MaxCyte, Inc. (MXCT) has been on a downward spiral lately with significant selling pressure. After declining 30.2% over the past four weeks, the stock looks well positioned for a trend reversal as it is now in oversold territory and there is strong agreement among Wall Street analysts that the company will report better earnings than they predicted earlier.

We use Relative Strength Index (RSI), one of the most commonly used technical indicators, for spotting whether a stock is oversold. This is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of price movements.

RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Usually, a stock is considered oversold when its RSI reading falls below 30.

Technically, every stock oscillates between being overbought and oversold irrespective of the quality of their fundamentals. And the beauty of RSI is that it helps you quickly and easily check if a stock’s price is reaching a point of reversal.

So, by this measure, if a stock has gotten too far below its fair value just because of unwarranted selling pressure, investors may start looking for entry opportunities in the stock for benefitting from the inevitable rebound.

However, like every investing tool, RSI has its limitations, and should not be used alone for making an investment decision.

The heavy selling of MXCT shares appears to be in the process of exhausting itself, as indicated by its RSI reading of 23.64. So, the trend for the stock could reverse soon for reaching the old equilibrium of supply and demand.

The RSI value is not the only factor that indicates a potential turnaround for the stock in the near term. On the fundamental side, there has been strong agreement among the sell-side analysts covering the stock in raising earnings estimates for the current year. Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for MXCT has increased 19.7%. And an upward trend in earnings estimate revisions usually translates into price appreciation in the near term.

Moreover, MXCT currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than the 4,000 stocks that we rank based on trends in earnings estimate revisions and EPS surprises. This is a more conclusive indication of the stock’s potential turnaround in the near term. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

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On Dec. 31, 2024, China’s foreign exchange regulator announced new rules aimed at tightening oversight of cryptocurrency activities. These rules require banks to monitor and report risky trades, including those involving digital assets like Bitcoin. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) stated that banks must identify high-risk transactions based on factors like the identity of individuals or institutions involved, their sources of funds, and the frequency of trades. The goal is to curb illegal financial activities such as underground banking, cross-border gambling, and other illicit crypto transactions.

As part of these measures, financial institutions are expected to implement risk-control procedures and restrict services to entities deemed high-risk. This regulatory move comes as China continues its crackdown on cryptocurrencies, which are seen as a threat to financial stability. According to Liu Zhengyao, a Shanghai-based lawyer, the new rules will provide a legal framework for punishing cryptocurrency trading. He explained that using yuan to buy crypto assets before converting them to foreign currencies would now be classified as cross-border financial activities, making it harder to circumvent the country’s forex rules.

China’s government has long maintained a strict stance against digital assets. Since 2017, it has banned initial coin offerings (ICOs), shut down cryptocurrency exchanges, and prohibited financial institutions from engaging in crypto activities. The government’s actions escalated in 2021 when Bitcoin mining was banned, and all crypto-related businesses were declared illegal. Despite these restrictions, China remains the second-largest holder of Bitcoin globally, owning about 194,000 BTC, valued at approximately $18 billion. These assets were seized through law enforcement actions related to illicit activities, as China has not officially bought Bitcoin.

Although some experts have suggested that China could eventually adopt a Bitcoin reserve strategy, there is no indication that the government will ease its regulations. Legal risks for cryptocurrency traders in China are also growing. In August, the Supreme People’s Court ruled that using cryptocurrencies to convert criminal proceeds violates Chinese criminal law. Additionally, the government has increased oversight of stablecoins like Tether, limiting their use in cross-border transactions.

China’s tough approach toward cryptocurrency starkly contrasts global trends, where digital assets are gaining more acceptance. Despite the potential economic opportunities posed by cryptocurrencies, China remains resolute in its policy to maintain strict control over its financial system and limit the influence of crypto in the country. The latest forex regulations are another step in Beijing’s efforts to restrict cryptocurrency use and protect its financial stability.

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By David Ljunggren and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House on Tuesday for his first talks with Donald Trump and bluntly told the U.S. president that Canada would never be for sale.

Carney, who won the April 28 election on a promise to push back against U.S. tariffs and talk of annexation, later said he had also asked Trump to stop referring in public to Canada as the 51st state.

Overall, Carney termed the meeting as constructive, and said the two sides would start serious talks on a new relationship he insists is needed in the wake of the tariffs.

Trump told reporters the meeting was “great” and noted that he and Carney get along.

“I think the relationship is going to be very strong.”

Although Carney has repeatedly called Trump’s actions a betrayal, the two leaders showed little animosity during an opening session at the Oval Office where both men praised each other in front of reporters before meeting privately.

Trump said the two sides would not be discussing Canada becoming part of the United States, but said it would be “a wonderful marriage.”

Carney put down the annexation idea firmly.

“It’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale – ever,” he said.

“Never say never, never say never,” Trump said.

Trump, whose tariff policy has rattled world markets, had said he and Carney would discuss “tough points,” an allusion to the president’s belief that the United States can do without Canadian products, a point that he made at length during the Oval Office conversation.

The meeting never appeared at risk of degenerating into the acrimonious exchanges that marked the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in February. That encounter has served as a warning for other world leaders about the delicate dance they face in negotiating with Trump.

“Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada. Canada is a very special place to me,” Trump said before the private meeting with Carney, adding that the United States would always protect Canada.

The Canadian dollar rose to a near seven-month high against its U.S. counterpart as investors assessed Carney’s visit.

PROGRESS MADE: CARNEY

Carney’s Liberal Party promised voters it would create a new bilateral economic and security relationship with Washington and diversify an economy heavily dependent on exports to the U.S.

“We made progress. We had very comprehensive tangible exchanges and there will be meetings between ministers and officials,” Carney later told a press conference, saying he would meet Trump at a G7 summit in Canada in mid-June.

Given the potential for missteps and unpredictable reactions from Trump, the sense of relief among Canadian officials was clear. One senior member of the delegation told Reuters the meeting was “a 10 out of 10.”

Ahead of the visit, Carney played down expectations of a breakthrough in the talks. Indeed, when Trump was asked if Carney could say anything to persuade him to lift tariffs, he replied, “No.”

A senior Canadian government official said Carney told Trump over lunch the tariffs did not make sense.

Carney told reporters he had asked Trump to stop referring to Canada as the 51st state on the grounds it was “not useful.”

“But the president will say what he wants,” he said.

Carney’s comments about a new economic relationship had cast into doubt the future of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump signed during his first White House term but has distanced himself from. It is due to be reviewed in 2026.

Carney steered clear of suggesting a major revamp, saying only that some things about the pact needed to be changed, while Trump described the agreement as “fine” and “great for all countries.”

In a Truth Social post just before the leaders met, Trump reiterated complaints about the trading relationship.

“We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their energy, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need anything they have, other than their friendship,” Trump wrote.

During the meeting, Trump repeated concerns about what he called the huge U.S. deficit with Canada. Canada’s merchandise trade surplus was C$102.3 billion ($74.25 billion) in 2024, due mostly to American imports of Canadian oil.

Canada is the U.S.’ second-largest individual trading partner after Mexico, and the largest export market for U.S. goods. More than $760 billion in goods flowed between the two countries last year.

The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday said Canada’s goods trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed to a five-month low in March, the month when Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum took effect. Canadian exports to the U.S. plunged by $3.7 billion, the second-largest drop on record.

Trump in March imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports and then slapped another 25% tariff on cars and parts that did not comply with the USMCA.

(With additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Jeff Mason and Doina Chiacu in Washington, Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa; Editing by Nia Williams and Rod Nickel)

Story Continues

A regulatory crackdown, a banking collapse, and persistent inflation seemingly would spell trouble for the health of the crypto industry, but Bitcoin, Ether, and other marquee tokens have skyrocketed since the beginning of 2023.

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Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is up 72%, recently crossing the $30,000 threshold. (It has since dipped below $28,500, as inflation and rising interest rates have spooked investors.) Ether, the second largest, is up 62%, blowing past $2,000 after a successful upgrade to Ethereum, the token’s blockchain. And the total market cap for all cryptocurrencies is up to about $1.2 trillion, an increase of approximately 50% since the beginning of the year, according to CoinMarketCap.

While recent prices for the most prominent digital assets still pale in comparison to their heights in 2021, when the total crypto market cap neared $3 trillion, the price rally has observers questioning whether Crypto Spring has finally sprung.

But is Crypto Winter actually over? Fortune spoke to four analysts to place the current rally in historical context.

“Crypto has worked like clockwork in four-year cycles,” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, a crypto investment outfit, told Fortune.

And so far, he says, there have been three rounds of peaks and valleys.

From 2011 to 2013, the price of the cryptocurrency rose and then fell in 2014 with the collapse of one of the earliest Bitcoin exchanges, Mt. Gox, which went bankrupt after hackers made off with hundreds of millions in customer funds.

From 2015 to 2017, crypto prices increased again, plummeting in 2018 when the era of ICOs, or initial coin offerings, left many investors bereft as many of the tokens they feverishly bought turned out to be quick cash grabs.

And from 2019 to 2021, prices rose once more, dropping in 2022 after a series of high-profile crypto companies went belly-up, most significantly FTX, the bankrupt exchange once valued at $32 billion.

Some analysts have commonly understood Bitcoin’s price fluctuations—and the crypto industry’s growth writ large—to roughly correspond to when Bitcoin is “halved,” or when the rewards for mining Bitcoin, the process by which computers secure the digital asset’s blockchain, are reduced by 50%.

This reduction in Bitcoin rewards, the theory goes, makes the cryptocurrency’s supply scarcer, which thereby increases its price.

“Post-halving, there’s a big rally that happens,” Gautam Chhugani, managing director and senior digital assets analyst at AB Bernstein, told Fortune. “Pre-halving, there’s an anticipation rally that happens.”

Bitwise’s Hougan, on the other hand, believes that the start of each four-year cycle corresponds to technical innovations. In 2011, mass-market crypto exchanges—Coinbase, Kraken, etc.—launched, allowing laypeople to buy Bitcoin with cash. In 2015, Vitalik Buterin invented Ethereum, which promised to decentralize cloud computing. And in 2019, the “first real applications of Ethereum” appeared, Hougan says, including DeFi, or decentralized finance, stablecoins, and NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.

The four-year cycle hypothesis uses a sample size of three instances of price gains and falls, a small dataset. However, if the trend holds, crypto is due for another bull run.

View this interactive chart on Fortune.com

In the near term, Chhugani of AllianceBernstein believes Bitcoin and the crypto industry will follow the peaks and valleys of the larger world economy. However, he’s optimistic on its medium and long-term outlook. “Bitcoin has never had two negative years consequently,” he told Fortune.

Analysts at Bitfinex Alpha, a market research team within the crypto exchange Bitfinex, agree. “While the jury is still out as to whether the Crypto Winter is finally over, Bitcoin network activity is indicating a healthy uptrend in transaction fees,” they said in a statement to Fortune.

And Brian Rudick, senior strategist at crypto trading firm GSR, thinks it’s arguable that the industry is even in a bear market at all. “It depends on what your definition of Crypto Winter is,” he said.

Going by price and sentiment, or how the public views crypto, the chill of winter is obvious. However, going by other metrics, it’s comparatively balmy.

Rudick cited a 40% increase in crypto users in 2022, according to Crypto.com, a 5% increase in the number of developers in 2022, according to Electric Capital, and a 293% increase in smart contracts deployed on Ethereum, or programs running on the blockchain, according to Alchemy.

Despite the optimism, Chhugani, the analyst at AB Bernstein, warned that the feverish pace that saw Bitcoin’s price rise to almost $70,000 in 2021 isn’t directly around the corner. “Regulation remains challenging,” he told Fortune. “So we’re not in the middle of a crazy raging bull market.”

That said, he remains bullish. “​This industry has died like a few hundred times in the last 14 years,” he said. However, despite constant predictions of crypto’s collapse, he added, “it doesn’t really happen.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Earn money on your cryptoassets without doing a thing

If you own crypto, then you could be getting even more from your investments by staking your assets. This is what you need to know:

What is staking?

Staking is a way to earn rewards on the specific cryptoassets you own. It allows you to grow your crypto investment over time, simply by holding the cryptoasset, regardless of whether the market goes up or down – almost like depositing money in a bonus interest savings account. Staking acts as a support to the operation and security of the blockchain network that supports the cryptoasset, and in return offers a reward for your investment. It’s paid automatically and monthly, according to the percentage yield.

Staking can help you use your crypto to generate passive income, with many cryptoassets offering high interest rates for staking. If you have crypto that you aren’t planning to trade any time soon, it’s worth staking it.

How does staking work?

When you stake your crypto, it still belongs to you. You’re pledging your coins to the blockchain, which is essentially supporting the system you’ve invested in. Crypto relies on investors staking to verify transactions and keep the crypto running smoothly.

Can I stake all cryptoassets?

It’s not possible to stake Bitcoin. Staking derives from a Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism which allows blockchain miners to mine or validate block transactions depending on how many coins they have – in other words, the more coins they hold, the more mining power they have. Bitcoin works on a Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism where this isn’t possible. Investors are eligible for staking rewards if they’ve held the cryptoasset for a certain period of time; this differs according to the cryptoasset, but is usually around one to two weeks. eToro supports staking for Cardano (ADA), and Tron (TRX), and plans to support more cryptoassets in the future.

Can I unstake crypto?

Yes, if you want to trade crypto, you’ll need to unstake it. Some staking requires you to lock up your coins for a certain amount of time, so you’re unable to sell them during that time period. When you want to unstake your crypto, there can be a period of around seven days, so be mindful to give yourself enough time if you’re wanting to trade your cryptoassets.

How to start staking with eToro

Staking with eToro is simple and secure; investors’ cryptoassets are protected from exposure against additional risks, and you’re saved the hassle of staking on your own. When you buy crypto with eToro, you automatically receive staking awards from Cardano (ADA), and Tron (TRX). These come through directly, with no action required. In order to be eligible for a staking reward, all you need to do is hold the staked cryptoasset for a certain amount of time; for Cardano (ADA) this is at least nine days, and for Tron (TRX) it’s seven days. Investors also get a monthly email explaining the rewards they received that month, the aggregated monthly yield, the total reward given, and how it was calculated for each of the supported staked cryptoassets. Rewards will be shared in the same cryptoasset that was staked. If you want to stop receiving staking, all you have to do is submit a request, and your crypto will be unstaked.

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Roku

What happened? On Monday, Redburn-Atlantic upgraded Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) to Buy with a $100 price target.

*TLDR: Roku thrives on strong revenue, ad growth. Redburn-Atlantic upgrades, sees 80% upside.

What’s the full story? Roku is printing money, and Redburn-Atlantic is here to explain why. With 11% revenue growth and 5% opex CAGR through 2028, EBITDA and FCF/share are set to explode at 36% and 33%, respectively. CFO Dan Jedda’s obsession with FCF/share is the cherry on top—Redburn-Atlantic sees opex control and margin expansion as a sure bet. Roku’s installed base? Bulletproof. It’s in over half of U.S. broadband homes, making it the ad buy of choice for CTV’s future. Ad growth is pegged at 14%, with six points coming from international. And let’s not forget the $90 million political ad bonanza in 2H24. Advertisers need Roku.

Now, the juicy part. Redburn-Atlantic’s downside scenario—cutting 2027 ad forecasts by 5%, applying a 50% decremental margin, and assuming EBITDA multiple contraction—still only implies 20% downside. But the upside? A juicy 80% to their $100 PT, which values Roku at 18x 2027 EBITDA and 26x FCF. Sure, tariffs will hurt TV companies, but Roku’s price-conscious consumers give it an edge. The stock is already 45% off highs, making this a no-brainer upgrade to Buy.

Because in a world of linear TV dinosaurs, Roku is the comet.

Coinbase

What happened? On Tuesday, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) to Overweight with a $245 price target.

*TLDR: COIN undervalued, crypto backbone, re-rate ahead.

What’s the full story? Cantor is here to tell you COIN is more than just a degenerate gambling den for crypto bros. Sure, it’s the crypto casino king with $1.2 trillion in trading volume in 2024, but the market is asleep on its Base L2 network and its cozy stablecoin ties with Circle. These aren’t just shiny toys—they’re the infrastructure bones of the crypto economy. Yet, COIN trades 32% below historical multiples, screaming “buy me” if you squint hard enough.

The buyside is sweating trading volumes—Cantor’s 1Q25E estimate is $385 billion vs. $416 billion consensus, and 2026E looks rough. COIN’s non-trading revenue streams are the unsung hero, keeping EPS within 1% of consensus for 2026E. Earnings volatility is fading, and investors assigning a low multiple are missing the plot.

COIN isn’t just a cycle play anymore—it’s the crypto economy’s backbone, and Cantor says it’s time for a re-rate.

Bath & Body Works

What happened? On Wednesday, Piper upgraded Bath & Body Works Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) to Overweight with a $35 price target.

*TLDR: BBWI excels in fragrance, Piper upgrades outlook.

What’s the full story? BBWI is sitting pretty in a fragrant bull market. Piper’s thesis is simple…fragrance and body care are beauty’s fastest-growing categories, and BBWI’s vertically integrated structure, accessible price points, and minimal overseas exposure buffer it from macro chaos. Trading at a discount—7-8x NTM P/E, near multi-year lows—it’s an enticing entry point according to the report.

Everyday Luxuries are driving growth, with >1/3 of sales in these categories. Even if the market slows to mid-single-digit growth by 2025, BBWI’s competitive edge ensures it carves out incremental gains.

BBWI’s teen survey results are a breath of fresh air. Male and female fragrance spend hit new highs, and BBWI remains the #1 female fragrance brand, even as mindshare dips. My lady has me buying them monthly. For the first time since 2018, it’s a top beauty destination for females (#3), a testament to newer leadership’s push for an expanded beauty assortment and engaging storefronts.

Piper sees a brand that’s not just surviving but thriving in a crowded, fickle market.

Dollar General

What happened? On Thursday, Gordon Haskett downgraded Dollar General Corporation (NYSE:DG) to Reduce with a $75 price target.

*TLDR: Dollar General struggles as Walmart (NYSE:WMT) tightens grip. Gordon Haskett downgrades DG, citing price gaps.

What’s the full story? The dollar store apocalypse looms. Dollar General’s price gaps are 3x wider than historical norms—music to Walmart’s ears, which is flexing its digital margins, advertising, and membership muscles, which means DG’s squeeze is only getting tighter. Yes, DG’s stock is up 15% YTD, crushing the XRT’s -16%, but that’s just recessionary fear-mongering on discount. Now, with the tariff delay, those fears are on clearance.

Walmart is the predator, DG the prey. If the economy tanks, Walmart will feast on DG’s customer base. Gordon Haskett downgrades DG to Reduce, sticking with a $75 PT. Because in the race between a dollar store and a retail behemoth, the behemoth always wins—and DG’s run looks about as sustainable as a $1 pair of flip-flops.

Verizon

What happened? On Friday, Evercore upgraded Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) to Outperform with a $48 price target. Verizon is also a New Top Pick.

*TLDR: VZ up 11%, tops S&P, lags rivals: upgraded.

What’s the full story? VZ’s stock is up 11% YTD, crushing the S&P’s -10% as investors flock to the defensive allure of wireless—domestic, tariff-resistant, and reliable. But there’s a kicker…VZ is still lagging behind T and TMUS, up 19% and 16%, respectively, extending years of underperformance. T’s executing a turnaround, and TMUS is riding a growth narrative. VZ? Stuck walking a tightrope. It’s the postpaid phone champ, but premium pricing demands a defensive stance in a cutthroat market.

Still, management is delivering: Consumer postpaid trends are improving, Business wireless is gaining momentum, and broadband targets are being hit. The stock’s relative underperformance is overdone, and Evercore argues it’s not pricing in the resilience of wireless service revenue growth, the fiber push, the Frontier acquisition upside, or the $5B/year excess capacity post-2027.

The wireless tide is going out—competition is heating up, and macro pressures loom. But in a market drowning in uncertainty, wireless names like VZ will stay afloat. Evercore upgrades it from In Line to Outperform, pegging a $48 PT—6.5x EV/EBITDA and 11.7x P/FCF on 2026 estimates—vs. T at 6.6x/10.8x and TMUS at 9.4x/15.5x.

VZ is now the top wireless pick and the best Value play at Evercore.

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Story Continues

With the latest transfer, Texas A&M basketball is almost sure to lose every player who served a significant role for a squad that pulled an upset over a No. 1 team this season and won an NCAA Tournament game.

Junior forward Solomon Washington has reportedly entered the portal, On3 reports. Washington, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound Louisiana native, averaged 4.7 points and 5.1 rebounds over 22.2 minutes per game this season.

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Texas A&M finished 23-11 and tied for fifth in a historically deep SEC. The Aggies beat Yale in a first-round game before falling to Michigan in the Round of 32. A little more than a week later, head coach Buzz Williams announced he was taking the same job with Maryland. The following day, Pharrel Payne — another forward — reportedly hit the transfer portal.

AGGIES BASEBALL: Midseason grades for Texas A&M

Even without the transfer news, A&M was expected to have big roles to fill. Eight seniors will soon lose eligibility, including all-time leading scorer Wade Taylor IV.

Along with Payne and Washington, some Aggies who played sparingly, including Andre Mills and Janusz Ratowski, opted for the transfer portal. It’s not an uncommon trend. Xavier will have to replace several players after nearly a half-dozen entered the transfer portal once head coach Sean Miller took the Texas job.

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Maryland, Williams’ next home, lost two starters to the transfer portal after Kevin Willard moved on to Villanova. The Terps are also losing two starters to graduation and star freshman Derik Queen to the NBA draft, most likely.

As of Thursday afternoon, A&M has just two scholarship players — three-star freshman forwards Chris McDermott and George Turkson Jr. — and no head coach. A&M reportedly failed to lure Chris Beard from Ole Miss after a Sweet 16 appearance.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Solomon Washington to transfer from Texas A&M, per reports

Story continues

Fans of “Game of Thrones” will be familiar with the phrase “Winter Is Coming,” which essentially means bad things are coming in the form of a lasting conflict. That phrase became the genesis of another term these days – “crypto winter” – which describes bad things that are happening already.

See: Coinbase Announces Hiring Freeze, Rescinds Job Offers – Should You Move Your Crypto?
Find: Crypto Winter Is Here – How to Manage Your Assets During a Cryptocurrency Bear Market

In this case, those bad things are tanking cryptocurrency values. The two biggest cryptos, Bitcoin and Ethereum, have both plunged by more than 30% over the last week, Time reported. Bitcoin’s price edged close to $20,000 — its lowest level since Dec. 2020 and 70% off its high set in Nov. 2021. Ethereum’s price sank below $1,100, its lowest in a year-and-a-half and more than 75% below its all-time high, which also came in Nov. 2021.

Those aren’t the only cryptocurrencies to hit the skids. Leading altcoins such as Cardano and Polygon are both off more than 60% year to date, Forbes reported. Major crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini have also felt the pain, with both recently announce hiring freezes and layoffs. They were joined by lender BlockFi, which announced its own layoffs. All cited the arrival of a crypto winter.

Shares of Coinbase, the largest U.S. digital-asset trading platform, have fallen 86% from their 52-week highs. The company this week said it will lay off 18% of its workforce, Bloomberg reported. The layoffs follow an aggressive hiring campaign by Coinbase in recent years. This year alone it added about 1,200 employees — roughly the same number it now plans to lay off.

These developments have all contributed to the current crypto winter, which is the term used to describe a prolonged market slump. Since Nov. 2021, the global crypto market has dropped about 60%. Crypto winters typically begin with a dramatic sell-off from Bitcoin highs.

Like stocks, which entered a bear market this week, crypto has been hurt by high inflation and a growing sense of economic uncertainty tied to the war in Ukraine and ongoing global supply chain problems.

“The crypto market was already feeling the effect of world events, especially the Russia-Ukraine conflict that caused turmoil in global finance,” Igor Zakharov, CEO of DBX Digital Ecosystem, told Forbes. “By the time TerraUSD and Luna collapsed and set in motion a domino effect in the crypto world, crypto winter had already begun.”

This isn’t the first time the crypto market has faced a lengthy downturn. The last crypto winter lasted from January 2018 to December 2020 (that’s also when the term “crypto winter” first entered the lexicon). The good news is, that slump was followed by a long and steep growth trajectory for cryptocurrencies that peaked in November 2021.

A Russian billionaire has become just the latest cryptocurrency figure to die under bizarre circumstances in recent weeks. Forex Club founder Vyacheslav Taran, the president of the Libertex Group trading platform, was the sole passenger on a Monacair helicopter that crashed near the French town of Villefranche-sur-Mer over the weekend.

Taran, 53, had taken off from Lausanne in Switzerland en route to Monaco with an experienced 35-year-old pilot before the aircraft went down. The chopper crashed into a hillside in good weather, local reports said.

Adding to the mystery, the France Bleu network reported that another passenger had canceled at the last minute, though no details were immediately available on who that passenger was.

Curiously, one traditionally pro-Kremlin Russian news outlet reacted to news of Taran’s death with an article noting he had “enemies in Russia.”

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the crash, according to local media reports.

“It is with great sadness that Libertex Group confirms the death of its co-founder and Chairman of Board of Directors, Vyacheslav Taran, after a helicopter crash that took place en route to Monaco on Friday, 25 November 2022,” Libertex, which bills itself as a leader in cryptocurrency trading, said in a statement.

The Russian embassy in Paris also confirmed Taran’s death, and said representatives were in touch with his family, according to the TASS news agency.

Born in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East, Taran had resided in Monaco for the last several years, where he was well-known in the fintech industry. His death has made waves in Russia, where he founded Forex Club in 1997 before it went on to become one of the three largest forex dealers in the country and later launched the trading platform Libertex.

“The businessman earned millions of dollars not even as a trader, but by actively involving Russian citizens in currency speculation, promising them fabulous incomes with minimum investments,” Life.ru wrote. “No one knows how much money was pulled out of the wallets of Russian citizens in reality,” the news outlet wrote, speculating that “this is why Taran had many dissatisfied clients and enemies in Russia, who could have very well gotten to him abroad.”

Russia’s Central Bank pulled the licenses of Forex Club and several other forex dealers in the country in 2018, reportedly because the companies’ subsidiaries lured clients to offshore companies.

Taran’s death comes amid a string of fatal accidents involving cryptocurrency leaders.

Tiantian Kullander, the founder of Amber Group, died suddenly in his sleep last week at the age of 30. Just a few weeks earlier, 29-year-old cryptocurrency developer Nikolas Mushegian was found dead on a Puerto Rico beach in what was found to be a drowning.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Each week, millions tune in to the podcast “We Can Do Hard Things,” on which writer Glennon Doyle, her wife, Olympic gold medalist soccer player Abby Wambach, and her sister, former lawyer Amanda Doyle, interview famous guests. The podcast’s title was inspired by a sign with that phrase that hung in her colleague Josie’s second-grade classroom just around the corner from her own at the time. (Doyle was a young teacher trying to get sober.)

But two years ago, the hard things were starting to pile up again: Glennon was diagnosed with anorexia, Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer and Abby’s brother died suddenly. To help Abby through her grief, Glennon left a Samuel Beckett quote on her pillow. Abby returned the favor with a quote about body image. The pattern continued, and the three hosts began collecting nuggets of wisdom from their podcast and other sources to help one another. Soon enough, they’d built up a gigantic digital file full of lessons on grief, body image, health and other topics. That file inspired their book, “We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life’s 20 Questions” (Penguin Random House), a collection of lessons on every life category, answering questions like Chapter 1’s “Why am I like this?” to Chapter 20’s “What is the point?”

For them, the book is a manual for being alive. “When you travel through a new country, you need a guidebook,” Doyle says. “When you travel through love, heartbreak, joy, parenting, friendship, uncertainty, aging, grief, new beginnings — life — you need a guidebook too.” As such, the book offers advice and wisdom from 118 “wayfinders,” many of whom were Doyle’s prior podcast guests.

The Times spoke with Doyle about how she stays hopeful in dark times and aims to raise compassionate, resilient children.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

In the book, Elizabeth Gilbert discusses social media’s negative impact on women. You recently said that quitting social media this past year has been as impactful on your nervous system as quitting drinking. What is your relationship with it like now, especially in terms of marketing your book?

Social media made me feel terrible: [When I was using it,] I felt less human and more angry, and I started to lose my ability to see people as people rather than ideologies. A day after deleting it in the fall, I texted my team to give me the passwords again (which they didn’t). I was reminded of when I used to hide bottles of booze from myself above the refrigerator; the next day, [I would] find myself making ladders out of chairs and pillows to get it. Now that I’m off social media, I’m starting to feel braver about my art, because I no longer worry about how people will respond to what I put into the world.

One of your book’s chapters is largely inspired by the wisdom you’ve acquired throughout your journey with anorexia. What’s it like to be so public about your eating disorder in a culture that stigmatizes mental illness?

I do OK if I am not hiding anything. Recently, I wrote in my newsletter about how when my eating issues pop up again, I worry that my whole family is thinking, “Are you freaking kidding? Why aren’t you over this yet?” A stranger wrote back saying, “Humpback whales are born with one song they sing from the time they’re born till the time they die, and that’s how they locate their family. You’re just a humpback whale.” That gave me such comfort.

The other night at an awards show, a woman said to me, “You look amazing! What is your secret?” I often find people tell me I look my best when I’m doing my worst. So I said, “My secret is that I have anorexia. I have a severe mental disorder. This isn’t healthy, and I’m trying to beat this.” I’m trying to find a way to walk through the public part of it, but telling the truth always helps a little bit.

At one point, the book suggests that our anger can signal to us when things are wrong in our society. Generally, do you stay connected with people whose political beliefs are opposite to yours?

I agree with James Baldwin: “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” If you think it’s OK for a child to be dragged out of their home, put in a detention center and put in a court with no representation or explanation, I’m not interested in building bridges with you.

That said, in a way, I feel less divided now. Human rights have become so threatened that if you’re somebody who wants to protect the most vulnerable people in this country, right now, I don’t give a s— what else you believe. Let’s just band together and fight. The rise of fascism has always occurred when the left was busy arguing about who they would and would not align with. I’m more open now to aligning with people who agree with me about the basics: Children should be protected, people should be able to love who they love, and people of any class or skin color should have access to money, hope and freedom.

You write that you are glad you had kids before you were old and wise enough to realize what kind of world you were bringing them into. What would you say to people who want the experience of being parents but don’t want to bring children up in today’s world?

When I say that I’m glad that I did, I’m really glad. I’m not saying I wish I had known better so that I wouldn’t have. I do feel, especially lately, a deep terror about my children being in this world. I taught them a lot about justice, and now they’re doing brave things out in the world related to justice that are scaring the crap out of me. They’re still young, and it breaks my heart to think about them wondering where the adults are in all of this. Some of the people I know who have the most amazing mothering energy, who mother me the most, are people who don’t have kids. I think that the idea that a parent or mother is something you are only if you give birth to a kid is wrong. There’s a mothering energy that we need more than ever right now, that every single person can unleash in their communities, families and local governments, whether or not they have children.

The last chapter of your book is called “What is the point?” What do you say to people who have all the same feelings as you about the state of the world but feel that working toward change is moot?

My favorite story is about a Vietnam protester who used to stand outside the White House every night with one tiny candle. It looked ridiculous to everybody, and after enough time, a reporter came and said, “What are you doing? Do you think this one little candle is going to change policy?” And he said, “I don’t stand out here every night to change them. I stand out every night so they don’t change me.”

Our job isn’t to change the world. The reason to show up is not to make other people more human — it’s so that you don’t become inhuman. You have to do whatever you can each day to ensure you don’t lose your love, joy, humanity or will to live. That sounds dramatic until you study the rise of fascism throughout history, which has always required a slow deadening, numbing and apathy in people. Whatever you can do to stay believing, stay in love, stay in hope and stay in compassion, is your duty.

Shelf Help is a wellness column where we interview researchers, thinkers and writers about their latest books — all with the aim of learning how to live a more complete life. Want to pitch us? Email alyssa.bereznak@latimes.com.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.