Happy Thursday!

Crypto is now ‘irrelevant’, according to the latest prominent analyst take. No, not Peter Schiff — can you guess who said it?

Apple reports earnings after the bell today and prediction markets are forecasting what Tim Cook will talk about. Here’s the preview.

Plus, Benzinga Edge organizes every Congress disclosure into a live feed so you can follow every move without digging through filings. Unlock the Government Trade Tracker

TOP STORY

Is Crypto 'Irrelevant'? Here's Who Says Bitcoin Replacing The Dollar Is 'Laughable'

Baird strategist Michael Antonelli called crypto "irrelevant" this week and said replacing the dollar is "laughable" — and Bitcoin bulls couldn't be more excited about it.

Antonelli joins Peter Schiff, Michael Burry, and Bloomberg's Mike McGlone in a bear chorus that has historically marked cycle bottoms: Schiff has been bearish since $200, McGlone called for $10,000 when BTC was above $60,000, and Burry's "biggest speculative bubble" call landed in Q4 2025 just as institutions were piling into ETFs.

McGlone's current target is $10,000 under deflationary conditions; Burry compared Bitcoin to tulip mania. The contrarian read is hard to ignore…

SPECIAL OFFER

103M in Congressional Trades. All Public. Rarely Followed.

Congress has traded over $103 million in stocks in the past 12 months — with average performance tracking near 38.40%, even through periods of market volatility.

The same group shaping regulation and directing capital is actively participating in the market. The data is public, but nearly impossible to track in real time. Benzinga Edge organizes every disclosure into a live feed so you can follow every move without digging through filings.

QUICK N DIRTY

Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP are going sideways again as markets await fresh news from the Middle East: here’s what else is driving markets today.

Cathie Wood’s ARK is betting on Robinhood, even as the company filed disappointing Q1 earnings. What’s the thesis?

Ripple is expanding in Dubai, but so far XRP has not caught a second wind because of it. Why is that?

FINTECH FOCUS

Apple Earnings Prediction Market Preview: What Will Tim Cook Say?

Apple reports fiscal Q2 after the bell tonight at 5:00 p.m. ET, and while beating the $1.94 EPS consensus is nearly a given — Polymarket puts it at 94%.

The real trade is on Kalshi, where prediction market traders are betting word-for-word on what Tim Cook says during his final earnings call before handing the CEO chair to John Ternus in September: "China" at 98%, "Tariff" at 96%, "Siri" at 90%, and "Gemini" at just 37% — because if Cook actually names Google on the call, something has changed.

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