Technology
Tech Titans Tumble
May 30, 2025
Crypto’s enjoying another upswing, but not every part of the blockchain world is riding the wave. NFTs — once the digital darlings of speculative art collectors — are taking serious hits. Case in point: CryptoPunks, one of the most iconic and historically valuable NFT collections, has been sold off by Yuga Labs (the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club). Its new owner? A nonprofit devoted to digital art preservation. Translation: the big-money NFT hype train may have officially left the station.
Meanwhile, Wall Street is flexing. The S&P 500 notched a 0.7% gain this week, putting the index back in positive territory for 2025. Tech stocks led the way, with the Nasdaq 100 jumping 1.6% and the Russell 2000 adding 0.5%. Sector-wise, technology was the biggest winner, while healthcare saw a steep 3% drop. Investors are still favoring growth, and it’s clear that enthusiasm for AI and fintech hasn’t cooled off — at least not yet.
Coinbase just got a serious credibility boost — it’s joining the S&P 500. The crypto exchange’s stock surged 24% on the news, partly thanks to the broader fintech rally and partly because institutional investors will now start buying in automatically through index funds. Stepping out? Discover Financial, which is in the middle of a merger with Capital One. The switch becomes official next week and signals a symbolic win for crypto after years of being dismissed as too fringe.
It’s also great timing for Coinbase. Just last week, the company announced plans to acquire Deribit, the largest crypto options exchange in the world, for $2.9 billion. That makes it the biggest M&A deal in crypto history. For Coinbase, this moment could be a key inflection point — one that brings more legitimacy, visibility, and steady demand from passive investors. After a rough year where shares fell 17%, this feels like a much-needed pivot.
Presented by Turn Therapeutics
When faced with a deadly infection boasting a 70% fatality rate and no existing cure, Bradley Burnam did what most wouldn’t dare—he created the solution himself. Enter Hexagen: a groundbreaking formula that Burnam personally shepherded through the FDA clearance process for just $24,000. But he didn’t stop there. Building on this success, Burnam expanded the technology, secured two additional FDA clearances, and founded a company that’s rewriting the rules on self-made medical innovation: Turn Therapeutics.
Hexagen isn’t just breaking barriers; it’s healing them. Cleared for acute wound care and atopic dermatitis, this powerhouse formula is now on the brink of a bigger leap. Turn, the company behind Hexagen, is paving the way to expand its applications, proving there’s much more to its potential than meets the eye.
Turn just locked in a game-changing commitment—up to $75M in investment from GEM Global Yield Fund. This private equity boost is tied to the company’s plans to go public, setting the stage for Turn to make bold moves in the market spotlight..2
Turn is rolling out institutional, accredited, and unaccredited investors to participate in their current crowdfunding campaign — but only until January 2025.3
While the price of new vehicles keeps climbing, one upstart is cutting against the grain — and turning heads. According to Cox Automotive, average new car prices rose 2.5% in April, the largest monthly jump in five years. That puts the average transaction price at nearly $49,000. Price hikes from Tesla, Ford, and GM are driving the increase, and a spike in consumer buying ahead of expected Trump-era tariffs hasn’t helped. Carvana, for example, sold 46% more used cars last quarter alone.
Enter: the Slate EV truck. With a starting price below $20,000 (after federal incentives), it’s quickly become the people’s electric vehicle. The company has already racked up 100,000 reservations in just two weeks. While Tesla’s Cybertruck once claimed a million preorders, actual sales have underwhelmed — only 46,000 units in the first year, with inventory starting to build up. Even diehard EV fans on Reddit are saying Slate’s no-frills truck is exactly what the market needs.
Pandora’s CEO thinks the future of diamonds isn’t mined — it’s made in a lab. The Danish jeweler says sales of lab-created diamonds grew 88% year-over-year, a sharp spike that reflects changing attitudes toward cost and sustainability. While these sparkling synthetics still make up just 1% of the company’s total revenue, the trend is hard to ignore. Consumers — especially younger ones — increasingly prefer ethical sourcing and a more accessible price tag.
It’s also a broader sign of how luxury is evolving. In an industry long obsessed with exclusivity and tradition, lab diamonds are a high-tech disruptor. They offer the same chemical makeup and visual appeal as natural stones — often at half the price. As tech improves and awareness grows, traditional diamond mining may start to feel like the outdated luxury. Pandora’s bet? Lab-grown gems will dominate within the next decade.
Last year, the U.S. saw over 1.36 billion de minimis packages — those tiny duty-free shipments that flood across borders. That’s roughly 43 packages every second. As global e-commerce grows, expect that number to keep climbing (along with debate over how to regulate it).
Palantir hit a new all-time high this week, riding momentum from government contracts and renewed investor interest in AI-powered analytics. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth stumbled hard after its CEO unexpectedly stepped down and the company pulled its full-year earnings guidance. Not a great look for stability in the healthcare sector.
Elsewhere, First Solar caught a tailwind after a draft GOP tax plan turned out to be less harsh on renewables than feared. Hertz, on the other hand, posted major losses — and investors responded by promptly jumping ship. And Apollo’s chief economist dramatically slashed his 2025 recession odds, trimming them down from 90% to something far less alarming. Recession talk? Maybe not so soon.
Presented by Atombeam
Big tech, small data… Why are industry leaders like NVIDIA, Intel and Ericsson partnering with Atombeam?1 It’s the company reimagining machine communication — and potentially the future of big tech. That’s thanks to Neurpac, Atombeam’s patented software technology that can reduce the size of low-entropy data by an average of 75%.
Lightning fast… Neurpac enables 2-4x more data to be sent faster and more securely over existing networks—no hardware upgrades — just smart, AI-powered software.
To the moon and back… The U.S Space Force and U.S. Air Force have already been on Atombeam’s customer books — and the company’s potential market is still gaining ground. Atombeam is in discussions with multiple companies, ranging from a major packaging brand to an EV enterprise.
$16M has already been invested into the company. You can invest before the round closes in 29 days.2
1 The partnership relationship varies between companies and can include the following: inclusion on a preferred vendor list, invitations to participate in certain forums; listed on the other company's website, and introduction and networking opportunities.
Advertiser's disclosures:
¹ The Company's Formula (Gx-03/Hexagen/Atopx) Has Received 510k Marketing Approval As A Medical Device Indicated For The Management Of Symptoms Related To Atopic Dermatitis/Eczema. The Formula Has Not Received Approval As A Drug For The Treatment Of Eczema Or Onychomycosis.
² A plan to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.
³ Please read the offering circular and related risks at StartEngine’s Turn Therapeutics webpage. This is a paid advertisement for Turn Therapeutics Regulation CF Offering. This Reg CF offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.
Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities.
