Nasdaq Q2 Earnings Call Highlights AI Monetization and IPO Pipeline Strength

Galaxy Digital, a crypto financial services firm, published survey findings on September 16 covering investment trends in the crypto and blockchain sectors. In the April-to-June 2026 quarter, venture capital firms invested about $5.683 billion in private crypto and blockchain-related companies, up 31% from the previous quarter, while the number of deals rose 10% quarter-on-quarter to 384. The biggest driver of the increase was the concentration of investment capital in later-stage companies, which accounted for about 78% of total investment, and the median funding per deal also reached a record high of about $4.9 million. By sector, companies engaged in exchanges, investment and lending raised about $3.523 billion, equivalent to roughly 60% of total investment, and more than 90% of the money put into this sector went to later-stage companies. Meanwhile, investment in the decentralized finance sector came to about $478 million. By region, companies headquartered in the United States accounted for 73.5% of investment value, but US companies made up only 39.1% of deal count. About $3.9 billion was allocated to new crypto-focused funds in the April-to-June quarter, but the number of funds came to just five, the lowest level since 2019. VC investment in the first half of 2026 reached about $10.018 billion, and if that pace continues, full-year investment would come to about $20.037 billion, approaching the roughly $20.3 billion seen in 2025 while exceeding the levels of the downturn in 2023 and 2024, according to the projections.

Bitcoin rebounded 8% from a seven-day low of about $75,500 to reach $81,800. Falling crude oil prices eased inflation concerns and helped fuel a short squeeze above $80,000. U.S. Central Command commander Brad Cooper indicated an increase in crude oil, cargo, and liquefied natural gas shipments, and Brent crude fell from around $111 on September 11 to about $104, while WTI crude also dropped from $106 to below $100. The Fed raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.75-4.00%, but the crypto market saw $201 million in forced liquidations over 24 hours, with shorts accounting for $112.9 million. A motion to begin deliberation on the CLARITY Act failed by a vote of 49 to 50, and its probability of passage fell from 31% to 7%, while the SEC introduced a five-year conditional exemption for TSV to handle tokenized NMS equities, and the CFTC also sent crypto trading and market regulation proposals to the White House. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of about $159 million on Thursday and $433 million on September 18, marking the first back-to-back net inflows since September 3.