As markets sold off late Wednesday, President Trump touted the domestic investments from Big Tech as companies like Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA), and others pledge billions to expand their respective footprints in the United States.

“Apple is going to spend $500 billion. They never spent money like that here,” Trump said, referencing the company’s plans to invest in its US operations over the next four years, which will include plans to build a new manufacturing factory, double its advanced manufacturing fund, and hire 20,000 people.

Apple (AAPL) shares still fell over 7% in after-hours trading given its exposure to countries set to be hit by increased tariffs.

Trump added that Apple’s investment will be matched by Oracle (ORCL), ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank (9984.T) — a nod to the $500 billion ‘Stargate’ AI venture announced earlier this year.

At the time, Trump claimed the venture would create “over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately.”

Plus, “Nvidia, a hot company, is investing hundreds of billions of dollars” into the US supply chain, Trump said. And “TSMC — the biggest and most important company in the world of chips from Taiwan — with no investment from us, is investing $200 billion.”

TSMC (TSM) announced last month that it plans to invest an additional $100 billion in advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the US. This is in addition to its ongoing $65 billion investment in its manufacturing operations in Phoenix, Ariz.

“They said the reason was No. 1, the election on Nov. 5. And No. 2, the tariffs,” Trump said. “They don’t want to pay the tariffs. And the way they’re not paying it is to build their plants here.”

Similar to Apple and other Big Tech players, semiconductor stocks also dropped in after-hours trade with Nvidia falling 5% while Broadcom (AVGO) and Intel (INTC) dropped 5% and 4%, respectively.

El Salvador’s Stock Exchange (BVES) is the first in Latin America to offer digital assets. Digital Exchange, BVES’ digital arm, will provide products after receiving the go-ahead from the National Commission for Digital Assets (CNAD) to be a digital asset provider.

BVES claims it is the first regional stock exchange to establish a platform dedicated to the custody, issuance, management and trading of digital assets.

Rolando Duarte, president of BVES, said in a statement, “With Digital Exchange, we position ourselves at the forefront of financial innovation. Our mission is to provide market participants and local and international investors with a transparent and accessible platform that reflects the future of global finance.”

El Salvador has forged ahead with a plan to modernize finance in the region. It has recognized Bitcoin as legal tender (although this has since been rescinded), offered to headquarter a Central American stock exchange and crypto firm Tether, and drafted specialist legislation for alternate financial vehicles.

BVES acknowledges the assistance of Koibanx, which specializes in tokenization and blockchain infrastructure. The 2022 Digital Asset Issuance Law is the basis for the 39 registered asset providers in the country.

One of the first tests for Digital Exchange will be the tokenization of the Guatemala Interoceanic Consortium. Using the COINGT digital asset, the group wants to finance $325 million to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which will be achieved via ports, rail and a multimodal transport megaproject. The finance will be used in two tranches to pay for land acquisition, move the current plot owners, and pay suppliers. Ultimately, the consortium hopes to have a 231-mile property from Jutiapa to Ciudad Barrios.

“We are paving the way toward a digital financial ecosystem,” says BVES executive director Valentín Arrieta, “Digital Exchange opens the doors to new financial opportunities, connecting companies, institutional clients, and natural investors with the possibilities offered by digital assets, positioning the Exchange as a leader in innovation in the region.” According to a CNAD report, more than $5 billion in digital asset issuances were approved in 2024.