# Nvidia and AI Infrastructure Stocks Rebound as Circle Slides and Bitcoin Holds $80,000

> Energy, earnings and borrowing costs are driving a divided market. Our latest snapshot tracks the moves across stocks, crypto-linked companies and major tokens—and what investors should watch next.

By Sasha Steenkamp · October 26, 2026

Canonical: https://blockster.com/nvidia-ai-stocks-crypto-bitcoin-market-report-october-26-2026

Monday’s market offered something for bargain hunters—and plenty of reasons to stay selective.

Nvidia climbed. CoreWeave bounced. United Airlines gained as oil prices eased. But Coinbase, Circle and Strategy fell, even with Bitcoin trading above $80,000.

At approximately **11:33 a.m. ET**, the Nasdaq Composite was up **1.23%**, the S&P 500 gained **0.90%**, and the Dow added **0.33%**.

The more revealing numbers sit underneath those gains. Several AI infrastructure stocks were recovering from steep monthly losses. Crypto-linked shares were moving in opposite directions. And energy companies offered very different investment stories depending on whether they sell oil, service drilling operations or supply electricity.

For investors building a watchlist, the useful question is becoming more specific: **Which businesses are turning demand into earnings—and how much optimism is already in the share price?**

## Stocks: A Rebound With Some Big Exceptions

CoreWeave led the gains in this selection, followed by United Airlines and Nvidia. Verizon moved lower, while Meta recovered enough to trade slightly higher.

| Company | Price | Today | 30-day window | Quarter to date | Year to date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CoreWeave (CRWV) | $57.32 | +5.68% | −34.56% | −34.21% | −19.96% |
| United Airlines (UAL) | $101.58 | +3.73% | −10.89% | −8.45% | −9.16% |
| Nvidia (NVDA) | $216.29 | +2.52% | −3.90% | −5.30% | +15.97% |
| Exxon Mobil (XOM) | $183.65 | +0.24% | +14.36% | +12.84% | +52.61% |
| Meta (META) | $644.10 | +0.23% | −14.31% | −11.18% | −2.42% |
| Constellation Energy (CEG) | $253.56 | +0.04% | −3.69% | −0.18% | −28.22% |
| SLB (SLB) | $52.07 | −1.88% | +1.02% | +6.87% | +35.66% |
| Verizon (VZ) | $43.55 | −2.50% | −7.51% | −5.07% | +6.91% |

_Source:_ _[Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/)_ _quote and historical-price data, approximately 11:33 a.m. ET on October 26. Returns exclude dividends; methodology appears below._

Falling oil prices helped businesses with large fuel bills, including airlines. Verizon faced a different problem: its quarterly revenue missed expectations even though profit exceeded forecasts, according to [AP’s market reporting](https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-oil-earnings-trump-be3a56f58a77c5be863f0289d280be92). That distinction helps explain why a generally positive session still produced individual losers.

CoreWeave’s recovery also needs perspective. A gain of nearly 6% is substantial for one session, but the shares remained roughly **35% below their late-September level**.

That is the difference between catching a bounce and recovering an investment.

## AI Stocks: Demand Is Only Half the Investment Case

The debate on financial television has become more pointed.

On CNBC’s October 22 [The Exchange](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/capital-concerns-hammer-the-ai-trade-10-22-26/id496189056?i=1000797660772), the discussion centered on Jensen Huang’s assessment that demand for specialized AI cloud providers was strong while financing remained constrained. On [Fox Business](https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6407288016112) the following day, strategist Mike Lee argued that AI adoption remained early despite the selloff.

Both ideas can be true. Companies may want more computing power while the businesses supplying it struggle to finance new facilities.

For an investor, the distinction matters. A chip supplier earns revenue by selling equipment. A cloud operator buys that equipment, installs it, pays for electricity and tries to rent enough capacity to cover those costs. Strong demand does not give both businesses identical economics.

Elon Musk added to that debate over the weekend, arguing that AI cloud providers without substantial revenue from other businesses face a financing squeeze. His assessment is a competitor’s view, rather than a verdict on every company in the sector.

[Post from @elonmusk on X](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2114434646914068862)

Monday’s rebound shows investors are still willing to buy some of those shares. The longer-term declines show how much confidence has already been lost.

As [Blockster’s latest AI investment analysis](https://blockster.com/ai-investment-anthropic-meta-deutsche-bank-oracle) explores, the next test is whether this enormous spending produces enough customer revenue and cash to justify it. For the watchlist, that means tracking financing costs, customer commitments and facility delivery alongside sales growth.

## Energy: Oil Services and Electricity Offer Different Opportunities

Energy deserves attention beyond the daily oil-price headline.

On CNBC’s October 23 [Fast Money](https://pod.wave.co/podcast/cnbcs-fast-money-1/parts-of-tech-showing-strength-amid-sell-off-and-a-catch-up-call-in-oil-102326), Carter Braxton Worth highlighted oil-services companies as a potential catch-up trade relative to larger oil producers. Tim Seymour favored **SLB**, pointing to its business and improving Middle East activity. Those were the panelists’ investment views.

[SLB’s own results](https://investorcenter.slb.com/news-releases/news-release-details/slb-announces-third-quarter-2026-results) give investors something concrete to examine. Third-quarter revenue reached **$9.45 billion**, up approximately **6%** from a year earlier. Its Data Center Solutions revenue increased **76%**, although costs from starting new projects weighed on that business grouping’s sequential profitability.

That creates an interesting overlap: a company best known for oilfield services is also participating in data-center construction.

> “AI is driving unprecedented investment in data center infrastructure”
>
> — Olivier Le Peuch, SLB CEO, [October 23 earnings release](https://investorcenter.slb.com/news-releases/news-release-details/slb-announces-third-quarter-2026-results)

SLB nevertheless traded lower Monday. Growing demand and a falling share price can coexist, particularly when investors are also weighing margins, expectations and the stock’s earlier gains.

Electricity generation offers another route. [Fox Business’s October 23 coverage](https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6407293317112) featured Apollo CEO Marc Rowan discussing investment needed to meet rising data-center power demand.

**Constellation Energy** provides a company-specific example. Its [October 6 agreement with Google](https://investors.constellationenergy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/google-and-constellation-announce-landmark-agreement-bring-890) includes a 20-year power purchase arrangement supporting **890 megawatts of additional nuclear capacity** through upgrades at existing plants. This is an earlier announcement underpinning the investment case, rather than a new Monday catalyst.

The distinction is useful when comparing stocks. Exxon’s exposure includes oil and gas production. SLB depends on customers buying equipment and services. Constellation sells electricity. Each offers exposure to energy demand, but their profits respond to different prices, contracts and costs.

## Crypto Stocks: Infrastructure Rallies While Trading Platforms Fall

Crypto-linked shares showed an even sharper split.

Hut 8, IREN and Galaxy rose, while Circle suffered the largest decline in this group. Coinbase, Robinhood and Strategy also traded lower.

| Company | Price | Today | 30-day window | Quarter to date | Year to date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hut 8 (HUT) | $65.89 | +7.61% | −31.95% | −23.47% | +43.43% |
| IREN (IREN) | $26.45 | +6.18% | −40.07% | −35.31% | −29.98% |
| Galaxy Digital (GLXY) | $15.41 | +4.97% | −36.43% | −32.23% | −31.08% |
| Strategy (MSTR) | $144.29 | −1.18% | −9.03% | −5.75% | −5.04% |
| Robinhood (HOOD) | $93.86 | −1.27% | −21.39% | −16.57% | −17.01% |
| Coinbase (COIN) | $161.86 | −1.58% | −17.04% | −13.17% | −28.43% |
| Circle (CRCL) | $81.08 | −5.62% | −8.90% | −1.33% | +2.24% |

_Source:_ _[Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/)__, approximately 11:33 a.m. ET. These companies have different business models; this is a selected watchlist._

The gains in infrastructure names come after substantial declines. IREN remained down about **40%** over the 30-day window, while Galaxy and Hut 8 were each down more than **30%**.

As [Blockster’s previous market report](https://blockster.com/ai-stocks-rebound-earnings-spending-october-19-2026) explained, this group spans trading platforms, stablecoin infrastructure, Bitcoin treasury companies and businesses expanding into AI computing. Buying one does not provide the same exposure as buying another.

Strategy supplied Monday’s clearest company-specific development. It disclosed **$204.9 million in repurchases of STRC preferred shares** during October 19–25, while making no Bitcoin purchases or sales. Its Bitcoin holdings remained **848,517 BTC**, according to its [October 26 filing](https://www.strategy.com/press/strategy-repurchases-205-million-of-strc_10-26-2026).

The decision puts capital allocation in focus. Management used cash to buy back preferred securities rather than increase its Bitcoin holdings during that period. For common shareholders, the investment case therefore involves the company’s financing obligations and share structure as well as Bitcoin’s price.

[Post from @saylor on X](https://twitter.com/saylor/status/2114701492443635943)

Circle’s decline offers another reminder that a stablecoin business’s shares can be volatile even when its core product is designed to maintain a stable value. Monday’s price move alone does not establish a company-specific cause.

## Crypto: Bitcoin Holds $80,000, but the Monthly Picture Remains Weak

Bitcoin traded around **$80,462**, with modest gains across the selected major cryptocurrencies relative to their previous UTC daily closes.

Those green daily figures sit against losses across every token in the 30-day column.

| Asset | Price | Daily change\* | 30-day window | Quarter to date | Year to date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $80,462.06 | +0.55% | −4.67% | −3.70% | −8.05% |
| Ether (ETH) | $2,331.28 | +0.19% | −13.50% | −13.13% | −21.43% |
| Solana (SOL) | $102.16 | +0.93% | −15.87% | −13.42% | −17.93% |
| XRP (XRP) | $1.2996 | +0.40% | −14.95% | −12.68% | −29.37% |
| Chainlink (LINK) | $11.574 | +1.22% | −18.23% | −19.39% | −5.04% |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $0.07789 | +1.36% | −19.51% | −17.55% | −33.59% |

_Source:_ _[Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/)__, approximately 11:33 a.m. ET. Daily change compares with the October 25 UTC close, rather than a rolling 24-hour return._

Bitcoin has held up better than the other assets shown over the past month. Ether, Solana and XRP remained down roughly **13%–16%**, while Chainlink and Dogecoin had lost still more.

That matters for investors tempted to read every positive session as the beginning of a broad recovery. The evidence of sustained improvement would be stronger if gains spread across assets and persisted beyond a single trading day.

## What Investors Should Watch Next

This week brings several tests that could change the picture quickly:

- **The Federal Reserve, October 28:** Its [two-day meeting](https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/2026-october.htm?view=calendar) ends Wednesday. The decision and guidance will help shape borrowing costs across stocks, crypto and the AI buildout.
- **Microsoft and Alphabet, October 28:** Cloud growth, AI spending and profitability will help investors assess demand reaching suppliers and infrastructure operators. Both [Microsoft](https://news.microsoft.com/source/2026/10/07/microsoft-announces-quarterly-earnings-release-date-69/) and [Alphabet](https://www.publicnow.com/view/44136C85C4D5D099F2F1F5740EF199299B51D499) have announced Wednesday results.
- **Amazon, October 29:** AWS growth and investment plans offer another important view of the computing market in its [Thursday earnings release](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2026/10/amazon-com-to-webcast-third-quarter-2026-financial-results-conference-call).

Monday’s numbers leave investors with several distinct opportunities to investigate: recovering chip stocks, heavily discounted infrastructure names, energy businesses with tangible demand, and crypto companies making different choices about capital.

**The next earnings reports need to show which of those businesses are improving fast enough to support their share prices.**

_Methodology: Prices were recorded around 11:33 a.m. ET on October 26, 2026, and are intraday snapshots. Stock daily changes use October 23 closing prices. The 30-day window uses September 25 stock closes because September 26 was a Saturday; crypto comparisons use September 26 UTC closes. Quarter-to-date and year-to-date returns use September 30, 2026, and December 31, 2025, closes. Returns exclude dividends._