One might ask, what dark portents does this signify? Is it a premonition of Tesla’s inevitable descent from its lofty perch? Or simply a man, weary of chasing phantom valuations, seeking the comforting solidity of a company that, at least, knows how to make something tangible? The answer, as always, is likely a blend of both, seasoned with a dash of pure, unadulterated human folly.
It is not simply a company, this Meta. It is a landscape, populated by billions. Three and a half billion, to be precise, daily active people—a vast constellation of lives intersecting through the digital ether. They call it DAP—a clinical term for such a human phenomenon. I prefer to think of it as a gathering, a modern village square where stories are exchanged, and connections forged. This is the soil from which its prosperity springs.
One might expect, in such circumstances, a corresponding decline in the market’s estimation. Yet, observe the paradox! The share price, contrary to all logical expectation, has ascended since the dawn of this year. A most curious spectacle, indeed! The stock, valued at a modest price-to-earnings ratio of twelve, prompts a question: is this a treasure overlooked, or merely a gilded cage?
It seems the supply of these little silicon slivers – these ‘chips,’ as they’re commonly called – ain’t keepin’ pace with the demand. A right pickle, that. Folks want their computin’ gadgets, their doohickeys and whatsits, and Intel, bless their hearts, is findin’ it a bit of a struggle to provide ’em. Their revenue dipped a wee four percent in the last quarter, to $13.7 billion. The PC chip business, it seems, is a bit sluggish, though their data center and AI division is holdin’ steady. A bit like a one-legged man in a kickin’ contest, I reckon – doin’ alright, but not exactly sweepin’ the field.
Launched in 2012, Ripple‘s XRP Ledger – a blockchain network possessing a certain architectural elegance – and its accompanying cryptocurrency were conceived as a solution to the sluggish, Byzantine complexities of cross-border payments. Transactions, we are told, settle in a mere three to five seconds, and fees are, comparatively, negligible – fractions of a penny. A stark contrast, naturally, to the ponderous, almost geological, pace of Bitcoin. The network, Ripple Payments, boasts over three hundred banking partners across six continents – a network of connections that, while impressive, feels less like a revolutionary disruption and more like a particularly elaborate game of global telephone.
The sum, $7.78 million, is a curious thing. Enough to briefly animate the share price, yet a mere rounding error in the grand scheme. At quarter’s end, the stake remained at the same value, a small comfort in a world where even numbers seem to shift without reason. One suspects the analysts involved have families to support, just like everyone else.
A rise of nearly 1,030% in eleven months is, admittedly, a rather startling figure. Most investors, alas, are driven by herd instinct and will likely mistake such exuberance for a bubble. They are, of course, perfectly entitled to their errors. It was the S&P 500’s best performer in 2025, a fact I mention not to encourage further frenzy, but merely to observe the irony. The masses reward success by overpaying for it.
It’s a peculiar position, really. Holding the keys to the kingdom. A kingdom built on sand, of course, because everything is temporary. But a kingdom nonetheless. They don’t shout about it, these Dutch engineers. They just keep building the machines. The machines that make the machines. It’s a sort of recursive nightmare, if you think about it too hard. Which, naturally, I do.
these funds won’t actually hold any crypto. Because where’s the excitement in that? Instead, they’ll use regulated futures contracts-aka gambling with a spreadsheet-to mimic the index’s daily performance. Very real. Very functional. Very “let’s hope no one pulls the regulatory fire alarm.”
Bristol Myers Squibb and Intuitive Surgical, two entities not generally associated with the vanguard of technological innovation, are cautiously dipping their toes into these waters. The results, while hardly transformative at this stage, merit a closer inspection, if only to determine whether the accompanying share price adjustments are justified.