Embracing the Future: Transforming Investment with Cutting-Edge Technology and Innovation
Hello, outstanding students of the Diamond Ridge Financial Academy!
I’m Charles Hanover. It’s an honour to meet you all here as we embark on this incredible journey of knowledge and growth together.
The world is like a thick book, and investing in yourself unlocks its most exciting chapters. By joining the Diamond Ridge Financial Academy, you’ve chosen to gain a higher perspective, a “bird’s-eye view” of the global economy, spotting its patterns and trends. Next, let’s start tonight’s discussion by analyzing today’s UK stock market.
The UK stock market performed as expected today, remaining overall weak. The FTSE 100 index saw little movement, with energy and financial sectors showing relative strength, mainly benefiting from a rebound in international oil prices and a weaker pound. Stocks of major energy companies like Shell and BP rose, contributing significantly to the index’s gains. A weaker pound also benefited export-oriented companies, which slightly boosted market confidence.
However, persistent issues like slowing UK economic growth, high inflation and weak consumer spending continue to weigh on market sentiment. In the afternoon, influenced by volatility in the US stock market, the FTSE 100 index followed the downward trend, closing down 0.28%, reflecting ongoing concerns about the UK’s economic outlook.
In contrast to the UK market, the US stock market showed a “rise and fall” pattern today. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices all saw slight gains in the morning, led by a strong performance in the tech sector. This was mainly due to better-than-expected earnings from major tech companies, which boosted investor confidence. Additionally, the US PPI data (up 3.3% year over year) came in higher than the previous reading but lower than market expectations, easing fears of aggressive Fed rate hikes and pushing indices higher.
However, this rally didn't last. The Trump administration's upcoming clear tariff policies quickly triggered panic selling in the market. Investors worried that the tariff policies would drive up inflation, hurt economic growth and further increase business costs. This news hit the market fast, causing the three major indices to pull back sharply from their early gains. Their gains narrowed significantly, and some individual stocks even saw noticeable declines.
This shows that although the solid fundamentals of tech stocks and the slightly lower-than-expected PPI data brought short-term benefits to the market, geopolitical risks and uncertainties in trade policies remain the core factors driving the future direction of the US stock market. The market's cautious approach to the Trump administration's policies and their potential economic impact is evident. This uncertainty is one of the main reasons behind recent market volatility.
Recently, the questions students have asked me the most are: how long will Trump’s tariffs impact last? Why have the Los Angeles wildfires lasted so long? These seemingly unrelated issues and the recent sharp declines in global mainstream assets all reflect the widespread impact of economic conflicts on market sentiment. To understand the essence of these conflicts, we can learn from history. By comparing historical events, we find that every step of globalization has been accompanied by conflicts and adjustments. From the bloody battlefields of World War I and II to the Middle East turmoil in the 21st century and now to the frequent geopolitical conflicts and extreme climate disasters in the post-pandemic era, these phenomena have always been driven by struggles over economic interests.
For example, the Great Depression in the 20th century not only caused economic decline and social unrest but also led to painful scenes like American farmers dumping milk in protest. Today, we see similar patterns, such as the spread of wars in the Middle East and events like the Los Angeles wildfires, all of which carry traces of economic conflicts. These events may seem distant but are closely tied to economic development. They stem from uneven resource distribution and highlight the mismatch between technological progress and industrial structure adjustments. In the tide of globalization, conflicts have never truly disappeared and keep appearing in new forms.
However, looking back at history, we see that every major conflict or crisis has ultimately been resolved through technological innovation and economic restructuring. The Industrial Revolution is the most classic example. The First Industrial Revolution introduced mechanized production, shifting societies from agricultural to industrial economies. The Second Industrial Revolution, with the widespread use of electricity and oil, ushered in the modern industrial era and laid the groundwork for global trade. The Third Industrial Revolution, centred on computers and the internet, greatly accelerated the flow of information and advanced global economic integration.
These technological changes were not only the starting points for leaps in productivity but also catalysts for deep social adjustments. In this process, the disruption of old models was inevitable, and resource competition and interest conflicts became the cost of transformation. But history tells us that crises bring opportunities. Every transformation has created more room for societal growth. This is the deeper logic behind humanity’s economic progress.
Today, as we stand on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the potential for change is immense. AI is revolutionizing industries, from manufacturing to services. Biotechnology breakthroughs are offering new avenues for precision medicine and sustainable agriculture. Clean energy advancements are reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, steering global energy structures towards sustainability. These developments indicate that 2025 will mark the onset of rapid growth for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The wave of technological progress is transforming our lives at an unprecedented pace, offering new opportunities to combat global challenges.
However, we cannot afford to overlook the challenges that accompany these changes. High-tech innovations are disrupting traditional industries worldwide. Automation and AI are gradually supplanting traditional blue and white-collar jobs. The cost of this industrial evolution is unemployment and anxiety for certain groups. Moreover, the unequal distribution of capital and technology concentrates the benefits of innovation in a few countries and regions, exacerbating global inequality.
This phenomenon reminds us of Christopher Columbus discovering the New World in the 15th century. Columbus brought advanced agricultural knowledge and navigation technology to the Americas, but it also came with resource exploitation and colonial rule, causing profound negative impacts on the indigenous people. Every step forward in technology has boosted productivity, but it has also left behind challenges in social fairness and resource distribution.
Human society must fundamentally change the rules of the game to break out of this situation, and the key lies in the rapid development of technology. Technology is not just a tool to boost productivity; it's a bridge that connects us in a global community. Only through the power of technology can we truly drive global economic integration and achieve cross-regional, cross-cultural resource sharing and collaboration.
For example, the spread of blockchain technology is gradually changing how traditional financial systems operate, making cross-border transactions more transparent and efficient. 5G and IoT technologies are bridging the digital gap between countries, enabling faster and more inclusive information flow. In recent years, the rapid development of AI has brought unprecedented innovation to various industries.
Take NVIDIA as an example, as shown in the chart above. We began investing heavily in NVIDIA in 2023 because we recognized AI technology's profound impact on the future economic structure. Today, NVIDIA's GPUs not only dominate AI training but are also widely used in fields like autonomous driving and medical imaging, helping industries accelerate transformation.
Moreover, technological advancement is not just about progress, but about addressing pressing global challenges. Climate change and pollution are major global issues, and innovative technologies are providing unprecedented solutions. For instance, the rapid growth of clean energy technologies is making solar and wind power the core of future energy systems, while carbon capture and storage technologies offer new ways to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. These advancements not only help alleviate environmental crises but also create new economic growth points, driving the comprehensive upgrade of related industries. This underscores the fact that the power of technology can not only change how humans produce but also fundamentally reshape the blueprint for economic development.
However, the key is how these technological breakthroughs can truly connect with our investments. Looking at the history of economic development, we can see that two forces have always been at the core: technological innovation and the circulation of money. Technological innovation, with its potential to continuously enhance products and services, and money, as a bridge, connects production and consumption, driving the efficient flow of industries and goods. These two are not separate but work together to drive economic prosperity and upgrade. For investors, understanding how these two forces interact is the foundation for mastering the essence of economic operations and investment logic.
From a production perspective, every product is backed by the company, which is an economic entity, especially those companies that create value through technological innovation. Publicly traded companies make this value public, allowing it to flow through capital markets. Stocks, as the most important vehicle in this process, not only represent capital but also carry the value extension of technology and goods.
This is why stocks have long been one of the most traded asset classes globally. Technological progress, the expansion of product demand and humanity's thirst for innovation are all vividly reflected through the dynamics of capital markets, keeping stock trading activity high. In this macro context, technological innovation is not only the engine driving the economy but also an important foundation for shaping the future investment landscape.
Money, which corresponds to goods and technology, is another important economic cornerstone. From a historical perspective, money has evolved from primitive money to fiat money and now to digital currencies. Gold, as the earliest form of money, relied on scarcity and stability to serve as a long-term store of value. But the end of the Bretton Woods system ushered in the financial era dominated by fiat currencies, with money no longer directly tied to gold but relying on government credit. While fiat money has played a huge role in economic development, it also comes with certain limitations, such as inflation and excessive currency issuance. These remind us that the monetary system still needs to evolve.
In recent years, with the rise of blockchain technology, crypto has become a new star in the global financial market. It is not only a deep integration of technology and finance but also addresses many shortcomings of traditional monetary systems. Regarding trading activity, crypto has become an important investment option alongside stocks and forex. Especially with the rise of star tokens like BTC, the digital currency market has rapidly expanded, attracting global investors.
The uniqueness of crypto lies in the fact that it has both technological and monetary properties. On the tech side, each token corresponds to an innovative technological project. Take Eth, for example. Its smart contract functionality strongly supports the development of decentralized applications (DApps). Likewise, the token AQS from a quantitative trading system project is driving the industry's growth through technological innovation. These tokens are not just investment tools; they represent the direction of future technological development.
On the other hand, the rise of crypto more clearly demonstrates its unique monetary attributes. Take BTC, for example. As the world's first crypto based on blockchain technology, it is hailed as "digital gold" because of its fixed supply and decentralized nature. Its scarcity helps it avoid the value depreciation caused by inflation in traditional currencies, while its high liquidity and global acceptance give BTC a value storage function similar to gold. This attribute made BTC stand out in 2024, with a 120% increase in returns compared to all mainstream assets, becoming one of the best-performing assets globally (as shown in the chart).
It is this dual nature of technology and currency that makes crypto a rapidly emerging force in the financial market that cannot be ignored. However, the volatility of the crypto market and its unique operational mechanisms place higher demands on investors' judgment and the execution of their trading systems. Unlike the relatively mature stock and forex markets, the crypto market is not only full of challenges but also offers unprecedented opportunities. In this context, the public test of a quantitative trading system focused on crypto trading as the core test scenario is undoubtedly of great significance.
This choice is not accidental but based on a deep consideration of market characteristics and technological innovation. The high volatility of the crypto market provides the best environment for testing the sensitivity and risk-resistance capabilities of trading systems. Its 24/7 trading feature allows a comprehensive examination of the system's stability and continuity during different time periods. Additionally, since the crypto market is driven by technology, the testing is not only limited to the functionality of the trading system itself but also allows us to observe its real-time response to the impact of technological innovation on market dynamics.
More importantly, the crypto market creates more profit opportunities for investors. In the case of extreme market volatility, the quantitative trading system can quickly capture short-term gains brought by price fluctuations through high-frequency trading strategies. From a long-term perspective, the system can also achieve steady asset appreciation by relying on trend analysis and arbitrage strategies. This is not only a comprehensive test of technical abilities but also builds valuable data support for the system's future optimization. It can be said that participating in crypto market trading is a crucial practice where both technological validation and profit opportunities coexist.
Looking ahead, the financial market landscape is undergoing profound changes due to global economic integration. From regionalization to globalization, market boundaries are gradually disappearing, and the power of technology is continuously reshaping investment logic. The rise of crypto markets is a typical example of this trend. It not only disrupts the structure of the traditional monetary system but also drives financial innovation on a global scale, opening new paths for economic integration.
However, we must also recognize that the process of globalization is not without its obstacles. Economic conflicts and geopolitical tensions continue, and environmental issues remain a global challenge. However, these problems are not the opposite of technology; rather, they provide a stage for technology to show its power. While technology cannot wholly eliminate conflicts, it can balance them in smarter ways. The rise of crypto is one example of this wisdom. It is built on technology and opens new doors for traditional finance while also laying a solid foundation for further global economic integration.
Therefore, we can see that crypto, as a representative of the combination of technology and finance, is gradually becoming one of the key pillars of the future financial market. It has not only changed people's traditional understanding of money but also promoted the deep integration of the global economy through its innovative features. This transformation is not accidental but the inevitable result of economic development and human civilization progress. As investors and promoters, our mission is to embrace this change, use the power of technology to empower the process of globalization and open up broader futures for ourselves. We believe that under the guidance of technology, human society will move towards a more connected and prosperous world. Our mission at Diamond Ridge Financial Academy is to use the power of technology to find the best investment strategies and create more possibilities for every investor.
Dear students, by now, I believe you have deeply understood the root causes of current economic conflicts and clearly see the core direction of future economic development and investment. Tech stocks and crypto, in different forms, tightly combine capital and technology, with crypto being a historic opportunity in the process of global economic integration that cannot be missed. Standing at the forefront of this era, Diamond Ridge Financial Academy will provide you with an excellent opportunity to experience cutting-edge investment technology up close.
Next week, we will officially launch the Public Test of the Quantitative Trading System. This system, a perfect combination of cutting-edge technology and rigorous investment logic, is set to revolutionize the market with its highly accurate trading signals. It's a chance for you to seize every profitable opportunity in a rapidly changing market environment. This is not only a stunning display of advanced technology but also a valuable opportunity to turn theoretical knowledge into practical results. We hope every student can participate and personally experience the outstanding performance of the quantitative trading system, feeling the limitless possibilities of technology-powered investment.
What's even more exciting is that to thank everyone for their support of this project, the team behind the Quantitative Trading System has specially prepared a mysterious gift for all students participating in the public test. This is not just a token of our appreciation, but a valuable tool to boost your confidence in embracing the future of tech investment.
Therefore, I sincerely invite every student to join our public test event and let's witness how technology changes trading rules and improves investment efficiency. This is a great learning and practical opportunity and an essential step for you to stand at the forefront of global finance.
Remember, the future belongs to those who embrace change and dare to explore. Let's take action, seize the present and create the future! Stay tuned for the Public Test of the Quantitative Trading System, and let's embark on this exciting investment journey together!