewhere will pass much of the extra costs resulting from tariffs on to the end-consumer.

While the markets weren’t open over the weekend, I was interested to see what effect (if any) the new tariff rate would have given that stocks seem to enjoy reacting to any kind of tariff headline.

U.S. officials expect China to delay export controls

Stocks rallied in the pre-market on Monday after news broke that U.S. officials expect China to delay the introduction of their rare earth export controls, reported CNBC.

Rare earth metals (which, ironically, aren’t that rare) are critical components in nearly every form of technology and modern weaponry. With China controlling a significant amount of the world’s supply – and, more importantly, the refinery process – China’s announcement of export controls threw a monkeywrench in trade plans.

However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he expected a deal to avoid the 100% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods which also mean Beijing would postpone new rare earth export controls.

On Monday, President Trump told reporters that the U.S. and China are enroute to “come away with” a trade deal following the meeting between Trump and President Xi later this week.

As a result, stocks and Bitcoin both rallied while gold and silver continued their pullback from last week. Given that Bitcoin and equities are risk-on plays and the precious metals are “safe haven assets,” these moves were to be expected.

Fed cuts rates but doubts there will be another

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced another 0.25% rate cut which caused stocks to rally, until Chair Jerome Powell warned that he didn’t expect another, reported CNBC.

In addition to cutting the overnight borrowing rate to a range of 3.7%-4%, the Fed also announced it would be ending quantitative tightening – the process of reducing asset purchases and held assets from its balance sheet – beginning December 1.

However, it was Powell’s comments that shook markets and reversed the day’s rally, “In the committee’s discussions at this meeting, there were strongly differing views about how to proceed in December,” he said in the press conference following the decision’s release. “A further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion. Far from it.”

Next Week’s Gameplan

Next week kicks off the U.S. Manufacturing ISM and PMI on Monday followed by ADP employment and ISM services on Wednesday. Within theory, we could get October’s payroll report on Friday, however that is completely dependent on whether or not the Federal Government gets off its duff and reopens, which, at this point, seems unlikely.

In addition to the smattering of economic datapoints, we are still very much in earnings season, too. Here are the reports of my holdings which I’ll be watching closely throughout the week:

Monday: IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) reports Before Market Open (BMO) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) reports After Market Close (AMC).

Tuesday: Shopify (SHOP) reports BMO. Genius Sports (GENI) and Zoetis (ZTS) report AMC.

Wednesday: Cameco (CCJ) and Lemonade (LMND) report BMO. Arm Holdings (ARM), Dutch Bros (BROS), Equinox (EQX), Nutrien (NTR), and Robinhood (HOOD) all report AMC.

Thursday: Barrick Gold (B) and Yeti (YETI) report BMO. Block (XYZ), DraftKings (DKNG), GrowGeneration (GRWG), OpenDoor Technologies (OPEN), and Take Two Interactive (TTWO) all report AMC.

Friday: Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC) reports BMC.

Next week promises to be a busy one so come back here after the bell on Friday so we can go over all the news that moved the markets, friends!

Check out Get Irked Premium on Substack!

After providing FREE content since 2018, the time constraints of producing Investments in Play, Speculation in Play, the Pandemic Portfolio, and Stock Shopping List have become too much to continue doing for free.

On Substack, you can subscribe for FREE to have the Week in Review and Crypto Corner, now separate newsletters, sent to your email inbox at no cost. The portfolio updates and Stock Shopping List are now part of a premium subscription plan.

I hope you will join me on Substack as I continue on this exciting journey!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT!

Crytpo Corner

“Bitcoin Will Never Crash Again…” said Every Bull Before the Next Crash

For some reason in every Bitcoin cycle, some Bull has to say it. I don’t know why, but some cocky Bull always has to jinx the entire thing. What is it they say?

“Bitcoin’s days of 70%+ crashes are behind it.”

The first time this phrase was uttered followed the launch of the first Bitcoin exchange in the form of Mt. Gox. Back then, Bitcoiners thought stability would be introduced through the liquidity of the exchange. How wrong they were! For those too young to know, Mt. Gox was hacked and thousands of Bitcoins were lost, the exchange was shut down, and the entire event sent Bitcoin into an epic crash.

When Coinbase (COIN) launched – a more reputable and regulated exchange – the Bulls were back in force: “Bitcoin will never crash again!” From its high near $20K in 2017 to its low in 2018, Bitcoin crashed more than -84%!!!

Then, in 2021, the Bulls were back, declaring that, thanks to major new exchanges like FTX and Binance, liquidity was finally so solid that Bitcoin would never, ever see a Crypto Winter again! Bitcoin promptly plummeted from its high around $70K in 2021 to its low around $15.5K.

Now, in 2025, the Bulls are once again making the claim that Bitcoin won’t crash. Between the Bitcoin ETFs and the popularity of the space, Bitcoin has stability now. It won’t ever see those massive pullbacks, right? Of course, these are the same Bulls that are predicting Bitcoin will 25X (or more) from its current price around $100K.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you want volatility on the upside, you must accept volatility on the downside, and nothing says volatility on the upside like expecting a 25,000% return!

The secret to Bitcoin’s crashes is simple: even with all the liquidity in the space and even with major firms like Blackrock running Bitcoin ETFs, the vast majority of available Bitcoin are still held by a small minority of holders called “whales.” Plus, since Bitcoin is a 24-hour market that runs 7-days a week and the ETFs only trade from 9:30am to 4:00pm ET five days a week, the whales can simply coordinate their selloffs for afterhours, weekends, holidays, or, frankly, just blow out during the market hours and cause all the ETFs’ weak-hands to panic-sell.

Is it guaranteed Bitcoin will crash 70% or more from its all-time high? Absolutely not. However, I never, ever think this time is different, or put the way a particular Bull said in a analyst’s members call this week, “Bitcoin’s days of 70% selloffs are behind it.”

Bitcoin Price Action

Bitcoin’s rally continued early in the week with the Big Orange Crypto blowing through last week’s high of $114,082.29 and the next level of resistance at $116,077.51 before settling with a new higher weekly-high at $116,410.06 on Monday. However, that was the end of the Bullish price action.

Following its weekly-high, Bitcoin rolled all the way over for the remainder of the week, decimating last week’s low of $112,075.00 and not finding support until $106,279.33 on Thursday, only slightly above a key support made a few weeks ago.

The Bullish Case

Bulls continue to argue that we’re in an uptrend and that there’s nothing to worry about. Some go as far as to say we’ll never crash again (sorry to keep harping on the one from that analyst call, but, man, seriously?!). That being said, Bitcoin’s inability to maintain any kind of Bullish momentum really flies in the face of the Bull Case. Sure, Bitcoin made a higher weekly-high than last week, but that’s not saying much if it’s going to give it all back within a matter of hours.

The Bearish Case

The Bears rejoiced at Bitcoin’s inability to hang on to upward momentum, declaring victory when Bitcoin collapsed on Wednesday and Thursday. This has brought out the raucous chorus of Bears chanting that $100K will fall soon and that Bitcoin will collapse down to $26K once more. All I can say is that if Bitcoin drops below $30K again, I might have to convince my wife that we need to live with her parents for a little while so we can liquidate the house and stack sats!

Bitcoin Trade Update

Premium subscribers to Get Irked get access to all the moves I’ve made in my Bitcoin trade over the past week as well as my next thirty (30) … yes, 30 … buys in Bitcoin including price levels, quantities, and a full layout of my ongoing long-term trade in the world’s biggest crypto.

If you aren’t already, subscribe to my Substack today!

Not Your Keys, Not Your Crypto…

In light of brokerage failures in 2022, I no longer keep any of my crypto on an exchange and I only keep enough USD on the exchanges I use to execute my next few buys. I use multiple cold wallets from the brands Ledger and Trezor to hold my crypto (click the links to access the direct sites, and I receive no affiliate benefits from these links).

Additionally, I have now divided my allocated USD between two different exchanges – Gemini and Coinbase – in case one (or both) becomes insolvent. Disclaimer: We both receive a bonus if you use my Gemini referral link to open an account.

I do not trust anyone in the space, even with Coinbase (COIN) being publicly traded (and one of my own Investments in Play positions).

No price target is unrealistic in the cryptocurrency space – Bullish or Bearish.

While traditional stock market investors and traders may think the price targets in the cryptocurrency space are outlandish due to the incredible spread (possible moves include drops of -90% or more and gains of +1000% or more), Bitcoin has demonstrated that, more than any speculative asset, its price is capable of doing anything.

Here are some of Bitcoin’s price movements over the past couple of years:

• In 2017, Bitcoin rose +2,707% from its January low of $734.64 to make an all-time high of $19,891.99 in December.
• Then, Bitcoin crashed nearly -85% from its high to a December 2018 low of $3128.89.
• In the first half of 2019, Bitcoin rallied +343% to $13,868.44.
• In December, Bitcoin crashed -54% to a low of $6430.00 in December 2019.
• In February 2020, Bitcoin rallied +64% to $10,522.51.
• In March , Bitcoin crashed nearly -63% to a low of $3858.00, mostly in 24 hours.
• Then, Bitcoin rallied +988% to a new all-time high of $41,986.37 in January 2021.
• Later in January 2021, Bitcoin dropped -32% to a low of $28,732.00.
• In February, Bitcoin rallied +103% to a new all-time high of $58,367.00.
• Later in February, Bitcoin dropped -26% to a low of $43,016.00.
• In April , Bitcoin rallied +51% to a new all-time high of $64,896.75.
• In June , Bitcoin crashed -56% to a low of $28,800.00.
• In November, Bitcoin rallied +140% to a new all-time high of $69,000.00.
• In November 2022, Bitcoin crashed -78% to a low of $15,460.00.
• In April 2023, Bitcoin rallied +101% to a high of $31,050.00.
• In June, Bitcoin dropped -20% to a low of $24,750.00
• In July, Bitcoin rallied +29% to a high of $31,862.21.
• In September, Bitcoin dropped -22% to a low of $24,900.00.
• In January 2024, Bitcoin rallied +97% to a high of $49,102.29.
• Later in January, Bitcoin dropped -22% to a low of $38,501.00.
• In March, Bitcoin rallied +92% to a new all-time high of $73,835.57.
• In August, Bitcoin dropped -33% to a low of $49,050.01.
• In January 2025, Bitcoin rallied +150% to a new all-time high of $109,358.01.
• In April, Bitcoin dropped -32% to a low of $74,420.69.
• In May, Bitcoin rallied +51% to a new all-time high of $112,000.00.
• In June, Bitcoin dropped -12% to a low of $98,247.01.
• In July, Bitcoin rallied +25% to a new all-time high of $123,231.07.
• In September, Bitcoin dropped -14% to a low of $107,250.00.
• In October, Bitcoin rallied +18% to a new all-time high of $126,296.00.
• Later in October, Bitcoin dropped -18% to a low of $103,000.00

Where will Bitcoin go from here? Truly, anything is possible…

What if Bitcoin’s headed to zero?

DISCLAIMER: Anyone considering speculating in the crypto sector should only do so with funds they are prepared to lose completely. All interested individuals should consult a professional financial adviser to see if speculation is right for them. No Get Irked contributor is a financial professional of any kind.