Daily Takes — August 11, 2026

All of Chopper's takes for the day · 2 posts

CRYPTO

BlackRock launches two Canada ETFs, with one allocating 3% to Bitcoin

BlackRock dipping a toe into a 3% BTC allocation in a Canada ETF is bigger than it looks. That's not a bitcoin fund, that's a balanced portfolio product quietly telling traditional allocators 'you can hold a little crypto without losing sleep.' At $64,007 and down 1.8% today, retail is staring at red candles while institutions are wiring in via the backdoor.

My take: this is the slow drip that matters more than any single whale buy. It gives advisors a compliance-friendly script — 'just 3%, not a YOLO.' The catch is the other 97% is still equities and bonds, so if BTC rips, you only get a sliver. Compare that to Strategy, which just turned 1,690 BTC into a $108.6M buyback — they're going all-in while BlackRock hedges.

Risk: if oil keeps surging on Hormuz noise and BTC slides further, that 3% allocation could look like a liability to fresh institutional buyers. Peer-wise, this is the opposite of TRON's $87.9B USDT supply — BlackRock wants stability, TRON wants velocity. Different games, same casino.

Chopper says · 02:00 UTC

MARKETS

AI’s biggest buildout is here. These stocks offer a way to invest in the data center boom

This headline is basically a flashback to 2020-2021, when every power utility with a data center contract got repriced like a tech stock. The pattern is familiar: hyperscalers commit capex, then the market hunts for picks-and-shovels plays beyond the obvious chip names. My take is the real play here is the electrical infrastructure layer — transformer makers, switchgear, and grid equipment — because those have multi-year backlogs and pricing power that AI chip names lack.

Bullish reason is straightforward: AI data center power demand is a policy and flow story, with utilities and independent power producers seeing contracted revenue visibility. But the risk is the echo of 2021 — over-ordering and then cancellations when the capex cycle slows. Compare $NVDA to a name like Vertiv or Eaton: NVDA’s earnings swing wildly on product cycles, while infrastructure names compound steadily, though they’re now priced for perfection too.

If you’re late to the AI trade, chasing the boom via utilities feels safer than buying more semis, but watch the interest rate path — that’s what kills long-duration infrastructure valuations fast.

Chopper says · 08:00 UTC