Evening digest: Bitcoin rebounds, silver hits records, Marvell makes a major AI power play

Crypto and commodities stole the spotlight today, with Bitcoin reclaiming momentum above $93,000 and silver smashing fresh all-time highs after doubling this year.

Markets also got a surprise from the Federal Reserve, which appears to be digging itself out of years of pandemic-era losses, while Marvell’s bold multibillion-dollar AI acquisition turned heads on Wall Street.

With rate-cut bets rising and liquidity flowing again, investors are leaning into a risk-on mood as the year winds down.

Marvell bets big on AI

Marvell Technology made a big move: the company announced its purchase of AI-chip startup Celestial AI in a deal worth $3.25 billion upfront, paid in a mix of cash and stock.

There’s also a chance the total could climb to $5.5 billion if Celestial hits certain revenue goals through 2029.

Celestial’s standout tech is its Photonic Fabric, basically an optical interconnect system that uses light to connect AI chips and memory.

It’s designed to move data faster and more efficiently, which is a huge deal for next-gen AI data centers. Marvell says this gives them a major boost in scaling AI connectivity.

CEO Matt Murphy called the acquisition transformative for the company’s AI infrastructure ambitions, especially with demand for AI hardware exploding.

Investors seemed to like the news too: Marvell’s stock jumped about 13% after earnings, and the company is expecting data-center revenue to grow around 25%.

Fed losses start easing

New data from the Federal Reserve shows the central bank has finally stopped racking up the huge operating losses it’s been dealing with for the past three years.

Those losses came from its pandemic-era bond buying and the rapid series of rate hikes that followed.

Since early November, the Fed’s “deferred asset," basically an accounting measure of how deep the losses are, has actually started to shrink.

It’s down about $6 billion, sitting at $243.2 billion as of November 26. The main reason: rate cuts have reduced how much the Fed has to pay banks on their reserves.

It’s not a full comeback story yet, but the shift suggests the Fed could be on its way back to profitability. Regional Fed banks might even post over $2 billion in combined profits this quarter.

Still, it could take years before the Fed fully recovers and starts sending money back to the Treasury again.

Silver’s record-breaking surge

Silver hit a new all-time high on Wednesday, and it’s been on an absolute tear this year. Prices have doubled, soaring about 100% year-to-date, which actually puts silver ahead of gold’s already impressive 60% gain.

The metal was trading around $58.79 an ounce, fueled by a mix of tightening supply and investors piling into precious metals during a stretch of economic uncertainty.

It’s not just financial buyers driving the rally, though. Industrial demand has been strong too, especially from the solar and EV sectors, which rely heavily on silver. That steady demand backdrop is giving prices even more support.

On top of that, expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates, along with a weaker US dollar, have made silver even more attractive as a safe-haven play.

Bitcoin eyes $100K again

Bitcoin blasted past $93,000 on Wednesday, giving traders fresh hope for a classic Santa Claus rally, especially after the crypto dropped 18% in November.

Analysts say this breakout opens the door for another shot at the big milestone: $100,000.

A few catalysts are helping the momentum. Vanguard finally rolled out its crypto product, Bank of America suggested a 4% crypto allocation in portfolios, and recent upgrades on Ethereum have boosted overall market sentiment.

On top of that, Bitcoin reserves on exchanges have fallen to 2.19 million BTC, the lowest in years, which tightens supply and amps up buying pressure.

Macro conditions are adding fuel too. With the Fed wrapping up quantitative tightening and injecting about $13.5 billion in liquidity, markets are leaning bullish.

Prediction markets now see an 80% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut on December 10, and there’s even chatter about Kevin Hassett potentially becoming a pro-crypto successor to the current Fed Chair.