Nvidia Could Have the Best Cryptocurrency Chip Out There…Soon – TheStreet.com

Graphics chip makers Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) are both working on graphics processing units (GPU) specifically for processing cryptocurrency transactions, and RBC Capital bet on Nvidia to make the superior chip in their note Friday.

Every time a transaction occurs in one of the cryptocurrency markets a GPU speeds up the calculations needed to verify payments. Nvidia and AMD currently make GPUs for everything from video games to self-driving vehicles but don'thave a chip specifically for cryptocurrency, yet, RBC said.

AMD's shares fell 0.5% to $12.54 early Friday afternoon. Nvidia's were down 0.7% to $145.64.

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Get ready Tesla fanboys: Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said Friday there would be "news on Sunday" about the company's much anticipated Model 3. While that's all fine and good, what Musk won't tell people is how his electric car company may be speeding toward a monopoly.

Tesla's master plan may hold the key for saving the future of the auto industry, a Moody's Analystics researcher told TheStreet.

With the advance of self-driving vehicles, Tony Hughes, managing director at Moody's Analytics, argued it is not the cars themselves that could lead to the decline in the automotive industry but ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft. The plan CEO Elon Musk has laid out to create a fleet of self-driving Tesla vehicles for ride-sharing purposes could be the way to save automakers from a demise.

A VIP gives his market outlook: Nobel Prize winning-economist Robert Shiller told TheStreet's Anders Keitz that U.S. equities markets are "quite high" currently but may go even higher in coming months, and that's why he's not exiting the market completely. Indeed there's another thing that could have an unpredictable effect on the market Shiller explains: The narrative around Donald Trump.

"Short-run forecasting of the market is very hard," said Shiller. "I think it's a time for caution, but it could go up substantially."

Apple iPhone 8 pictures leak: Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 8 looks kind of cool. That is if yet another photo leak is to be believed. Noted Apple information leaker Benjamin Geskin tweeted photos of an alleged iPhone 8 finished prototype on Thursday evening (head here to see). Suffice it to say, Apple is gearing up for the mother of all product launches. And consumers look ready to respond.

About 92% of iPhone owners say they are "somewhat likely or "extremely likely" to upgrade their smartphone in the next 12 months, according to a note from Morgan Stanley. The loyalty rate is up sharply from 86% one year ago.

Nike managed to excite Wall Street: After a major restructuring announcement, Nike (NKE) was able to boost Wall Street's views on the company's prospects. On an earnings call Thursday evening, Mark Parker, Nike CEO and board chairman, said its pricey new Air VaporMax sneakers drove sales in the quarter and that there will be new styles coming to the brand sometime this summer. There are also "a few more surprises along the way," Parker said.

As TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse reports, Nike also confirmed that it teamed up with Amazon (AMZN) to sell certain products on the e-commerce conglomerate's site. The company is also selling directly to consumers via Instagram.

Apple is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL? Learn more now .

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Nvidia Could Have the Best Cryptocurrency Chip Out There...Soon - TheStreet.com