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Its another bad day for Bitcoin. Over the past 24 hours, the digital token has declined nearly 4.5%, putting it just above $63,000 and within range of its 52-week low. But this time, Bitcoins fall seems to have nothing to do with the token itselfor the broader cryptocurrency market. Rather, its steep drop seems to be driven by three unrelated factors, to varying degrees. Here’s what you need to know: Bitcoin approaches 2026 and 12-month lows Since Bitcoin hit an all-time high of just over $126,000 per coin in October, the digital token poster child has had a dramatic fall from grace. The coins momentum, which seemed unstoppable last fall, has sharply reversed course. At its current price of around $63,192, it is now down 50% from its all-time high. And this isnt even the worst drop that Bitcoin has suffered recently. Earlier this month, Bitcoin fell to $62,353 before rebounding. Now, Bitcoin is again within touching distance of this Februarys low. To be fair to Bitcoin, it isnt the only major cryptocurrency seeing steep declines over the past 24 hours. Heres how Bitcoin compares to other major coins as of the time of this writing: Bitcoin: down 4.5% Ethereum: down 4.7% BNB: down 3.2% XRP: down 4.5% Crypto de-risking may be a driving factor Why are all these tokens down so much over the past 24 hours? Interestingly, the fall seems to have little to do with the cryptocurrencies themselves. Instead, today’s crypto decline seems to be spurred by de-risking activity. De-risking is when investors take their money out of high-risk, volatile assets, by selling those assets and investing the proceeds of those sales into other assets that are considered lower risk, and thus less volatile. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general are high-risk, volatile assets because their prices can swing widely over a short period of time (hello, todays drops and Bitcoins 50% fall over the last six months). Besides cryptocurrencies, other high-risk, volatile assets can include various types of stockslike those in the tech sector. In contrast, safe-haven, low-volatility assets include things like gold and government bonds. High-risk, volatile assets can see their prices swing wildly in response to external factors unrelated to the assets themselves. These swings occur because external factors can introduce significant uncertainty into markets. Uncertainty can lead to losses, so investors try to mitigate future losses by selling high-risk assets to lock in any gains or prevent further declines from affecting their portfolio. And over the past 24 hours, there has been a hat trick of external uncertainties that is likely leading some crypto investors to derisk. Trumps new tariffs, Iran, and AI are weighing on investors minds Over the past 24 hours, three events have occurred that risk injecting significant uncertainty into the economy, and they are likely weighing heavily on the minds of crypto investors. Most significantly of the three is that Trumps new tariffs are now in effect. Last week, the president suffered a dramatic loss when the Supreme Court struck down his signature tariff policy, and thus, the majority of his Liberation Day tariffs could no longer be collected. In response, Trump vowed to use other methods to impose tariffs on countries around the world. Those tariffs, of up to 15%, are now in effect. However, in many cases, the new tariffs’ timeframe may be limited to just 150 days without additional approval from Congress, which the legislative body may or may not give. All this is causing great uncertainty for businesses and governments, and ultimately risks impacting the economy and marketsagain. Also, in the past 24 hours, America is closer than ever to invading Iran. Trump administration officials are due to meet Iranian counterparts in Geneva on Thursday, and if those talks fail, many fear that the president will make good on his threat to attack the country. Many experts say a war with Iran could be a prolonged one, and prolonged wars have habits of negatively impacting the global economy. Finally, yesterday, an announcement from Anthropic spooked investors in legacy SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies. As reported by CNBC, Anthropic announced that its Claude AI could now modernize legacy COBOL systems. COBOL is a computer programming language that has been around since the 1950s and is still the backbone of most corporate systems. After Anthoripics announcement, shares in IBM sank, as IBM generates significant revenue from maintaining these legacy COBOL systems. Now Anthoripic says its Claude tools can quickly Identify [COBOL] risks that would take human analysts months to surface. As a result, IBM shares dropped 13%. But Anthropics news also spooked investors with significant holdings in legacy software companies. Tech stocks can already be volatile, and more proof that AI could have a significant impact on legacy tech companies sent shivers down investors spines. Given the triple uncertainties of tariffs, Iran, and AI, its no wonder why investors seem to be de-risking from volatile assets like Bitcoin in an attempt to protect their gains or prevent further portfolio losses.
Category:
E-Commerce
Neuroscientists have found birding is actually a brain hack. A new study published in JNeurosci, the Journal of Neuroscience found birdwatching may actually alter the structure and function of your brainwhat is known as neuroplasticityeffectively helping to boost cognitive abilities, especially in more seasoned bird watchers. Our brains are very malleable, lead researcher Erik Wing, a research associate at York University in Toronto, explained. Wait, what exactly is neuroplasticity? Neuroplasticity is basically the process or way your brain learns, creates memory, and adapts to experiences and trauma, according to Psychology Today. Research shows that while the brain changes and develops the most in childhood, it continues to do so throughout your life. Today, neuroscientists see the brain as a dynamic and flexible organ, one that can “reorganize connections” through “wiring” and rewiring. How bird watching helps your brain The new study of 58 adults compared the brains of 29 expert birders (ages 24 to 75), and 29 beginners around the same age. It found something interesting: The MRIs of the expert birders’ brains had more density when it came to areas governing perception and attention, than those of the novices. Again, they didn’t divide the two groups based on a person’s agebut based on their birding knowledge and expertise. Birding, which involves deep concentration and the ability to identify different birds, alters brain activity and structure in the same way becoming an expert musician or athlete does. That’s because they all require extensive brain training. So, what did the study conclude? In short, it found the process of becoming an expert birder boosted brain cognition. And while it doesn’t stop brain aging, it does suggest that it could help minimize age-related declines in the future.
Category:
E-Commerce
One of the many constitutional duties of the president is giving a State of the Union address to Congress. Article II, Section 3 only mandates that this act happen “from time to time,” but it has become an annual event. Tuesday, February 24, will technically mark President Trumps first State of the Union address of his second termeven though he lectured Congress in 2025. That speech was labeled an address to a joint session of Congress, so Trump could speak on his goals for his second term. Heres everything you need to know about tonights SOTU address. What topics could Trump speak about? Most pundits agree, the economy will be front and center. President Trump even teased this himself last Wednesday, February 18, at the White House. Watch the State of the Union. Were going to be talking about the economy. We inherited a mess, he stated. This could mean he will spend some time blaming his predecessor President Joe Biden for the country’s ills. Vice President JD Vance also confirmed that economics will take precedence. Youre going to hear a lot about the importance of bringing jobs back into our country, of reshoring manufacturing, of all these great factories that are being built, he explained in a Fox News interview. Recent polling shows the need for Trump to tackle this important issue ahead of the midterm elections. According to a recent Associated Press NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey, only 39% of American adults approve of his economic leadership. He loses a percentage point for immigration. Add these low numbers predate Fridays Supreme Court ruling, which declared that some of Trumps tariffs exceeded executive powers. Either way, Trump is going into the State of the Union with low poll numbers. Are Democrats boycotting the SOTU? The Democratic party is expected to display varying acts of dissent during Trumps State of the Union Address. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries plans to attend, but outlined his expectations for his fellow party members. Either attend with silent defiance or not attend, he instructed. He doesnt want a repeat of last years ejection of Texas Representative Al Green. Many are taking the second option, including Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut; and representatives Greg Casar of Texas and Pramila Jayapal of Washington. These lawmakers are instead attending another event, the Peoples State of the Union, organized by MoveOn and MeidasTouch. This will take place on the National Mall. Another counter-programming event will be held at the National Press Club: It’s is being called the State of the Swamp. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon is scheduled to appear. Additionally, Senator Patty Murray of Washington is planning on meeting with constituents instead. Who is giving the Democratic response? After President Trump has his say, the Democrats have their turn to speak. This year, they have elected Governor Abigail Spanberger of Virginia to represent their interests. She is a vocal Trump critic and is not expected to hold back. Senator Alex Padilla of California will give the Democratic Spanish-language response. Who is giving the Progressive response? Democrat Representative Summer Lee of Pennsylvania will also speak. She will give the Working Families Partys response. Since American politics is dominated by a two-party system, this progressive group allows members to be a part of another party while also closely aligning with Democrats. How to stream the SOTU live The State of the Union 2026 speech is scheduled to begin tonight (Tuesday, February 24) 9 p.m. ET. Most major networks such as NBC, CBS, and ABC will cover the speech, as will major cable networks including C-SPAN. If you have an over-the-air antenna, you can watch it for free on a broadcast network or PBS. Traditional cable subscribers are also covered. You can also find SOTU 2026 on live-TV streaming services such as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and FuboTV. Last but not least, you can easily live-stream the State of the Union speech for free on the YouTube channel of PBS News. We’ve embedded that video below.
Category:
E-Commerce
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