The Daily Breakdown takes a closer look at gold and Bitcoin as they power their way to new record highs amid the government shutdown.
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What’s Happening?
While stocks have done well this year — with the S&P 500 up 14.6% in 2025 — gold and Bitcoin have been on a different level, up 51% and 33%, respectively. And now, it seems as though the US government shutdown has only added fuel to the fire when it comes to their rallies. That’s as gold just hit $4,000 an ounce for the first time, while Bitcoin topped $126,000 yesterday and is sitting at record highs as well.
This outperformance isn’t limited to just the last few months. In fact, gold has outperformed the S&P 500 in four of the last seven years, while Bitcoin has done so in five of the last seven years.
So far, both are on track to add another tally to the “win” column this year too.
Time to abandon stocks?
That’s certainly not the implication. After all, the S&P 500 only finished lower twice in the last eight years, while every other year in that span has produced double-digit returns. However, 2025 serves as a vivid reminder that it’s not about an all-or-none approach.
Remember: For investors who can’t trade or aren’t comfortable trading cryptocurrencies outright, they can consider ETFs for BTC and ETH. On the BTC front, IBIT remains the largest ETF by assets, while also supporting options trading.
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The Setup — SoFi
Shares of SoFi have been on fire, rising more than 70% so far this year and more than tripling off the April lows. The recent rally sent the stock above $30 before shares finally pulled back. Now, bulls are looking for support near the $25 level.
While it’s not captured in the daily chart above, traders who chart SoFi’s price action on a weekly chart will also notice that the $25 area was a key resistance zone in 2021. Now that shares are pulling back to this area — alongside the rising 50-day moving average — bulls are hoping it acts as support. If it holds, a larger bounce to the upside could ensue. If support fails, SOFI may need more time to reset after such a big rally.
Options
As of October 7th, the options with the highest open interest for SOFI stock — meaning the contracts with the largest open positions in the options market — were the January 2026 $10 calls, the January 2027 $15 puts, and the January 2026 $20 calls.
For options traders, calls or bull call spreads could be one way to speculate on support holding on a pullback. In this scenario, options buyers limit their risk to the price paid for the calls or call spreads, while trying to capitalize on a bounce in the stock.
Conversely, investors who expect support to fail could speculate with puts or put spreads.
For those looking to learn more about options, consider visiting the eToro Academy.
What Wall Street Is Watching
APP
Shares of Applovin tumbled 14% in Monday’s trading session. While the stock has stabilized in pre-market trading, bulls were caught off-guard on reports that the SEC is investigating the company over its data-collection practices. Despite yesterday’s fall, the stock is still up more than 80% so far this year. Check out the chart for APP.
STZ
Constellation Brands, which is responsible for brands like Modelo, Corona and Pacifico, is inching higher this morning after reporting earnings. While the company beat on earnings and revenue, the company reiterated its (previously lowered) full-year guidance. The stock recently hit its lowest level since 2020. Dig into the fundamentals for STZ.
AMD
After yesterday’s news about the deal between AMD and OpenAI, shares of Advanced Micro Devices ended the day higher by almost 24%. At one point near the open, the stock was higher by more than 37%, hitting a high of $226.71 — just shy of its record high of $227.30 from March 2024. Shares are trading higher in this morning’s pre-market session too, up about 4%.
Disclaimer:
Please note that due to market volatility, some of the prices may have already been reached and scenarios played out.
