- Early Bird
- Posts
- Ethereum's Node Design Plan
Ethereum's Node Design Plan
Plus, Dollar Tree's spun-off CEO.
Together With
Today is Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
The Early Bird Index today is 81.32
New to this newsletter? Sign up here
PRESENTED BY RURALIS
Invest in the Future of Rural Tourism
Ruralis is the first all-in-one PropTech platform tailored for vacation rentals in rural areas. Ruralis connects properties to 100+ booking agencies, manages reservations and includes multilingual support 7/7, secure payments and dynamic pricing to ensure maximum performance at all times of the year. Moreover, Rualis offers full damage and liability insurance, setting a new standard in rural hospitality tech.
Ruralis started from scratch in 2022, and in the last three years it had:
📈 A +741% turnover increase (2022-2024).
💸 Over $2.9M secured through non-dilutive government grants.
💵 Two successful crowdfunding campaigns, raising over $700K.
❤️ An 88% customer retention rate.
Now, Ruralis is looking for new investors to join its crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder.
Ethereum's Node Design Plan 🛠️
Ethereum $ETH.X ( ▲ 1.95% ) jumped by about 7% on Monday following significant volatility with the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Background: Ethereum lost half its value during the 2025 crypto winter when crypto prices plummeted. While Ethereum is still in the red this year, its price has rebounded about 54% in the last 30 days.
Details: Renewed investor confidence and increased investor appetite for risky assets are driving the current price run. Large holders of crypto, also known as whales, have accumulated a lot of Ethereum in recent weeks.
Powering the Story: On Monday, investors got excited when Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed a new plan to have users run local nodes (a computing device that runs Ethereum’s system) for personal use.
Early Bird’s Nest Egg Gains: Vitalik Buterin’s new proposal could make Ethereum easier to run, it could enhance security on the system, it could improve privacy, and it could slash the technical and financial barriers to running a node. Overall, it’s positive for investors.
Final Thoughts: Despite recent gains, Ethereum is still down about 24% this year.
Notables
Notable Earnings Today: Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Palo Alto Networks (Nasdaq: PANW), Bilibili (Nasdaq: BILI), Modine Manufacturing (NYSE: MOD), Viking Holdings (NYSE: VIK), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS), Amer Sports (NYSE: AS), GDS Holdings (Nasdaq: GDS), Viasat (Nasdaq: VSAT), ZTO Express (NYSE: ZTO), Arbe Robotics (Nasdaq: ARBE), ATRenew (NYSE: RERE), Eagle Materials (NYSE: EXP), H World Group (Nasdaq: HTHT), James Hardie (NYSE: JHX), Pony AI (Nasdaq: PONY), Tuya (NYSE: TUYA), Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS), XP (Nasdaq: XP).
Notable IPOs Today: MNTN (NYSE: MNTN), Hinge Health (NYSE: HNGE)..
Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Exes of Christmas Past Feature Film (Wefunder).
Notable Economic Events Today: API Weekly Crude Oil Stock (4:30 p.m. ET).
Dollar Tree's Spun-Off CEO
After announcing in March that it is selling its Family Dollar division to private equity, Dollar Tree $DLTR ( ▼ 1.88% ) announced the new leader for its spin-out company on Monday.
Details: Retail executive Duncan MacNaughton is the new CEO and chairman for the Family Tree division when it becomes a standalone company later this year. Jason Nordin will still serve as president of Family Dollar.
Quote: “Duncan’s leadership experience and passion for value retail, combined with Jason’s strategic and operational expertise, position Family Dollar for a strong future as an independent company.” - Dollar Tree CEO Mike Creedon.
Final Thoughts: The news sent Dollar Tree’s stock down 2.08% in after-hours trading on Monday.
Transact’s Strong Results
Transcat $TRNS ( ▼ 4.21% ) , a provider of accredited calibration services, jumped 5.35% in after-hours trading on Monday after posting good financial earnings results.
Financials: Transcat reported earnings of 64 cents per share and revenue of $77.13 million in the past quarter. Both were better than expected.
Final Thoughts: The stock was down 23% this year before these results.
Trends to Watch
Tariff War Impact: G.M. Stops Exporting Cars to China (New York Times)
Stable Win: Senate Advances Stablecoin Bill, Clearing the Way for Final Passage (CoinDesk)
Going in the Cloud: Microsoft will host Elon Musk's Grok in its cloud (Axios)
Raising the Alarm: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says markets are too complacent on tariffs, expects S&P 500 earnings growth to collapse (CNBC)
Investing in Local Businesses: Honeycomb Credit secures nearly $6M and lands new investors (Technical.ly)
Thank you for reading!
Forward to a friend and tell them to sign up here.
Pick winning stocks: Upgrade to Early Bird Prime.
Be social: Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
Want more investing tips? Listen to the podcast.
Show Your Support: Buy Me a Coffee.
Questions or comments? Hit reply to reach out.
The contents of Early Bird are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. They do not constitute trade or investment recommendations and they are not financial or legal advice. Readers are encouraged to consult licensed professionals for personalized guidance regarding their financial or legal situations.