Traditional markets delivered a volatile risk-off warning for digital assets this week, with SoFi Technologies and Sandisk closing lower despite earlier gains. SoFi ended Friday at $15.42, down 1.34% on the day and about 4.9% for the week from $16.21 on 6 November. Sandisk closed at $885.01, a 5.59% drop on Friday, though still about 6% higher for the week from $835.06.
The common pressure point was Nvidia. The AI chip giant announced that CEO Jensen Huang had resigned, with finance chief Colette Kress named interim CEO. The leadership shock hit growth and tech stocks, with Sandisk falling 4.11% on Thursday and 5.59% on Friday. Sandisk's flash storage is tied to AI data centers, so Nvidia’s outlook is critical. Nvidia reports third-quarter results on Tuesday 17 November, with guidance of $108 billion plus or minus 2 percent and consensus near $109 billion.
SoFi also faced macro headwinds. Hot inflation data raised bets on a Federal Reserve rate increase in December, which tends to weigh on fintech valuations and lending names. SoFi’s role as one of six retail brokers for the Anthropic IPO failed to lift the stock: it peaked on Monday and then fell in four straight sessions. Anthropic is seeking up to $64.4 billion in the IPO plus $26 billion in a concurrent private placement, with pricing expected 18 November and first trade on Nasdaq under ticker ANT on 19 November. The IPO is reportedly about six times oversubscribed, meaning retail allocations may be small.
SoFi's latest quarterly results remain strong: GAAP net revenue rose 44% to $1.385 billion, net income was $241 million, and members rose 35% to 17.1 million. Management raised 2026 adjusted net revenue guidance to $5.04 billion. Analysts' average 12-month target is about $21, with a Hold consensus.
Sandisk is also approaching an 8-for-1 stock split: new shares are issued after the close on 19 November, with split-adjusted trading from 20 November. Friday's pre-split close equals about $110.63 on a split-adjusted basis. Analyst targets range from $1,300 at Wells Fargo to $3,600 at Melius Research.
For crypto markets, the key channel is not the individual stocks but the broader macro and AI narrative: rising rate expectations can strengthen the dollar and pressure risk assets, while uncertainty in AI equity leadership may reduce risk appetite across speculative assets.
