Federal Reserve Governor Jefferson: No Need to Hurry to Further Cut Interest Rates, Strong Economy Makes Caution Appropriate

Bitcoin miner and data center developer Riot Platforms has released its Q3 2026 financial results. Total revenue for the period reached $181 million, up 1% year-over-year; net profit stood at $4.03 million, compared to $104 million in the same period last year; adjusted EBITDA was $191 million, down from $197 million in the year-ago quarter. By business segment: Bitcoin mining revenue hit $116 million, lower than the $161 million recorded in the same period last year; data center revenue came to $18.4 million, including $7.7 million in base rental income; engineering business revenue reached $47 million, up around 146% year-over-year. In Q3, Riot mined a total of 1,637 BTC, up 16% year-over-year, with per-unit Bitcoin mining cost falling to $39,265. As of September 30, Riot held 2,418 BTC valued at approximately $202 million, plus total cash and restricted cash of $748 million. For the first three quarters of this year, the company sold a cumulative 20,264 BTC, generating around $1.5 billion in proceeds, which was mainly used for data center construction. Additionally, Riot has fully repaid and terminated its $200 million credit line with Coinbase, and released all pledged BTC.

According to data from the BIT Stock Platform, Circle’s US-listed stock turned from gains to losses in pre-market trading, now down 3.18% at $72.83, after earlier rising 3.72%. Its financial results show total revenue and reserve income for Q3 2026 reached $865 million, up 17% year-over-year; net profit from continuing operations was $226 million, up 5% year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA stood at $317 million, up 85% year-over-year. By segment, reserve income came to $658 million, down 8% year-over-year; other income was $207 million, up 627% year-over-year, with $182 million derived from ARC token presales. In Q3, average circulating supply of USDC hit $733 billion, up 8% year-over-year; on-chain trading volume reached $13.9 trillion, up 49% year-over-year; ending USDC market share was 27%, and the number of wallets holding over $10 in USDC reached 7.3 million, up 16% year-over-year. The company has cut roughly 5% of its workforce.

According to data from the BIT stock platform, U.S. stock Meta weakened in pre-market trading, now up 0.61% at $626, after rising as much as 2.53% earlier. In related news, Meta Platforms issued its first euro-denominated bond, attracting a record 53 billion euros in subscription demand.

According to data from BIT Stock Platform, US-listed storage concept stocks weakened in pre-market trading. Western Digital (WDC.O) fell 2.3%; Seagate Technology (STX.O), Micron Technology (MU.O), and SanDisk (SNDK.O) dropped more than 1%, while SK Hynix fell 0.23%.

The Democratic Party secured major victories in the U.S. midterm elections, with multiple candidates explicitly opposing data center expansion winning gubernatorial seats, sparking market concerns over a slowdown in U.S. AI infrastructure investment. Asian chip stocks came under pressure on Wednesday, with firms including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix facing risks of weakened demand for server DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Opposition to data centers centers on issues such as noise, water consumption, energy use, and rising residential electricity bills. Markets worry local governments may tighten project approvals citing power supply, environmental protection, and AI security concerns, leading to delays in new data center construction. However, analysts note regulation may not directly cause investment contraction, and tech firms may shift to self-built power and supporting infrastructure. For South Korean companies, the election results have mixed impacts. The Democratic Party’s control of Congress could check the Trump administration’s moves to cut subsidies under the CHIPS and Science Act, benefiting firms like Samsung with U.S. investments; clean energy tax credits are also expected to be restored, benefiting solar companies such as Hanwha Solutions. Meanwhile, auto tariffs are unlikely to see significant relief, while the South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation framework is set to continue.

Meta Platforms (META.O) plans to raise up to 9 billion euros via its inaugural euro-denominated bond offering.