Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock has faced its share of turbulence in 2024, particularly after a sharp dip in early August following its all-time high (ATH) of $200. However, recent weeks have seen the tech giant’s stock price regain momentum, bolstered by the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) frenzy that continues to captivate investors.
A Sharp Decline, Followed By A Swift Recovery
After soaring to $200 in early July, Amazon’s stock took a significant hit, plunging to $161 at the beginning of August due to a broader stock market downturn. This dip alarmed some investors, but AMZN has since made a robust recovery. By mid-September, the stock had climbed back to around $187, signaling renewed optimism in its future performance. Analysts point to Amazon’s strong fundamentals and its intensified focus on AI as key factors driving this resurgence.
Wall Street’s Bullish Outlook
Despite the earlier slump, Wall Street analysts remain overwhelmingly optimistic about Amazon’s stock. According to multiple sources, the average one-year price target for AMZN is $222.88, which suggests a potential upside of 19.17% from its current levels.
Notably, the lowest forecast among these experts places Amazon’s stock at $186, a modest decline of 0.55%, while the highest projection reaches $265, implying a massive 41.70% gain. Such predictions highlight the broad consensus that Amazon remains a solid investment, even amid market volatility.
In fact, of the 43 analysts offering predictions for Amazon’s stock over the past three months, 42 recommend a ‘buy,’ with only one urging investors to ‘hold’ and none advising to sell, according to TipRanks.
Expert Opinions Drive Confidence
Key industry experts have weighed in on Amazon’s future, further bolstering investor confidence. Brent Thill of Jefferies, a notable Wall Street voice, labeled Amazon as a “top favorite” stock in a recent CNBC interview. He emphasized Amazon’s robust cloud division and AI advancements, although he slightly lowered his price target from $235 to $225.
Meanwhile, Needham’s Laura Martin reiterated a ‘buy’ rating with a $210 target, and JMP Securities’ Nicholas Jones raised his target from $245 to $265, rating Amazon as ‘market outperform.’ Deepak Mathivanan of Cantor Fitzgerald similarly gave Amazon an ‘overweight’ rating, with a $230 target.
As of pre-market trading on September 13, Amazon’s stock stood at $187.02, marking a 0.72% daily gain, a 6.79% rise over the past week, and a 10.31% increase for the month. Since the start of 2024, Amazon’s stock has grown by 25.15%, underscoring its strength amid broader market challenges.
While the stock has faced resistance at the $200 level, it remains well-supported at $164, suggesting a solid foundation for future growth. However, investors should remain cautious, as market volatility could affect Amazon’s stock price in the short term.
With strong fundamentals and growing involvement in AI, Amazon’s stock is poised for continued success, according to Wall Street experts. However, investors should exercise caution, staying informed of any relevant developments and conducting their own research before making any decisions.
While the token has not yet been launched, expectations are already swelling that the final unlock could bring in $1 billion to $2 billion, if not more.
“We have reached our deposit cap of $500 million. We are thrilled that 1,100+ wallets participated, with a median deposit amount of ~$35,000. Trillions,” Plasma announced.
Amid the headlines and hype, however, a deeper story is emerging. Concerns extend from whale domination and insider access to a growing sense that token launches are increasingly becoming gated events for the crypto elite.
The numbers show that only a handful of wallets accounted for outsized allocations. More specifically, the top three contributors alone deployed over $100 million collectively.
Perhaps more shocking, one user reportedly paid 39 ETH (approximately $104,871 at current rates of $2,689) in gas fees, which secured them a $10 million USDC allocation.
“This guy spent 100k in gas (230,000 Gwei) to get his deposit in for Plasma,” wrote MonaMoon, the founder of the Duck Frens NFT project.
User pays 39 ETH for a $10 million USDC allocation on Plasma ICO. Source: ManaMoon on X
This illustrates the intensity of FOMO and the lengths participants were willing to go to for early access. Notwithstanding, the frenzy has come at a reputational cost. With whales taking the lion’s share, many are calling this launch anything but fair.
“…it’s an obvious skip for the community…Only 100 wallets with $50 million each… these wallets alone will create an oversubscription of 100x… unfortunately, it’s not a fair launch, even though the price is very attractive,” warned an X user before the raise closed.
Despite offering just 10% of the total XPL token supply in the public sale at a $500 million FDV (fully diluted valuation), retail users were effectively pushed to the sidelines. They will likely only get in later, at 10x to 16x the price.
Critics Slam Plasma’s Tech and Tokenomics- ICO Was a Lockout, Not a Launch
This sharp disparity has some dubbing it a “whale sale,” rather than a launch accessible to the broader community. Further, there may be more than just bad optics at play. Crypto trader Hanzo raised serious red flags, suggesting possible coordinated insider behavior.
Hanzo calls out over 100 wallets, each receiving 48 million USDC, before the token even launched, highlighting that some of these wallets approved token interactions before the token contract went public.
“That means insiders had early access to mint and trade. This wasn’t a surprise launch — it was a private party. Retail wasn’t invited,” he claimed.
The mechanics of the raise also raise questions. Hosted on Sonar/Echo, dubbed by some as “the CoinList of this cycle,” a time-weighted share of vault deposits determined plasma’s deposit period.
Participants had to lock stablecoins on Ethereum, with a minimum 40-day lockup. However, with the deposit cap abruptly raised to $500 million and filled almost instantly, many users were left wondering whether this was ever meant to be an open opportunity.
Even the technology underpinning Plasma has not escaped scrutiny. A user broke down the chain’s architecture and found it lacking.
“Plasma is another L1 chain… It uses a ‘classic’ pBFT consensus layer, with Proof-of-Stake… and Bitcoin as ‘settlement’ by simply publishing state differences… It looks a lot like many alt-L1 EVM forks… It surfs on the Bitcoin “side-chain” marketing campaign and is pushed by influencors.. but I am not convinced at all,” the user noted.
In his view, Plasma’s use of influencers and Bitcoin branding is more marketing veneer than technical substance.
What makes this worse is how well it’s working.
Influencers are hyping it. Retail is showing up.
The liquidity is flowing — right where it needs to.
Still, not everyone agrees. Zaheer from SplitCapital praised the distribution, noting a broad holder distribution with over 1,100 wallets and only one wallet holding $50 million.
“All things considered insanely good distribution of holders for Plasma at $500m total size of deposit. Seeing a ton of folks with smaller amounts on here and only one entity with $50m in a wallet. Well done,” he stated in a post.
According to Zaheer, this contrasts with the typical whale-dominated ICOs and suggests a more inclusive allocation strategy.
Plasma’s ICO serves as a mirror to today’s market mechanics, where speed, size, and for some, connections, often matter more than innovation or accessibility.
Whether Plasma becomes a foundational chain or another cautionary tale will depend on the unlock numbers and how its ecosystem fairs beyond the ICO hype.
TradFi’s relationship with Bitcoin continues to evolve, with 34 public corporations now holding a combined 699,387 BTC—worth over $72 billion. MicroStrategy remains the undisputed leader, holding 555,450 BTC alone.
While some view Bitcoin treasury strategies as bullish catalysts, the data tells a more nuanced story: adding BTC to a balance sheet isn’t a guaranteed stock booster. Outliers like Metaplanet have surged over 3,000% since their BTC entry, but many others have seen far more modest gains, or even declines.
Metaplanet Inc.
Metaplanet is a Japanese public company that has quickly transformed from a traditional business—formerly involved in hotel operations—into one of Asia’s most aggressive Bitcoin-focused firms. Its transformation shows how some TradFi players are reshaping their models around digital assets.
Since launching its Bitcoin Income Generation strategy in late 2024, the company has pivoted sharply toward crypto, with 88% of its Q1 FY2025 revenue—¥770 million ($5.2 million)—coming from Bitcoin option premium harvesting.
Metaplanet first added Bitcoin to its balance sheet in April 2024 and now holds 5,555 BTC worth approximately $576.8 million. Since that initial move, the company’s stock has soared over 3,000%, with recent filings showing a 15x increase in share price year-to-date.
The firm’s aggressive BTC accumulation strategy—targeting 10,000 BTC by year-end—has drawn growing investor interest, expanding its shareholder base by 500% in a year.
Despite short-term valuation losses due to Bitcoin price fluctuations, Metaplanet reported ¥13.5 billion in unrealized BTC gains as of May 12, signaling strong confidence in its long-term crypto positioning.
NEXON
Nexon, a major Japanese gaming company behind global hits like Dungeon&Fighter and MapleStory, added Bitcoin to its balance sheet in April 2021 and currently holds 1,717 BTC—worth approximately $178.3 million.
Despite this sizable allocation, the move hasn’t paid off in terms of market performance, as Nexon’s stock is down nearly 29% since the purchase, showing how, for many TradFi firms, crypto exposure doesn’t necessarily translate into equity gains.
Unlike other firms that saw major investor enthusiasm from Bitcoin exposure, Nexon’s value remains more closely tied to the performance of its gaming franchises.
In its Q1 2025 earnings report, Nexon reported revenue of ¥113.9 billion, up 5% year over year, and operating income jumping 43% to ¥41.6 billion, driven by strong performance from core titles and lower costs.
Semler Scientific (SMLR)
Semler Scientific made its first Bitcoin purchase in May 2024 and currently holds 1,273 BTC, valued at approximately $132.2 million.
Since adopting Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, the company’s stock has climbed over 55%.
While smaller in scale compared to top crypto treasury holders, Semler’s aggressive accumulation and performance have positioned it as a notable player in the Bitcoin corporate adoption narrative.
In its Q1 2025 earnings call, Semler Scientific reported a mixed performance. Revenue dropped 44% year-over-year to $8.8 million, driven by declines in its healthcare segment, while operating losses widened to $31.1 million amid $39.9 million in expenses.
A net loss of $64.7 million was largely due to an unrealized loss of $41.8 million from Bitcoin price fluctuations.
Despite these setbacks, the company reaffirmed its commitment to expanding its BTC holdings through a $500 million ATM program and a $100 million convertible note.
Tesla (TSLA)
Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has had a complex and headline-grabbing relationship with Bitcoin since adding it to its balance sheet in January 2021.
Musk, a long-time crypto enthusiast, has influenced market sentiment through both Tesla’s actions and his personal commentary on digital assets like BTC and Dogecoin. Tesla’s stock is up 34% since that initial Bitcoin buy, but the path has been volatile—peaking near $480 in late 2024 before collapsing below $107 in early 2023.
Despite the swings, Musk’s Bitcoin advocacy and Tesla’s early crypto exposure helped position the company as a bellwether for institutional adoption of crypto. Its journey reflects the volatility and complexity of crypto exposure within large TradFi companies, as BTC is up 212% in the same period.
In its latest Q1 2025 earnings, however, Tesla posted disappointing results. Automotive revenue dropped 20% year-over-year to $14 billion, dragging total revenue down 9% to $19.34 billion, well below Wall Street estimates.
Net income plummeted 71% to $409 million, and operating margin collapsed to 2.1% as production upgrades, price cuts, and political uncertainty—including rising tariffs—weighed heavily on performance.
Amid declining deliveries and intensifying global competition, Tesla highlighted progress in energy storage and AI infrastructure.
Still, with shares down 41% year-to-date and Musk’s growing political involvement drawing further scrutiny, investors remain cautious as the company prepares for a potential robotaxi launch in June.
Block Inc. (Formerly Square)
Block Inc., co-founded by Jack Dorsey, added Bitcoin to its balance sheet in October 2022 and currently holds 8,485 BTC, worth approximately $881 million.
Known for its early embrace of Bitcoin and crypto integration through Cash App, Block has positioned itself as one of the most prominent corporate Bitcoin holders.
Since its initial BTC acquisition, the stock has risen just 3.8%, reflecting a turbulent journey, peaking above $100 in December 2024, but also dropping to around $38.5 in November 2023 amid broader tech sector volatility and macroeconomic headwinds for TradFi.
Block’s Q1 2025 earnings revealed a mixed picture. The company missed both revenue and profit expectations, posting $5.77 billion in revenue versus the $6.2 billion expected.
Despite a 9% rise in gross profit to $2.29 billion, guidance for the rest of the year was cut due to macro uncertainty, including the impact of new tariffs.
Cash App’s gross profit rose 10% to $1.38 billion, thanks to the launch of Afterpay’s buy-now-pay-later feature and the expansion of its lending program under FDIC approval.
However, gross payment volume increased, and international exposure now accounts for 18% of the total volume.
While Block posted its most profitable quarter to date, shares are down 31% year-to-date, and investors remain cautious as the company prepares to deliver its first Bitcoin mining chips later this year.
(@DeFi_Hanzo) 
