Hello and welcome to Alts Cafe
The most important alternative investing stories each week, customized to your liking.
Highlights:
- Farmland: Chinese ownership of US farmland is up 85% since 2010
- Startups: China launched a $138 billion fund for quantum computing, AI, and semiconductors.
- Collectibles: Adidas sells its last Yeezy shoe
- Metals & Gems: Are pearls a hidden gem in the colored gemstone market?
- Music & Film: Primary Wave Music entered talks to acquire Notorious B.I.G.’s catalog for over $100 million
- Wine & Whiskey: Ontario ordered the immediate removal of US beverages from 3,600 products across retail channels.
- International Investing: Brazil announced plans to deploy its $3.5 billion oil fund to strengthen the economy.
- Miscellaneous: Philip Morris looking to sell its cigar business for $1B
Let’s go
Table of Contents
Macro View
Bullish news
- Siemens invested $285 million in US manufacturing, creating 900 jobs and pushing total US investment to $100 billion.
- China launched a $138 billion fund for quantum computing, AI, and semiconductors.
Bearish news
- Federal job cuts hit a five-year high, with ex-federal worker unemployment claims at a four-year peak.
International Investing
Bullish news
- Brazil announced plans to deploy its $3.5 billion oil fund to strengthen the economy.
Bearish news
- China’s home prices expected to drop 2.5% in 2025
- China’s consumer price index fell 0.7% in February, turning negative for the first time in 13 months.
- Over 10,000 millionaires left the UK in 2024
Join the Discussion
Trump announces new $5m Golden Visa.
Ever ahead of the ball, we recently explored this topic of Golden Visas: i.e., residency and citizenship programs offered by countries in exchange for substantial investments.
Before this announcement, the US had two programs for “buying your way in” to the United States.
What do you think?
Wine, Whiskey & Spirits
Bullish news
- Jose Cuervo announced plans to invest up to $130 million globally in 2025.
Bearish news
- Ontario ordered the immediate removal of US beverages from 3,600 products across retail channels.
- Kentucky’s $9 billion bourbon industry faces disruption with 23,000 jobs at risk from new trade restrictions.
- Global vineyard values declined as wine consumption fell across major markets.
Invest in a Tequila Distillery
We’ve completed due diligence on the Herencia de Agaves Tequila Distillery opportunity and are ready to firm up commitments.
Here’s an overview of all our work on this project. This will help you make an informed decision.
Timeline
- February 28 – DDD complete
- March 7 – Hard commits locked in
- March 18 – Paperwork available to review and sign
- March 31 – All paperwork and funds due
Join Altea to invest.
Let’s go to France?
We are considering an Alts trip to France. This will be a wine-themed investing adventure through Burgundy, Champagne, and Provence.
Want to join?
Music and Film
Bullish news
- Primary Wave Music entered talks to acquire Notorious B.I.G.’s catalog for over $100 million, including master rights and publicity rights.
- Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a $2.85 billion studio project in Las Vegas, creating 18,000 jobs.
- New York announced plans to increase its film tax credit to $800 million annually through 2036.
Bearish news
- Warner Bros. Discovery confronted a foreign rights dispute threatening the international release of James Gunn’s Superman.
- Congress Hall Resort failed to pay royalties for Elvis and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s songs.
- Amazon Music faced a lawsuit over unpaid royalties and alleged shadow-banning of artist Marc Mysterio after 80 million streams.
Farmland
Bullish news
- Senators Baldwin and Grassley introduced legislation to protect US farmland after foreign ownership reached 45 million acres, an 85% increase since 2010.
Bearish news
- Chinese entities now own 350,000 acres across 27 states, with properties dangerously close to military installations like MacDill Air Force Base.
- Farm bankruptcies surged 55% in 2024
Join the Discussion
The PASS Act, led by Sen. Mike Rounds, would prevent countries such as China, North Korea, Russia and Iran, from purchasing agricultural land near military bases.
What do you think?
Private Equity & Private Credit
Bullish News
- Sycamore Partners announced plans to take Walgreens private in a $23.7 billion deal.
- Former NFL star Marques Colston’s Champion Venture Partners secured $100 million for real estate and tech investments.
Bearish News
- Housing costs spiked as PE firms expanded single-family home purchases.
- The SEC charged Momentum Advisors for misappropriating $223,000 through unauthorized expenses.
- Berkeley Research Group suffered a cyberattack during its $700 million leveraged loan sale.
Join the Discussion
Limiting PE ownership of healthcare companies seems reasonable.
What do you think?
Startups
Bullish news
- Anthropic raised $3.5 billion at a $61.5 billion valuation, backed by Lightspeed Ventures.
- China launched a $138 billion fund for quantum computing, AI, and semiconductors.
- Ecuador has world’s highest proportion of female entrepreneurs
Bearish news
- Female-founded startups in Europe saw funding drop 12% to €5.76 billion in 2024.
Join the Discussion
According to a study carried out in 51 countries and territories by the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, female entrepreneurs are especially common in middle income nations like Ecuador, Guatemala, Jordan, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia.
What do you think?
Artwork
Bullish news
- Christie’s AI art auction surpassed expectations with $728,784 in sales.
Bearish news
- Babylon Arts gallery shut down after failing to secure funding.
- Hunter Biden sold just one painting for $36,000, down from 27 pieces averaging $54,481.
Classic Cars
Bullish news
- RM Sotheby’s Miami auction brought in $74.5 million, with a 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II selling for $13.2 million.
- Jerry Seinfeld’s Porsche 917K, once owned by Steve McQueen, sold privately for $25 million.
Bearish news
- Ontario police seized 200 stolen classic cars from unsuspecting buyers.
Invest in Classic Cars
Luxury Goods
Bullish news
- Hublot unveiled the Big Bang Unico Magic Ceramic, limited to 20 pieces at $33,000 each.
Bearish news
- A thief swallowed $800,000 worth of jewelry from Tiffany & Co. after pretending to be an NBA player’s representative.
- France’s former spy chief was found guilty of using public resources to benefit LVMH and sentenced to four years in prison.
Crypto
Bullish news
- President Trump created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve holding 200,000 BTC from seized assets with no taxpayer cost.
- Crypto.com will provide market data for three new CME CF Bitcoin and Ethereum indices starting March 31.
- Trump’s meme coin $TRUMP crashed from $15 billion to $2.48 billion, losing $12 billion in value.
Bearish news
- North Korean hackers stole $1.5 billion from Bybit by exploiting a basic security flaw.
- XRP, Dogecoin, and Cardano fell up to 9% after exclusion from US reserves, triggering $400 million in liquidations.
- New York lawmakers proposed 20-year jail sentences for crypto fraud.
- A retired NHS doctor lost £50,000 in a crypto scam using fake social media ads.
Join the Discussion
El Salvador has just 8% consumer crypto adoption.
What do you think?
Real Estate
Bullish news
- Texas home sales rose 0.7% in 2024, with 14 markets seeing gains and median prices up 1.2%.
Bearish news
- FHA loan delinquency rate climbed to 11.3%.
- UK construction fell to its lowest level since May 2020.
- China’s home prices expected to drop 2.5% in 2025
Metals and Gems
Bullish news
- Idaho eliminated income taxes on gold and silver, becoming the 14th state to do so as part of a $253 million tax cut package.
- Bonhams’ California Jewels auction featured a 12.62-carat brown-yellow diamond estimated at $50,000-$80,000.
- Defense Metals secured CAD $853k in funding from Canada’s Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund.
Bearish news
- A NYC diamond dealer pleaded guilty to swapping lab-grown diamonds for natural stones.
- President Trump’s new tariffs added 25% duties on jewelry imports from Mexico and Canada, plus 10% on Chinese goods.
Join the Discussion
When people think about investing in gemstones, the first one that often comes to mind is diamonds.
But the diamond market is suffering. Meanwhile, the colored gemstone market is making a comeback, with one gem in particular breaking away from the pack.
This week we’re talking pearls.
Collectibles
Bullish news
- Adidas sells its last Yeezy shoe
- Michael Jordan’s and Kobe Bryant’s first-ever NBA jerseys are expected to sell for $10 million each at Sotheby’s upcoming auction.
- A Pokémon-shaped Flamin’ Hot Cheeto nicknamed “Cheetozard” sold for $87,840 to an unnamed buyer.
Bearish news
- StockX was found liable for selling 37 pairs of counterfeit Nike sneakers.
Join the Discussion
What do you think?
Websites and Domains
Bullish News
- The expired domain Backpage.com sold for $259,500, joining the top 10 highest reported sales of 2025.
- Namecheap’s .AI expiry auctions generated $500,000 in revenue with a 91% payment rate from 538 sales.
Bearish News
- Team Internet Group’s search segment profits dropped to $20-25 million from $57 million after Google’s domain parking changes.
That’s all for this week
Cheers,
Wyatt
Disclosures
- We hold BTC and ETH in our ALTS 1 Fund.
- This issue was brought to you by our friends at Vintage Acquisitions
- This issue contains no affiliate links
