THE FRACTAL DAILY

Charts • Levels • Wild Randomness
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 2026-08-11

$QQQ $SMH: 'Trend Is Trending' — Tech Bids Keep Pressing

Mandelbrot flags the tape as the trend stays in gear, two charts up for the close

chart
His QQQ/SMH chart posted 23:13 UTC.
A terse call at the late print: 'Trend is trending.' With $QQQ and $SMH both showing strength into the close, the setup is momentum-following rather than contrarian — he's not calling a top, he's noting the tape is still in gear.

$TOTAL3 $OTHERS: 'It's a Simple Question'

chart
TOTAL3 vs OTHERS — the divergence he's watching.

The warning underneath all the recent pumping: OTHERS just put in its LOWEST DAILY CLOSE SINCE NOVEMBER 2023. His point — the breadth of the alts complex is quietly bleeding while a handful of names pump. If OTHERS keeps making new lows, the pump-and-rotate game gets increasingly fragile.

$AAPL: 'Progressing Ahead of Schedule'

chart
The AAPL setup he posted at 18:29 UTC.

Apple's chart is behaving better than expected. Posted mid-session with a chart showing structure developing — the read is constructive for the single largest index weight.

$ZEC: 'Intuition Good'

chart
His ZEC chart — the recovery thesis holding.

Zcash continues to print the way he expected. He's been constructive on ZEC's reflexive recovery thesis — 'intuition good' is confirmation the chart is doing what he thought it would.

$IBIT $BTC: 'Moving Along Nicely'

chart
IBIT/BTC chart, 15:54 UTC.

Bitcoin via IBIT is progressing without drama. No fireworks — just the trend working, consistent with his broader 'don't overthink it' stance.

His Hedge: Long Sept 30 QQQ Puts, Oct 16 SPX Puts

chart
The options screen he shared in reply.

In a reply he confirmed the hedge book: long September 30 puts on QQQ and October 16 puts on SPX, started Friday. The tail hedge is on while the equity trend runs — protection against the crash-the-bell-curve scenario he keeps referencing.

$GOLD: 'Cinema'

chart
The GOLD chart, 22:17 UTC Aug 10.

Gold gets a one-word review: cinema. Two charts up — the move is dramatic enough to watch, even for someone who's also said you could 'just buy gold down $1,200 from its 2026 highs.'

Same Dynamics as 2021: NQ Laggard, Broadening Away From Tech

chart
The breadth comparison he posted (4 charts).

His macro observation of the day: the tape resembles 2021 — the NQ is the laggard while the move broadens away from tech. 'Just observing,' but the implication is rotation, not a uniform melt-up.