SmartFinancial (NYSE:SMBK) Bolsa

SmartFinancial

SmartFinancial Inc operates as a bank holding company for SmartBank. It offers various banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers. The principal business of the Bank consists of attracting deposits from the general public and investing those funds, together with funds generated from operations and from principal and interest payments on loans, mainly in commercial loans, commercial and residential real estate loans, consumer loans, and residential and commercial construction loans. The primary source of revenue is interest income from earning assets, namely loans and securities.

SmartFinancial Inc

The cryptocurrency market witnessed a significant rebound last week, ably supported by leading memecoins and Telegram-linked Toncoin.
What happened: BNX, the native token of the GameFi platform BinaryX, topped the gainers list, exploding over 60% over the week.
The BNB Chain (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/bnb/usd">BNB</a>)-based coin was just 10% away from bettering its all-time high set two years ago.&nbsp;
The rally came ahead of the project's rebranding to Four (FORM) to align with its newest product, Four.meme, an ecosystem for meme coins.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Four is evolving, and the future is <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24FORM&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$FORM</a>. To bring clarity and truly return Four to the community, we are revising the token symbol from <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24Four&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$Four</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24FORM&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$FORM</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24FORM&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$FORM</a> represents continuous creation and infinite possibilities. The ecosystem remains strong—we're building DeFi, GameFi,… <a href="https://t.co/OFWDdohOCl">pic.twitter.com/OFWDdohOCl</a>
&mdash; BinaryX (@binary_x) <a href="https://twitter.com/binary_x/status/1893927616861876319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Toncoin, the native token of The Open Network, was the second most successful cryptocurrency over the week, returning over 34% to its holders.&nbsp;
The surge followed the <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/tech/25/03/44347961/ton-token-value-soars-20-as-telegram-founder-pavel-durov-regains-passport-from-french-authorities">recovery</a> of Telegram founder Pavel Durov‘s passport from French authorities. The tech entrepreneur was<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/24/09/40743743/telegram-founder-pavel-durov-slams-france-in-first-public-comments-since-detention-still-trying-to-u"> detained</a> in August 2024 amid an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraudulent transactions on the popular social messaging platform.
The decentralized exchange token CAKE followed with a 30% spike last week, aided by an 11% weekly <a href="https://defillama.com/dexs">increase </a>in volumes on PancakeSwap.
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<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Cryptocurrency</td>
<td>Gains +/-</td>
<td>Price (Recorded at 12:30 a.m. ET)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>BinaryX (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/">BNX</a>)</td>
<td>+60.71%</td>
<td>$1.62</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Toncoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/">TON</a>)</td>
<td>+34.00%</td>
<td>$3.59</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PancakeSwap (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/cake/usd">CAKE</a>)</td>
<td>+30.86%</td>
<td>$2.04</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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See Also:<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/24/12/42735744/pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-predicts-doom-for-michael-saylors-microstrategy-as-stock-dips-below-300-in-after-hours-trading"> </a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44267582/us-house-committee-favors-stablecoin-regulation-to-strenthen-dollar-advocates-against-cbdc">House Committee Favors Stablecoin Regulation To &#8216;Strengthen&#8217; Dollar: Majority Whip Says CBDCs Against &#8216;American Values&#8217;</a>
Market leader Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) eked out a gain of 1.10%, while Ethereum (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>), the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell more than 8% in a week.
Meme heavyweight Dogecoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/doge/usd">DOGE</a>) was broadly unchanged over the previous week, while Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/shib/usd">SHIB</a>) and Pepe (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/">PEPE</a>) outperformed with gains of 8.50% and 10.87%, respectively.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 4.5% over the week to $2.71 trillion.
Photo by Avi Rozen on Shutterstock
Read Next:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44268317/sec-postpones-approval-of-several-crypto-spot-etfs-says-influential-analyst">Dogecoin, XRP ETF Filings Delayed By SEC But Influential Analyst Says &#8216;Relatively High&#8217; Odds Of Approval</a></li>
</ul>

Coverage of Bitcoin, Etherum, Ripple and all the latest digital currencies.

Cryptocurrency

News

Markets

$BNB

$BNX

$BTC

$CAKE

$DOGE

$ETH

$PEPE

$SHIB

$TON

Bitcoin, Dogecoin Were Muffled Last Week But Telegram's Pavel Durov Getting His Passport Back Gave Toncoin Its Wings

<ul>
<li>Primary endpoint showed clinically meaningful improvement in patients with SMA receiving apitegromab as measured by gold standard Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale Expanded (HFMSE) versus placebo (p=0.0192), with consistent outcomes across all major sub-groups including age, SMN-targeted background therapy, and age at initiation of SMN-targeted therapy</li>
<li>Pre-specified secondary endpoint showed that 30.4% of patients receiving apitegromab had ≥ 3-point improvement in HFMSE versus 12.5% of patients on placebo (nominal p-value = 0.0156), despite all study patients receiving ongoing SMN-targeted background therapy</li>
<li>In other pre-specified secondary endpoints, patients with SMA receiving apitegromab showed consistent improvement at 52 weeks compared to placebo as measured by Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM) and WHO motor development milestones despite all study patients receiving ongoing SMN-targeted background therapy</li>
</ul>

SRRK

Reported Earlier, Scholar Rock's New Phase 3 Trial Data Show Clinically Meaningful Improvements In Motor Function For Patients With SMA

Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The warrants will be immediately exercisable at $1.08 per share and will expire 60 days from the date of issuance.&nbsp;

Reported Earlier, Castellum Prices $4.5M Public Offering Of 4.5M Units At $1.00 Per Unit

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AAPL#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) continues to trade at elevated valuation levels despite Warren Buffett&#8216;s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. significantly reducing its stake in the iPhone maker, according to a prominent market analyst.
What Happened: Lawrence McDonald, founder of Bear Traps Report, highlighted concerns about Apple&#8217;s current price-to-sales ratio in a post on X on Sunday. 
&#8220;Think about your 401k and Apple, its (S&amp;P 500) Top holding — From 2005 to 2020, Apple traded between a 2 and 5 handle price to sales. On Christmas Eve, she peaked at 10.2x sales and now sits—After Buffett dumped nearly 70% of his shares—at 8.2x,&#8221; McDonald wrote.
The price-to-sales ratio measures a company&#8217;s market cap relative to revenue, showing how much investors pay per dollar of sales. Apple&#8217;s current 8.2x P/S far exceeds its historical 2-5x range, a premium it began surpassing after June 2020, according <a href="https://companiesmarketcap.com/inr/apple/ps-ratio/">to</a> CompaniesMarketCap
McDonald warned that the growing influence of passive index funds is damaging the market&#8217;s ability to price stocks efficiently, with Apple being a prime example.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Think about your 401k and Apple, its (S&amp;P 500) TOP holding — From 2005 to 2020, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24AAPL&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$AAPL</a> traded between a 2 and 5 handle price to sales. On Christmas Eve, she peaked at 10.2x sales and now sits—AFTER Buffett dumped nearly 70% of his shares—at 8.2x. The larger passive index funds… <a href="https://t.co/d2hVBNsWlr">https://t.co/d2hVBNsWlr</a> <a href="https://t.co/uY7Syrgudj">pic.twitter.com/uY7Syrgudj</a>
&mdash; Lawrence McDonald (@Convertbond) <a href="https://twitter.com/Convertbond/status/1901258281739268133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/25/03/44349240/googles-waymo-leads-robotaxi-race-with-2-millon-paid-rides-zoox-challenges-tesla-for-second-spot-as-unsupervised-autonomy-becomes-table-stakes-says-gary-black">Google&#8217;s Waymo Leads Robotaxi Race With 2 Millon Paid Rides, Amazon&#8217;s Zoox Challenges Tesla For Second Spot As Autonomy Becomes &#8216;Table Stakes,&#8217; Says Gary Black</a>
Why It Matters: The comments come after Buffett&#8217;s dramatic reduction in Berkshire&#8217;s Apple holdings over the past year. Berkshire held 905.6 million Apple shares valued at approximately $174 billion at the start of 2024 but sold 116.2 million shares in the first quarter and an additional 389.7 million in the second quarter. 
By the end of the third quarter, Buffett had further reduced the position to <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/10/41428505/warren-buffett-may-have-missed-out-on-23m-worth-of-profits-after-selling-apple-stocks-report">around 300 million shares</a>.
The valuation concerns and China sales troubles have impacted Apple&#8217;s stock performance. While AAPL gained 14.8% over the past year, it significantly underperformed the S&amp;P 500&#8217;s 25.6% rise <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/tech/25/01/43198776/will-warren-buffett-sell-more-apple-stock-after-iphone-sales-drop-in-china">during the same period</a>. 
A recent <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/tech/25/01/43198776/will-warren-buffett-sell-more-apple-stock-after-iphone-sales-drop-in-china">investor poll by Benzinga</a> showed opinion nearly evenly split on Buffett&#8217;s next move, with 56% believing he will maintain his remaining Apple position for the long term, while 44% expect further reductions soon.
Read Next: 
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<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/25/03/44349451/third-largest-buy-the-dip-in-history-bofas-sees-correction-not-a-bear-market-amid-wall-street-rebound">Third-Largest &#8216;Buy-The-Dip&#8217; In History — BofA&#8217;s Sees &#8216;Correction, Not A Bear Market&#8217; Amid Wall Street Rebound</a></li>
</ul>
Image Via Shutterstock
Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Equities

AAPL

NVDA

Warren Buffett Dumped Nearly 70% Of Apple Shares, But Its Price-To-Sales Ratio Remains Elevated At 8.2x, Warns This Market Analyst

Once a <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/government/24/01/36719920/roomba-maker-irobot-struggles-with-potential-eu-rejection-of-amazon-acquisition-and-falling-sales-an">potential acquisition target</a> for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AMZN#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>), iRobot Corp (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IRBT#NASDAQ">IRBT</a>) — the maker of Roomba — is now playing catch-up to hold its ground against Chinese competitors.
What Happened: iRobot, the company behind the iconic Roomba vacuum, is facing mounting pressure from Chinese tech manufacturers such as Roborock, Ecovacs, Xiaomi Corporation (OTC:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/XIACY#OTC">XIACY</a>), and Dreame Technology, <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/China-tech/Chinese-robot-vacuums-leave-Roomba-in-the-dust-with-arms-and-legs">reported</a> Nikkei Asia.
Once considered the undisputed leader in the robot vacuum market, iRobot's global market share has dropped from 35% in 2015 to just 22% in 2023, according to Euromonitor.
See Also:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/tech/25/03/44069535/jeff-bezos-backed-anthropic-pushes-for-stronger-us-ai-safeguards-saying-autocracies-like-china-russia-could-use-ai-to-expand-their-power-some-very-dark-possbilities" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeff Bezos-Backed Anthropic Pushes For Stronger US AI Safeguards, Saying Autocracies Like China, Russia Could Use AI To Expand Their Power: ‘Some Very Dark Possibilities'</a>
Beijing-based Roborock unveiled a new robot vacuum at CES 2025 featuring an AI-powered arm capable of picking up objects weighing up to 300 grams. The vacuum can recognize 108 objects out of the box, with room to program 50 more via app.
In Japan, where Roomba holds a 70% market share, Chinese rivals are rapidly gaining ground. Ecovacs is undercutting Roomba by nearly 30% with comparable features, while Xiaomi is preparing to launch robot vacuums in its new retail stores.
Subscribe to the&nbsp;<a href="https://bztechtrends.beehiiv.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter</a>&nbsp;to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
Why It's Important: On Wednesday, it reported a 44% year-over-year <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/25/03/44274332/why-consumer-robot-maker-irobots-stocks-are-plunging-today">drop in fourth-quarter sales</a>, totaling $172.03 million, surpassing the analyst consensus forecast of $171.00 million.
The company revealed significant uncertainty about its ability to sustain operations for at least 12 months following the release of its consolidated 2024 financial statements.
Due to these circumstances, it has canceled the fourth-quarter earnings call that was set for March 12, 2025, and is refraining from issuing a financial outlook for 2025 at this time.
Price Action: IRBT shares surged 21.11% on Friday, closing at $3.70. However, they dipped 0.27% in after-hours trading at the time of writing. Year-to-date, the stock has declined 53.46%, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro data</a>.
Photo Courtesy: DestinaDesign on Shutterstock.com
Check out more of Benzinga&#8217;s Consumer Tech coverage by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/topic/consumer-tech" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">following this link</a>.
Read Next:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://in.benzinga.com/25/02/43589437/bill-gates-on-musk-and-bezos-space-obsession-im-not-a-big-mars-person-its-not-a-very-hospitable-place" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bill Gates Would Rather Save Earth Than Colonize Mars — Unlike Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos: ‘I'm Not a Big Mars Person… It's Not a Very Hospitable Place'</a></li>
</ul>
Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Neuro</a>&nbsp;and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Tech

Media

AMZN

IRBT

XIACY

Amazon Pursued Roomba's Parent Once, But Now The Company's Robot Vacuums Face Heat From Chinese Rivals With AI-Powered Arms

Macro Economic Events

Econ #s

Economics

Reported Earlier, Chinese Unemployment Rate For February 5.4% Vs. 5.1% Est.; 5.1% Prior

Reported Earlier, China Industrial Production Year to Date (YoY) For February 5.9% Vs. 5.8% Prior

Reported Earlier, China Industrial Production (YoY) For February 5.9% Vs. 5.3% Est.; 6.2% Prior

Reported Earlier, China Fixed Asset Investment (YoY) For February 4.1% Vs. 3.2% Est.; 3.2% Prior

Harrow, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/HROW#NASDAQ">HROW</a>) will release its fourth-quarter financial results, after the closing bell, on <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/HROW/earnings">Monday, March 17</a>.
Analysts expect the Nashville, Tennessee-based company to report a quarterly loss at 1 cent per share, versus a year-ago loss of 2 cents per share. Harrow projects quarterly revenue of $58.41 million, compared to $36.35 million a year earlier, according to data from <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro</a>.
On March 11, Harrow announced the execution of a five-year strategic supply and development agreement for TRIESENCE&#xAE;.
Harrow shares gained 3.5% to close at $23.01 on Friday.
Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/22/09/28888638/exclusive-study-finds-benzinga-analyst-ratings-data-yields-market-beating-strategie">Analyst Stock Ratings</a> page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.
Let's have a look at how Benzinga's most-accurate <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/HROW/analyst-ratings">analysts have rated the company</a> in the recent period.
<ul>
<li>HC Wainwright &amp; Co. analyst Yi Chen initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $57 on Feb. 6, 2025. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 60%.</li>
<li>B. Riley Securities analyst Mayank Mamtani reiterated a Buy rating with a price target of $50 on Aug. 29, 2024. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 72%.</li>
</ul>
Considering buying HROW stock? Here&#8217;s what analysts think: 
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="601" src="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/16043905/image-130-1024x601.png" alt="" class="wp-image-826054" style="width:344px;height:auto" srcset="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/16043905/image-130-1024x601.png 1024w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/16043905/image-130-300x176.png 300w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/16043905/image-130-768x450.png 768w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/16043905/image-130.png 1103w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
Read This Next: 
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44326690/top-3-materials-stocks-that-may-collapse-in-march">Top 3 Materials Stocks That May Collapse In March</a></li>
</ul>

Earnings

Price Target

Analyst Ratings

Trading Ideas

HROW

Harrow Gears Up For Q4 Print; Here Are The Recent Forecast Changes From Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts

North Korea, helped by the infamous hacking syndicate Lazarus Group, has quietly become one of the biggest holders of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>).
What Happened: The attacker possessed around 13,518 BTCs as of this writing, worth $1.16 billion, <a href="https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/entity/lazarus-group">according </a>to on-chain analytics platform Arkham. The stash was worth more than twice the amount held by <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44133314/el-salvadors-president-bukele-remains-defiant-amid-imfs-concerns-on-bitcoin-accumulation-it-wont-stop-now-and-it-wont-stop-in-the-future">El Salvador</a>, the widely known Bitcoin-friendly nation.
Lazarus Group&#8217;s BTC stockpile has soared dramatically since its massive $1.4 billion Ethereum (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>) <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/25/02/43901287/north-koreas-lazarus-group-suspected-in-1-4-billion-bybit-crypto-hack">hack </a>on the cryptocurrency exchange&nbsp;Bybit. 
Before Feb. 22, the syndicate owned 778 BTCs, which surged to approximately 14,000 by Mar. 4, suggesting that it laundered stolen funds into Bitcoin.
See Also:<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/24/12/42735744/pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-predicts-doom-for-michael-saylors-microstrategy-as-stock-dips-below-300-in-after-hours-trading"> </a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44267582/us-house-committee-favors-stablecoin-regulation-to-strenthen-dollar-advocates-against-cbdc">House Committee Favors Stablecoin Regulation To &#8216;Strengthen&#8217; Dollar: Majority Whip Says CBDCs Against &#8216;American Values&#8217;</a>
Why It Matters: The Lazarus Group, a collective of&nbsp;North Korean state-sponsored crypto hackers,&nbsp;is considered one&nbsp;of the most sophisticated on-chain&nbsp;operators globally.
U.S.-based agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation have <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/24/09/40725296/kim-jong-uns-north-korea-backed-hackers-may-target-bitcoin-and-ethereum-etfs-fbi-issues-wa">raised alarms</a> about the infiltration tactics employed by North Korean hackers to steal blue-chip cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The U.S. government&nbsp;has also <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm774" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claimed</a>&nbsp;that the illegal proceeds from the thefts are used to fund North Korea&#8217;s weapons and missile program.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $83,644.48, down 0.75% in the last 24 hours, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard?_gl=1&#x2A;380nj0&#x2A;_ga&#x2A;MTEyOTAyOTcxMy4xNzEzMzY0NTYy&#x2A;_ga_V7ZK73W7N0&#x2A;MTcxNDk4MzIzMi42LjEuMTcxNDk4OTE0Ni4wLjAuMA..">data from Benzinga Pro</a>.
Image via Shutterstock
Read Next:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44268317/sec-postpones-approval-of-several-crypto-spot-etfs-says-influential-analyst">Dogecoin, XRP ETF Filings Delayed By SEC But Influential Analyst Says &#8216;Relatively High&#8217; Odds Of Approval</a></li>
</ul>
Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Neuro</a>&nbsp;and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/apis?utm_source=benzinga.com&amp;utm_campaign=article-bottom" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"></a>

Kim Jong Un's North Korea-Backed Lazarus Group Now Has More Bitcoin Than El Salvador

As the AI race intensifies, Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/BIDU#NASDAQ">BIDU</a>) has positioned itself as a serious contender by launching two new models it says rival top competitors.
What Happened: On Sunday, Baidu unveiled ERNIE X1 and ERNIE 4.5, the latest iterations of its artificial intelligence models designed to compete in a landscape dominated by players like OpenAI and DeepSeek, reported Reuters.
"ERNIE X1 delivers performance on <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/government/regulations/25/03/44201104/usa-targets-deepseek-weighs-restrictions-on-chinas-ai-firm-that-shook-nvidias-market-value-by-600-billion">par with DeepSeek R1</a> at only half the price," Baidu said in a statement, describing it as a "reasoning-focused" model with superior capabilities in understanding, planning, reflection, and evolution.
The company also said that it's the first "deep thinking" model to use tools autonomously.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/legal/25/03/44344993/apple-reportedly-fights-uk-governments-unacceptable-encryption-order-behind-closed-doors-no-press-or-public-allowed">Apple Reportedly Fights UK Government&#8217;s &#8216;Unacceptable&#8217; Encryption Order Behind Closed Doors — No Press Or Public Allowed</a>
ERNIE 4.5 reportedly features "excellent multimodal understanding ability," meaning it can process and generate across text, image, audio, and video formats.
Baidu said its language, memory, logic, and content-generation skills are all "comprehensively improved."
The company also touted its model's emotional intelligence: "It has high EQ. It can understand memes and satirical cartoons," Baidu added.
Subscribe to the&nbsp;<a href="https://bztechtrends.beehiiv.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter</a>&nbsp;to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
Why It&#8217;s Important: The new models come at a time when <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/25/03/44254562/deepseek-stays-free-founder-rejects-monetization-plans-new-reasoning-model-amid-alibaba-talks">DeepSeek has disrupted</a> the global AI race by releasing high-performance models at significantly lower costs than U.S. rivals.
Although Baidu was one of China's first tech giants to launch a ChatGPT-style chatbot, widespread adoption has been elusive, the report noted.
Last month, Baidu&#8217;s market value <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/25/02/43765049/baidus-market-value-plummets-by-24-billion-following-ceos-absence-from-crucial-meeting-led-by-chinese-president-xi">dropped by $2.4 billion</a> following the absence of its founder, Robin Li, from a significant meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Baidu&#8217;s Q4 earnings report revealed a <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/news/earnings/25/02/43778265/baidu-q4-earnings-ai-cloud-grows-margin-slides-expects-ai-investments-to-bear-fruit-in-2025">2% decline in revenue</a> year-on-year, although it surpassed analyst expectations.
Check out more of Benzinga&#8217;s Consumer Tech coverage by <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/topic/consumer-tech" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">following this link</a>.
Photo by testing on Shutterstock
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Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

BIDU

Baidu Says Its New AI Is Smarter Than DeepSeek's — And Costs Half As Much: 'Excellent Multimodal Understanding Ability'

Official Melania (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/">MELANIA</a>) dramatically spiked on Sunday after a whale opened a five-fold leveraged long position in the meme coin.
What happened: The official cryptocurrency of First Lady Melania Trump jumped 6.29% over the previous day, while its trading volume more than tripled to $35 million. The cryptocurrency outperformed Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>), Ethereum (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>), and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/doge/usd">DOGE</a>) in the last 24 hours.
The price skyrocketed after an influential trader, who made news for taking a 40x <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/25/03/44348215/bitcoin-whale-takes-332-million-short-position-heres-where-it-gets-liquidated">leveraged short position</a> on Bitcoin, opened a 5x leveraged trade betting on MELANIA&#8217;s price increase.
The position, worth $2.5 million at the time of writing, was opened at an entry price of $0.69135, <a href="https://hypurrscan.io/address/0xf3F496C9486BE5924a93D67e98298733Bb47057c">according </a>to data from the decentralized perpetual trading platform Hyperliquid.&nbsp;
Since opening the long, the trader has made an unrealized profit of over $105,000.
Benzinga Note: Leverage trading allows cryptocurrency traders to open larger positions using borrowed capital. While it can potentially amplify profits, it also significantly increases the risk of substantial losses due to the volatile nature of the cryptocurrencies.
See Also:<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/24/12/42735744/pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-predicts-doom-for-michael-saylors-microstrategy-as-stock-dips-below-300-in-after-hours-trading"> </a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44267582/us-house-committee-favors-stablecoin-regulation-to-strenthen-dollar-advocates-against-cbdc">House Committee Favors Stablecoin Regulation To &#8216;Strengthen&#8217; Dollar: Majority Whip Says CBDCs Against &#8216;American Values&#8217;</a>
Why It Matters: The high-stakes bet revived interest for a coin that has collapsed since its initial frenzy.&nbsp;
MELANIA has plunged nearly 95% from the all-time high of $13.73 set shortly after its <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/25/01/43078040/trump-coin-tanks-36-even-as-melania-trump-launches-her-own-token-top-analyst-says-his-short-is-going-very-very-well">January launch.</a> Additionally, the downturn has wiped off $13 billion worth of the coin&#8217;s fully diluted capitalization, which was now valued at $724 million.
Price Action: At the time of writing, MELANIA was exchanging hands at $0.7246, up 6.23% in the last 24 hours, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard?_gl=1&#x2A;380nj0&#x2A;_ga&#x2A;MTEyOTAyOTcxMy4xNzEzMzY0NTYy&#x2A;_ga_V7ZK73W7N0&#x2A;MTcxNDk4MzIzMi42LjEuMTcxNDk4OTE0Ni4wLjAuMA..">data from Benzinga Pro</a>. 
Photo Courtesy: Evan El-Amin On Shutterstock.com
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</ul>

Movers

$MELANIA

MELANIA Surges 6% After Whale With 40x Short Bet On Bitcoin Goes Long On First Lady's Memecoin

Popular dog-themed cryptocurrency Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/shib/usd">SHIB</a>) traded higher on Sunday, defying the broader meme coin correction.&nbsp;
What happened: The second-largest meme coin by market capitalization jumped 5.45% over the previous day, with trading volume surging 189% to $341 million in the last 24 hours.&nbsp;
In doing so, SHIB became the most successful large-cap meme coin in the last 24 hours, outperforming Dogecoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/doge/usd">DOGE</a>) and several others that recorded losses.
The rally followed a <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/25/03/44348135/shiba-inus-burn-rate-soars-removing-505-million-tokens-from-circulation">massive 62,000% jump</a> in the token's burn rate, boosted by a meteoric jump in transactions on the ecosystem's Layer-2 blockchain Shibarium.
Note that a portion of transaction fees paid on Shibarium are set aside and burned. This is done to create scarcity and, over time, increase the token&#8217;s market value.
See Also:<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/24/12/42735744/pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-predicts-doom-for-michael-saylors-microstrategy-as-stock-dips-below-300-in-after-hours-trading"> </a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44267582/us-house-committee-favors-stablecoin-regulation-to-strenthen-dollar-advocates-against-cbdc">House Committee Favors Stablecoin Regulation To &#8216;Strengthen&#8217; Dollar: Majority Whip Says CBDCs Against &#8216;American Values&#8217;</a>
Why It Matters: Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst Javon Marks maintained a $0.000081 price target for SHIB, which represented a 500% upside over the current price.
"As prices continue to hold broken out, and up since showing responsiveness to this breakout, another nearly +500% upside to reach this target could still be well in the works," the analyst added.&nbsp;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24SHIB&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$SHIB</a> (Shiba Inu)&#39;s breakout target at the $0.000081 level goes UNCHANGED! As prices continue to hold broken out, and up since showing responsiveness to this breakout, another nearly +500% upside to reach this target could still be well in the works&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/HpENwKPFfb">https://t.co/HpENwKPFfb</a> <a href="https://t.co/kNJx4aq8if">pic.twitter.com/kNJx4aq8if</a>
&mdash; JAVON&#x26a1;&#xFE0F;MARKS (@JavonTM1) <a href="https://twitter.com/JavonTM1/status/1901306023106806056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Momentum indicator, which compares the short-term price and long-term price, flashed a &#8220;Buy&#8221; signal for SHIB as of this writing, <a href="https://in.tradingview.com/symbols/SHIBUSDT/technicals/">according </a>to TradingView.&nbsp;
Conversely, the Bull Bear Power indicator, which measures the strength of buyers and sellers, signaled "Sell," indicating that the rally might not be sustained for long.
Price Action: At the time of writing, SHIB was exchanging hands at $0.00001351, up 5.79% in the last 24 hours, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard?_gl=1&#x2A;380nj0&#x2A;_ga&#x2A;MTEyOTAyOTcxMy4xNzEzMzY0NTYy&#x2A;_ga_V7ZK73W7N0&#x2A;MTcxNDk4MzIzMi42LjEuMTcxNDk4OTE0Ni4wLjAuMA..">data from Benzinga Pro</a>.
Image via Shutterstock
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</ul>

Shiba Inu Defies Memecoin Dump With With A 5% Spike — Analyst Says 500% Upside 'Could Still Be Well In The Works'

Young Liu, the CEO of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AAPL#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) supplier Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Technology, has publicly criticized President Donald Trump's tariff policy, warning it's creating chaos for tech giants like Apple and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AMZN#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>).
What Happened: During an earnings call on Friday, Foxconn CEO Liu said the U.S. government&#8217;s tariff strategy is causing major disruptions across the global tech supply chain.
"The issue of tariffs is something that is giving the CEOs of our customers a big headache now," Liu told investors. "Judging by the attitude and the approach we see the U.S. government taking towards tariffs, it is very, very hard to predict how things will develop over the next year."
Liu said that companies, including Apple and Amazon, are actively exploring U.S.-based manufacturing options with Foxconn. While he declined to disclose details, Liu stated that the company expects "more and more" production to move stateside.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/24/03/37848556/nvidias-new-superchip-delivers-8-470-times-the-computing-performance-of-supercomputer-that-jensen-hu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nvidia&#8217;s New Superchip Delivers 8,470 Times The Computing Performance Of Supercomputer That Jensen Huang Donated To OpenAI</a>
The news was first <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cc290f55-e45a-42b1-bf2d-cf323053fade">reported</a> by the Financial Times.
Why It's Important: Foxconn's manufacturing operations are heavily concentrated in China, India, and Vietnam — all of which have been impacted or are at risk of being hit by additional tariffs.
The company is also building a major Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/NVDA#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>) server plant in Mexico.
Subscribe to the&nbsp;<a href="https://bztechtrends.beehiiv.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter</a>&nbsp;to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
On Friday, Foxconn announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024. In the October-December quarter, Foxconn&#8217;s revenue surged 15% year-over-year to NT$2.13 trillion, while gross profit climbed 15.7% to NT$131 billion. For the full year, net profit totaled NT$152.7 billion, pushing earnings per share to NT$11.01—the highest in 17 years.
The concerns raised by Liu echo broader criticisms of the U.S. tariff policy. Previously, in an interview, Warren Buffett described tariffs <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/markets/equities/25/03/44070257/warren-buffett-calls-tariffs-an-act-of-war-warns-they-function-as-a-tax-on-goods-amid-market-turmoil">as &#8220;an act of war&#8221; and</a> likened them to a consumer tax.
Similarly, Anthony Scaramucci criticized the tariffs, stating that the <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/news/25/02/44032329/anthony-scaramucci-says-the-market-doesnt-like-trump-tariffs-compares-trump-to-hitler-appeaser-for-coddling-putin-and-berating-allies">market disapproves</a> of Trump&#8217;s trade policies.
Image via Shutterstock
Check out more of Benzinga&#8217;s Consumer Tech coverage by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/topic/consumer-tech" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">following this link</a>.
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Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Trump Trade Policy A 'Big Headache' For Customers, Says Apple-Supplier Foxconn's CEO: 'Very, Very Hard To Predict How Things Will Develop...'

Investors funneled cash into U.S. equities at the third-highest pace in history last week, with Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett framing it as a &#8220;correction, not a bear market,&#8221; following four weeks of market turmoil.
What Happened: According to BofA Global Investment Strategy data highlighted by hedge fund consultant Seth Golden on Sunday, private client flows to equities reached approximately 2.5% of Assets Under Management in March, marking the &#8220;3rd largest weekly inflow to equities ever&#8221; from BofA clients.
&#8220;Markets stop panicking when policy makers start panicking,&#8221; Golden, chief market strategist at Finom Group, noted on X, encouraging followers to &#8220;follow the fund flows.&#8221;
The massive buying surge comes as U.S. stocks staged a sharp rebound on Friday when the S&amp;P 500 tracked by The SPDR S&amp;P 500 (NYSE: SPY) jumped 1.9%, eyeing its strongest daily rally since November. Despite this recovery, major indices remain on track for a fourth consecutive weekly decline – the longest <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/economics/macro-economic-events/25/03/44338243/wall-street-bounces-back-as-shutdown-risks-fade-stocks-eye-strongest-day-in-4-months-whats-driving-markets-friday">losing streak since May 2022</a>.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">BofA&#39;s Michael Hartnett &quot;3rd largest Buy-The-Dip reign in history last week! We say this is a correction, not a bear market in stocks. Markets stop panicking when policy makers start panicking&#8230;&quot; Follow the fund flows folks!<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24SPX&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$SPX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24ES_F&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$ES_F</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24SPY&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$SPY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24VOO&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$VOO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24QQQ&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$QQQ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24NYA&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$NYA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24NVDA&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$NVDA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24AMZN&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$AMZN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24IWM&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$IWM</a>… <a href="https://t.co/2JO61Nv2BH">pic.twitter.com/2JO61Nv2BH</a>
&mdash; Seth Golden (@SethCL) <a href="https://twitter.com/SethCL/status/1901025515022282952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
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See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/25/03/44349240/googles-waymo-leads-robotaxi-race-with-2-millon-paid-rides-zoox-challenges-tesla-for-second-spot-as-unsupervised-autonomy-becomes-table-stakes-says-gary-black">Google&#8217;s Waymo Leads Robotaxi Race With 2 Millon Paid Rides, Amazon&#8217;s Zoox Challenges Tesla For Second Spot As Autonomy Becomes &#8216;Table Stakes,&#8217; Says Gary Black</a>
Why It Matters: Recent market volatility has been driven by recession concerns, with betting markets tracked by CFTC-regulated Kalshi showing the probability of a 2025 U.S. recession climbing to 37%. The Atlanta Federal Reserve&#8217;s GDPNow model currently forecasts a 2.4% contraction in the first quarter, reversing from a 2.3% expansion in <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/economics/macro-economic-events/25/03/44327908/2025-recession-bets-are-on-fire-yet-traders-could-still-pocket-over-50-gains-if-us-economy-just-holds">the fourth quarter of 2024</a>.
Political factors may <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/economics/macro-economic-events/25/03/44327908/2025-recession-bets-are-on-fire-yet-traders-could-still-pocket-over-50-gains-if-us-economy-just-holds">influence economic outcomes</a>, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dismissed the Atlanta Fed&#8217;s contraction forecast as &#8220;ridiculous.&#8221; Meanwhile, analysts like Chris Zaccarelli of Northlight Asset Management question whether the President Donald Trump administration&#8217;s economic policies will &#8220;lead to a recession or higher growth rates.&#8221;
If the economy avoids recession, Jeff Buchbinder at LPL Financial suggests upside potential &#8220;may be as much as double the downside risk&#8221; over the next 9-12 months.
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Image Via Shutterstock
Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Third-Largest 'Buy-The-Dip' In History — BofA's Sees 'Correction, Not A Bear Market' Amid Wall Street Rebound

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/RKLB#NASDAQ">RKLB</a>) sent a Japanese radar satellite into orbit on Saturday and is now prepping for another mission just three days later.
What Happened: On Saturday, <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/RKLB">Rocket Lab</a> completed its 61st mission, "The Lightning God Reigns," from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand.
The mission deployed the QPS-SAR-9 satellite into a 575-kilometer circular Earth orbit for the Japanese customer Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (IQPS).
It marked the second mission Rocket Lab has executed for IQPS following a launch in December 2023.
See Also:&nbsp;<a href="https://in.benzinga.com/25/02/43456592/tesla-researcher-expects-cybertruck-deliveries-to-fall-in-2025-order-backlog-is-gone" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla Cybertruck Headed For A Sales Crash In 2025? Analyst Sounds The Alarm, Predicts Elon Musk-led EV Giant Will Move Less Than A Third Of Street Estimates</a>
The satellite is part of IQPS's synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation, designed to deliver high-resolution, all-weather Earth imagery.
According to Rocket Lab, the Lightning God Reigns mission is the first of eight upcoming launches for IQPS—one of the company's largest Electron launch agreements to date—with five more expected in 2025 and two more in 2026.
Just three days later, on Tuesday, it plans to launch Mission 62, "High Five," which will deploy five satellites for French Internet of Things company Kinéis. The launch is the fifth and final in a multi-mission deal to complete the Kinéis satellite constellation.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">We&#39;ve rolled out and we&#39;re ready for launch tomorrow &#8211; our second mission from LC-1 in three days &#x1f680;&#x1f680; The &quot;High Five&quot; mission for <a href="https://twitter.com/KineisIoT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KineisIoT</a> is the final in a 5-launch deal to complete their constellation &#8211; though with an instantaneous launch requirement, a weather system… <a href="https://t.co/wjotvWCKaD">pic.twitter.com/wjotvWCKaD</a>
&mdash; Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) <a href="https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1901404741672079788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Why It's Important: Last month, Rocket Lab announced its <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/general/space/25/02/44027404/rocket-lab-q4-earnings-revenue-beat-eps-beat-new-satellite-product-multi-launch-agreement-shares-slide-on-soft-guidance">fourth-quarter financial</a> results, reporting $132.39 million in revenue and surpassing the $130.58 million consensus estimate. The company posted a loss of 10 cents per share, matching analyst expectations, <a href="http://pro.benzinga.com/">according to Benzinga Pro</a>.
RKLB Price Action: Rocket Lab shares rose 7.06% on Friday, closing at $18.81. However, in after-hours trading, the stock was down 0.053% at the time of writing.
Check out more of Benzinga&#8217;s Future Of Mobility coverage by <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/topic/mobility" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">following this link.</a>
Photo via Shutterstock
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Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benzinga Neuro</a>&nbsp;and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

RKLB

Rocket Lab Launches 'Lightning God Reigns' Mission, Sets Sights On 'High Five' Launch Just Three Days Later

Alphabet Inc.&#8216;s (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GOOGL#NASDAQ">GOOGL</a>) (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GOOG#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>) Waymo has established a commanding lead in the autonomous vehicle market with over 2 million paid robotaxi rides across multiple U.S. cities, Gary Black, Managing Partner at The Future Fund LLC notes.
What Happened: &#8220;Many investors argue Google&#8217;s Waymo is way ahead in the robotaxi race,&#8221; Black wrote Sunday on X, noting Waymo&#8217;s operations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Amazon.com Inc.&#8216;s (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AMZN#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>) Zoox is <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/media/25/01/43091062/amazons-zoox-eyes-joining-leagues-of-waymo-in-2025-to-offer-rides-to-public-quite-soon">preparing to launch paid services</a> in San Francisco and Las Vegas, positioning itself as a contender for second place against Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/TSLA#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>), which &#8220;still hasn&#8217;t been approved for paid ride-hailing on public roadways without humans behind the wheel,&#8221; Black stated.
In China, Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/BIDU#NASDAQ">BIDU</a>) has already completed 9 million paid robotaxi rides across four major Chinese cities and is expanding to dozens more, including Hong Kong.
Black emphasized that &#8220;unsupervised autonomy is table stakes for all automotive manufacturers&#8221; – a requirement to remain competitive, similar to smartphone features following Apple Inc.&#8216;s iPhone launch.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Many investors argue <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24GOOG&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$GOOG</a> ‘s Waymo is way ahead in the robotaxi race, having already deployed over 2M paid robotaxi rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and elsewhere. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24AMZN&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$AMZN</a> ‘s Zoox is about to launch paid robotaxi service in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and is… <a href="https://t.co/IboDZfNirC">pic.twitter.com/IboDZfNirC</a>
&mdash; Gary Black (@garyblack00) <a href="https://twitter.com/garyblack00/status/1901300612920177020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/25/03/44347512/wait-tariffs-are-just-a-tax-on-us-employee-shocked-as-small-business-owner-cuts-his-hours-because-of-the-tariffs">&#8216;Wait, Tariffs Are Just A Tax On Us?&#8217;—Employee Shocked As Small Business Owner Cuts His Hours &#8216;Because Of The Tariffs&#8217;</a>
Why It Matters: When asked about Tesla&#8217;s potential advantage with 7 million vehicles worldwide, Black noted that Tesla has not demonstrated Level 4 or 5 autonomy, which hinders approval for unsupervised deployment in most jurisdictions.
Black acknowledged Tesla&#8217;s superior scaling capabilities but expressed concern about &#8220;a lack of marketing skills&#8221; – a sentiment echoed in his praise of Apple&#8217;s marketing as crucial to its success.
The competition intensifies as Waymo expands in Santa Monica, with investment manager Ross Gerber recently describing Waymo&#8217;s performance as <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/25/03/44068902/tesla-fsd-like-a-12-year-old-driving-compared-to-waymo-says-ross-gerber-warning-uber-has-got-to-be-hurting">significantly superior to Tesla&#8217;s Full Self-Driving technology</a>, which he compared to &#8220;a 12-year-old driving.&#8221;
Industry analysts remain cautious, with Goldman Sachs projecting limited initial robotaxi revenue for Tesla of <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/25/01/43036902/tesla-stock-valuation-analyst-flags-long-term-growth-opportunities-robotaxis-fsd">approximately $115 million by 2027</a>.
Read Next: 
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<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/25/03/44348859/trump-says-he-was-little-bit-sarcastic-when-he-said-he-would-end-the-russia-ukraine-war-in-a-day-what-i-really-mean-is">Trump Says He Was &#8216;Little Bit Sarcastic&#8217; When He Said He Would End The Russia-Ukraine War In A Day: &#8216;What I Really Mean Is&#8230;&#8217;</a></li>
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Image Via Shutterstock
Disclaimer:&nbsp;This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

GOOG

GOOGL

TSLA

Google's Waymo Leads Robotaxi Race With 2 Millon Paid Rides, Amazon's Zoox Challenges Tesla For Second Spot As Autonomy Becomes 'Table Stakes,' Says Gary Black

Leading cryptocurrencies dipped on Sunday as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.
<figure class="wp-block-table"> 
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Cryptocurrency</td>
<td>Gains +/-</td>
<td>Price (Recorded at 8:30 p.m. ET)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>)</td>
<td>-1.60%</td>
<td>$82,939.09</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ethereum (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth/usd">ETH</a>) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
<td>-2.00%</td>
<td>$1,899.03</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dogecoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/doge/usd">DOGE</a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
<td>-3.62%</td>
<td>$0.1701</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
What Happened: Bitcoin witnessed a choppy trading day, oscillating between $85,000 and $82,000. The apex cryptocurrency recovered some losses last week, rising 2.21%.
The asset shed over 11% of its value in the first quarter, a stark contrast to the 51% returns it has provided on average.
Ethereum wiggled in the $1,860-$1,930 range throughout the day and was down over 7% in the last week. Its quarterly losses have widened to 42%.
Over $256 million was liquidated from the market in the last 24 hours, with long liquidations accounting for $177 million.&nbsp;
Bitcoin's Open Interest fell 2.76% over the last 24 hours due to long liquidations. That said, the percentage of traders positioned long on the apex digital asset surged to 52%, according to the Long/Short Ratio, suggesting that traders bought the dip.
The market remained in the "Fear" zone, according to the Crypto Fear and Greed Index.
Top Gainers (24-Hours)
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<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Cryptocurrency</td>
<td>Gains +/-</td>
<td>Price (Recorded at 8:30 p.m. ET)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>BinaryX (BNX)</td>
<td>+26.13%</td>
<td>$1.41</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Helium (HNT)</td>
<td>+3.38%</td>
<td>$3.20</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>OKB (OKB)</td>
<td>+3.32%</td>
<td>$48.08</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.71 trillion, marking a&nbsp; 2% decrease over the previous day.
Stock futures edged lower Sunday evening. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures fell 156 points, or 0.37%, as of 8:45 p.m. EDT.&nbsp; Futures tied to the S&amp;P 500 slid 0.45%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 0.51%
The market was coming off a losing week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&amp;P 500 falling 2.38% and 0.75%, respectively.
The Fed's policy meeting will be the focus of this week. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the central bank is widely <a href="https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html">expected</a> to keep interest rates unchanged.
See More: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/best-crypto-scanners">Best Cryptocurrency Scanners</a>
Analyst Notes: Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez described $81,400 as a "big" test for Bitcoin, and if it remains above that level, the apex cryptocurrency&#8217;s upward trend will continue.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bitcoin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24BTC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$BTC</a> big test: $81,400 support! Staying above it keeps the uptrend alive. <a href="https://t.co/bvQgJPHLKE">pic.twitter.com/bvQgJPHLKE</a>
&mdash; Ali (@ali_charts) <a href="https://twitter.com/ali_charts/status/1901227444318949402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Martinez also noted an ascending triangle pattern for Bitcoin, predicting that a "sustained close" outside the triangle [∼ 84,500] could trigger an 8% upside.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bitcoin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24BTC&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$BTC</a> is ready to break out! A sustained close outside of this triangle will trigger an 8% price move. <a href="https://t.co/yxwoYw7MHH">pic.twitter.com/yxwoYw7MHH</a>
&mdash; Ali (@ali_charts) <a href="https://twitter.com/ali_charts/status/1901328496355389600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Another popular cryptocurrency market commentator, Michaël van de Poppe, predicted a &#8220;strong and green&#8221; week if there's no altcoin dump on Monday.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Surprisingly, not a massive dump on Sunday. Big macro-economic week coming up for the markets. I assume that, if we don&#39;t have another dump on Monday for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Altcoins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Altcoins</a>, that, finally, the next week is going to be strong &amp; green.
&mdash; Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) <a href="https://twitter.com/CryptoMichNL/status/1901350504497868803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
</figure>
Image via Shutterstock
Read Next:    
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<li><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/25/03/44348215/bitcoin-whale-takes-332-million-short-position-heres-where-it-gets-liquidated">Bitcoin Whale Takes $332 Million Short Position, Here&#8217;s Where It Gets Liquidated</a></li>
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Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Slide Ahead Of Fed's Interest Rate Decision: Next Week To Be 'Strong & Green' If Altcoins Don't Get Dumped On Monday, Says Trader

On Sunday, President Donald Trump addressed his earlier claim of resolving the Ukraine-Russia conflict within 24 hours, clarifying that his statement was &#8220;a little bit sarcastic.&#8221; 
What Happened: During his appearance on &#8220;Full Measure,&#8221; Trump explained that his intention was to express a strong desire to end the conflict and conveyed confidence in his ability to do so. 
&#8220;What I really mean is I'd like to get it settled, and I think I'll be successful,&#8221; said the president, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5197961-trump-says-he-was-being-a-little-bit-sarcastic-when-he-promised-to-end-ukraine-war-in-24-hours/">reported</a> The Hill. Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, he has consistently promised to quickly resolve the war if re-elected.
In a previous conversation with&nbsp;Fox News&nbsp;host&nbsp;Sean Hannity, Trump suggested a straightforward negotiation involving&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky&nbsp;and&nbsp;Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, he refrained from revealing specifics, emphasizing the importance of preserving negotiation strategies.
Since assuming office nearly two months ago, Trump has prioritized ending the ongoing war. In the Sunday interview, he mentioned ongoing discussions with Putin, describing the situation as complex but progressing reasonably well.
Trump revealed that Ukrainians have agreed to a ceasefire framework and expressed optimism about Russia&#8217;s potential agreement. He anticipated further developments by Monday, emphasizing the urgency of halting the conflict to prevent further devastation in Ukraine.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/25/03/44348262/trump-musk-and-democrats-get-low-marks-on-economy-in-nbc-poll">Trump, Musk, and Democrats Get Low Marks on Economy in NBC Poll</a>
Why It Matters: The probability of Donald Trump brokering a ceasefire in Ukraine within his first 90 days back in office is reportedly increasing, as indicated by data from Polygon (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/matic/usd">MATIC</a>)-based <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/25/03/44264824/can-donald-trump-end-the-war-in-ukraine-polymarket-traders-say-the-odds-are-rising-but-one-question-is-key">Polymarket</a>, a leading prediction platform. Traders currently assign a 36% chance to this possibility.
Despite Trump&#8217;s optimism, Zelensky remains skeptical, citing <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/news/global/25/03/44333033/trump-boasts-very-good-chance-of-russia-ukraine-ceasefire-but-zelenskyy-says-putin-broke-deals-25-times-before">past instances</a> where Putin allegedly violated agreements. This skepticism follows a tense <a href="https://in.benzinga.com/25/03/44064917/trump-says-ukraines-zelensky-is-not-ready-for-peace-after-oval-office-spat-he-disrespected-the-united-states-of-america">meeting</a> with Trump at the White House, where the incumbent U.S. president expressed dissatisfaction with his Ukrainian counterpart&#8217;s stance on peace negotiations.
Image via Shutterstock
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This story was generated using <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/benzinga-neuro">Benzinga Neuro</a> and edited by <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/author/shivdeep-dhaliwal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shivdeep Dhaliwal</a>

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