Live markets: Bitcoin trades above $65,000 as Alphabet's bigger AI bill props up the chip trade
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- Bitcoin traded near $65,400 on Thursday, down 0.3% on the day and up 1.4% on the week per CoinDesk data, staying quiet through Alphabet's earnings.
- Alphabet reported quarterly revenue up 24% to $119.8 billion, with cloud growth of 82%, both ahead of expectations, but lifted its 2026 capital spending forecast to $195–$205 billion from $180–$190 billion, citing a "supply-constrained" scramble to meet AI demand.
- Alphabet's stock fell after hours as investors weighed the heavier capex bill against slimmer free cash flow, despite the revenue beat.
- Asian chipmakers rallied on bets they will capture some of Alphabet's spending, with the Kospi up 3.6% and Samsung and SK Hynix both up more than 2%.
- Ether held near $1,916, XRP at $1.13, and Solana at $77, while Hyperliquid was the outlier, down 11% on the week.
- Oil kept climbing, extending a July rally that has revived inflation worries, with the Federal Reserve's July 28–29 meeting cited as the next market test.
Why it matters: Alphabet's $10 billion-plus capex hike for 2026 directly funnels demand into the chip supply chain, lifting Samsung and SK Hynix more than 2% on the day and pushing the Kospi up 3.6%. The 'supply-constrained' framing signals chip bottlenecks remain unresolved, which is bullish for memory and advanced-node suppliers even as it compresses Alphabet's own free cash flow. With oil extending a July rally and reviving inflation worries, the Fed's July 28–29 meeting becomes the next decisive test for risk assets.
