Summing Up The Week

The stock market seemed to be moving along just fine into Nvidia's (NVDA) earnings report on Wednesday after the market where the world's AI leader beat on revenue, profits, margins, and even raised guidance. However, despite Nvidia blowing away all expectations with its latest earnings report, investors sold the stock down on Thursday, potentially creating a catalyst for a broader market selloff.

The market weakness set the stage for a further selloff when Friday's PPI report showed inflation rising far more than anyone expected in January, potentially signaling that not only is inflation still an issue, it could be an increasing concern going forward.

Let's take a deeper dive into the news that moved markets this week...

Market News

Nvidia reports blowout quarter, data center revenue +75%

On Wednesday after the market closed, Nvidia (NVDA) reported another blowout quarter, beating on the top and bottom line with earnings driven by 75% revenue growth in its data center business, reported CNBC. 

For Earnings Per Share (EPS), Nvidia came in at $1.62 versus the $1.53 estimate and for revenue, Nvidia brought in $68.13 billion against $66.21 billion estimates (as a reminder: this is just over three months worth of revenue... positively insane!).

Not content with simply destroying expectations for the quarter, Nvidia also raised guidance going forward, forecasting revenue of $78 billion for the fiscal first quarter against analyst expectations for $72.6 billion. So, any fears that AI spending was petering out were certainly put to bed on the back of what can only be described as a quarter that blew the doors off the joint.

Disturbingly, these incredible beats have become so commonplace that the stock only rose about 2% in extended hours trading on Wednesday with that gain reducing to an anemic 1% gain by Thursday morning; gone are the days of +20% after-hours gains.

In Thursday trading, Nvidia actually rolled over entirely and sold off nearly -5.50% in a rapid-fire movement, perhaps indicating that the market is unhappy with the state of artificial intelligence, in general. Nvidia's downward movement triggered a marketwide reaction with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both selling off, too, with the S&P finishing Thursday down more than -0.50% and the Nasdaq down more than -1.25%.

Wholesale inflation rose 0.8% in January, exceeding expectations

On Friday, the Producer Price Index (PPI) shocked investors by showing a wholesale price increase of 0.8%, far exceeding Dow Jones' expectations for 0.3%, reported CNBC. This datapoint provides a strong argument for hawkish Federal Reserve members who believe they should keep the benchmark interest rate steady with no additional cuts.

The key element driving up the prices was the services sector which saw a 0.8% increase on the month, its highest since July 2025. Services have long been the biggest concern for inflation hawks since increases in payroll costs often don't see a decrease over time. 

Next Week's Gameplan

We'll be getting quite a few reports next week which might move the markets starting with manufacturing ISM and PMI on Monday followed by services ISM and PMI on Wednesday.

Of course, the big report comes on Friday when we get the U.S. employment report for February. Naturally, ADP's private report comes out on Wednesday, so it will be interesting to see if what similarities and differences are between the two.

While earnings season is winding down, there are still several positions of mine which haven't reported, yet. Next week, I'll be watching the following:

• Tuesday: Crowdstrike (CRWD) reports After Market Close (AMC).
• Wednesday: Genius Sports (GENI) reports Before Market Open (BMO).
• Thursday: Costco (COST) reports AMC.

So, join me next Friday where, once again, I'll break down all the news that moved the markets here, friends!

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Crytpo Corner

Bitcoin Price Action

Bitcoin broke down over the weekend and collapsed through the week, crashing through last week’s support at $65,607.15 as well as the subsequent support at $65,065.47, not bottoming until a much lower weekly low at $62,534.61 on Tuesday.

The big orange crypto did see a decent bounce back to a weekly high of $70,020.00 on Wednesday, however that is a distinctly lower-high than the $70,941.65 seen the week prior as Bitcoin contends with the 21-Day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and finds it to be strong resistance.

This is not Bullish price action.

Bitcoin remains in a tighter and tighter range with a Bearish downtrend fully in effect. While many Bulls are screaming that the bottom is in (more on that below), there is nothing constructive about this price action and there are no positive catalysts on the horizon indicating the selling is over.

The Bullish Case

Bulls are rallying around Michael Saylor, the CEO of Bitcoin Treasury Company Strategy (MSTR), who posted “Bitcoin on sale” on X throughout the week. Bulls argue that the support found at $62,534.61 means Bitcoin has bottomed since that line is higher than the current cycle low of $60,001.00.

The Bearish Case

The throaty defiance of the Bulls on X is actually emblematic of the halfway point of a typical Crypto Winter. In other words, the kind of sentiment we’re seeing usually indicates that Bitcoin has only pulled back half of where it will before the Crypto Winter truly bottoms.

In 2018, the Bulls were screaming the bottom was in at $6,000, only to have Bitcoin fall nearly another -50% down to the cycle bottom around $3,130.

In 2022, the Bulls were screaming the bottom was in at $30,000, only to have Bitcoin fall nearly another -50% down to the cycle bottom under $16,000.

The shallowest Crypto Winter to-date was 2022’s which saw Bitcoin crash -77.59% from its all-time high to the eventual bottom. Right now, Bitcoin has only pulled back -52.50% from its all-time high to the cycle low.

While I do believe that subsequent Crypto Winter will see lesser and lesser selloffs than the prior ones, 2018’s Crypto Winter was an -84.27% pullback. Simple math shows that the 2022 Crypto Winter was 7.93% less drastic at -77.59%. By using these admittedly rudimentary calculations, we could expect 2026’s Crypto Winter to see a pullback of -71.44% (roughly 8% less than 2022’s Crypto Winter) , giving us a cycle-low target of $36,079.

That’s nearly -40% lower than the current cycle low at $60K.

Maybe this time really is different and the Crypto Winter will bottom significantly higher than ever before, but investors shouldn’t count on that. As always, after nearly 30 years in the markets, I’ve found history may not repeat but it certainly rhymes.

In other words, hope for higher prices, but be prepared for much lower ones.

Bitcoin Trade Update

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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.
• In February 2026, Bitcoin dropped -53% to a low of $60,001.00.

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.