Hello and welcome to Alts Cafe
Highlights from the full issue:
- Macro: CA retained its title as the world’s fifth-largest economy
- Real Estate: Apple gave $50 million for housing affordability
- Startups: Google is in talks to acquire Wiz
- Private Credit: Blackstone’s distributable earnings rose 3%
- Crypto: FTX reached a $4 billion bankruptcy settlement
- NFTs: Weekly NFT sales reached $109 million
- Art: Johnny Depp unveiled a new art collection
- Vintage Autos: A 1960 Ferrari sold for $11 million
- Coins: A 1794 Silver Dollar was valued at $7,750,000.
- Farmland: The farm sector debt is set to reach $547.6 billion
- Luxury: Balenciaga launched the first luxury fashion app
- Wine, Tequila, and Spirits: Wine consumption hit 27-year low
- Film & Music: ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ climbed to #1 on Amazon
- Precious Metals: Microsoft invested in Cyclic Materials
- Collectibles: A stegosaurus fossil sold for $44.6 million
- Websites: Atom launched its updated Cloud Broker program
Let’s go.
Wyatt
Table of Contents
Macro View
Bullish News
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated the Fed is more confident that inflation is heading back to its 2% target, boosting expectations of a September rate cut.
- The US economy added 206,000 jobs in June, with consumer prices dropping 0.1% and a record 15.7 million jobs created.
- California retained its title as the world’s fifth-largest economy for the seventh consecutive year.
- The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for May was estimated at $1,861.4 billion, with inventories up 0.5%.
- LSV Asset Management increased its position in Banco Macro S.A. by 11.3%.
- Goldman Sachs reported a profit increase driven by strong debt underwriting and fixed-income trading.
Bearish News
- China’s economy grew slower than expected in Q2, with retail sales at an 18-month low and property investment down 10.1%.
- US jobless claims rose for the eighth straight week, with 1.87 million Americans collecting unemployment benefits, the most since November 2021.
- Japan’s core inflation accelerated for a second month in June.
- Massachusetts’ unemployment rate increased to 3.2% in June.
- Deutsche Bank is expected to post a Q2 loss, ending a streak of 15 profitable quarters due to a €1.3 billion lawsuit.
- A new study found federal spending was responsible for 42% of the 2022 inflation spike.
What are the odds?
Kashi is showing a near certainty of two rate cuts in 2025, which still seems aggressive to me.
Get $25 to play around with using this link.
What are we doing?
Altea Highlights
Check out the full roundup.
Potential Deal
Solar Infrastructure Debt
We can’t share much about this one yet because it’s not been cleared by the lawyers, but here’s the gist.
It’s a utility-scale solar and energy storage project in Florida looking for funding. Although they’ve previously done equity placements, this will be either preferred shares or straight debt.
The timeframe is one to two years, and the IRR will be between 14% and 16%.
The project is already approved, so it’ll go ahead regardless of this year’s elections.
I’m interested in this opportunity.
ALTS 1 Fund news
Alts 1 is Open
After a strong few quarters, we’re opening Alts 1 to new investors [Announcement here].*
If you’re ready, you can
Or book a call with me to discuss.
* If you’ve already invested and want to double down, please stand by. We’re busy porting over your previous commitments to the new platform.
Real Estate
Bullish News
- Goldman Sachs recorded gains in real estate investments in Q2, with revenues rising 27% to $3.88 billion year-over-year.
- Blackstone’s President Jon Gray said the firm is ready to invest, deploying nearly $15 billion in real estate in the first six months of the year.
- Canadian prop-tech company Repliers secured seed funding to democratize access to real estate technology.
- Apple launched the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund with a $50 million investment as part of its $2.5 billion commitment to address housing affordability in California.
- Hawaii enacted a law barring the use of predatory real estate contracts for personal services.
Bearish News
- Institutional investors exacerbated the home inventory shortage by buying 26.1% of all lower-priced US homes sold in Q1 2024.
- Real estate transaction scams cost consumers $893 million in the past three years.
- Critics say the National Association of Realtors (NAR) operates as a “cartel” after losing a federal antitrust suit.
- In Boston, a median-income household needs to put down 61.7% and save for over 23 years to afford typical monthly mortgage payments.
- The multifamily CMBS delinquency rate jumped above 2% in June, with distressed properties seeing a 35% decline in valuations.
- China’s new home prices in June fell at the fastest pace in nine years, with property investment down 10.1% in H1.
- A new study reveals that residential real estate went 68 years with no net capital gains from 1890 to 1958.
How to invest in real estate right now:
Who’s moving to CA now?
Startups
Bullish News
- Google is reportedly in talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion, the largest deal for a VC-backed company.
- NEXT’s Founderville fund grew to $12 million, attracting tech startups from the Carolinas and Georgia for a one-year residency in Greenville.
- Funding to European startups rose to nearly $16 billion in Q2, up 31% quarter over quarter and 17% year over year, surpassing Asia.
- The fusion industry received over $900 million in funding last year, totaling more than $7.1 billion invested.
- Stripe’s valuation reportedly reached $70 billion in the middle of a possible deal with Sequoia Capital.
- Coast raised $40 million in Series B financing led by ICONIQ Growth, bringing total equity financing to nearly $100 million.
- US digital health startups secured $5.7 billion across 266 deals during the first half of this year.
Bearish News
- Former TV host Carlos Watson was convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft related to Ozy Media.
- A Snowflake data breach exposed over 2 million Advance Auto Parts customers’ names, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license numbers.
- Chinese magnate Guo Wengui was convicted of bilking $1 billion from investors to fund his luxury lifestyle, facing up to 20 years in prison.
- Global digital health funding declined to $2.9 billion across 235 deals in Q2 2024, a 26% drop quarter-over-quarter.
- Nio is reducing discounts by up to RMB 5,000 for several models starting July 22, scaling back car purchase incentives.
How to invest in startups right now:
Bad time to be bilking.
Private Equity and Private Credit
Bullish News
- Blackstone’s distributable earnings rose 3% in Q2, cashing out $7.8 billion of PE assets.
- Goldman Sachs aims to raise $2 billion for its first Asia Pacific-focused PE fund, targeting Japan.
- KKR-backed OneStream has sought a $4.38 billion valuation in its US IPO, up from a $1 billion valuation in 2019.
- Ares Management expanded to 307,336 square feet at 245 Park Avenue, managing $428 billion in assets globally.
- FMO arranged its largest ever $295 million syndicated loan for Nigeria’s Access Bank to support SMEs, backed by DFIs and impact investors.
Bearish News
- PE-backed providers make up less than 4% of the US healthcare market by revenue.
- Senators Markey and Warren proposed legislation for new civil and criminal penalties for healthcare investors causing patient injuries.
- Varsity Brands, owned by Bain Capital, is taking on $2.4 billion in debt for a KKR takeover, with credit ratings dropping from B+ to B-.
- A US court ruled that PE firm Lindsay Goldberg must turn over documents related to Schur Flexibles due to a criminal investigation in Austria.
- Macy’s terminated buyout talks with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital, citing a substandard offer.
- Bank of America insiders sold a significant amount of shares over the past year, with more selling than buying.
How to invest in PE and Private Credit right now:
Welcome Japan, to the world of PE.
Crypto
Bullish News
- Bitcoin rebounded above $67,000 following the assassination attempt on former President Trump.
- Experts and law enforcement shut down scam networks that made over $1 billion from “approval phishing” scams.
- Russia weighed the risks of embracing crypto for international payments to maintain trade flows.
- Binance launched a new Word of the Day game themed around crypto adoption, offering rewards.
- Global crypto trading volume is projected to surpass $108 trillion in 2024, up 90% from 2022.
Bearish News
- Bitcoin miners Lancium and Crusoe Energy Systems announced they are leaving crypto for AI, building a 200-megawatt AI data center in Texas.
- Cambodian payments firm Huione Pay received over $150,000 in crypto from a wallet used by North Korean hackers Lazarus Group.
- Chainalysis’ Operation Spincaster shut down crypto accounts tied to $162 million in losses from approval phishing scams.
- A Texas community claimed a crypto-mining facility owned by Marathon Digital Holdings causes constant noise, affecting their health.
- Putin warned Russia could face electricity disruptions if the government doesn’t control crypto mining.
- FTX Trading Ltd. reached a $4 billion bankruptcy settlement with the CFTC, reducing the regulator’s $52.2 billion claim.
- In Greece, cryptocurrencies will be taxed at a 15% capital gains rate starting January 2025.
How to invest in Crypto right now:
Between energy depletion and being so loud it hurts, crypto is starting to remind me of my sister.
NFTs
Bullish News
- Trump confirmed planning a fourth NFT collection, with previous collections selling out 45,000 cards each in a day.
- Crypto artist Trevor Jones unveiled his groundbreaking CryptoAngels Ordinals collection.
- Weekly NFT sales reached $109 million, with Polygon seeing a 90% rise in trading volume.
- REV3AL launched a cutting-edge NFT marketplace with unique digital watermarking and a Compute Pool Validator.
- ApeCoin announced the launch of the ApeChain testnet, Curtis, on July 16, focusing on gaming applications in web3.
- The Solympics introduced 1,100 unique NFTs, combining Solana culture with Olympic passion, offering holders a chance to win $50,000.
Bearish News
- KnownOrigin’s imminent shutdown sparked debates about NFT storage reliability, raising concerns about inaccessible NFT metadata.
- Messari CEO Ryan Selkis stepped down to a senior adviser role after controversial political tweets.
- Tokens on WazirX traded at a steep discount following an exchange exploit.
How to invest in NFTs right now:
Who’s excited for another Trump NFT collection?
Artwork
Bullish News
- The Tri-County Arts Council’s Artisan Market showcased over 35 pieces by Marilyn Reynolds.
- Johnny Depp unveiled a new art collection inspired by tarot cards, with paintings sold separately or as a limited edition set.
- A Westview High student Zoey Lestyk won first place in the 2024 La Jolla Institute for Immunology Art Competition.
- The Hispanic Society Museum in Manhattan announced plans to launch a new global hub in September to research and preserve Francisco Goya’s works.
Bearish News
- Valparaiso University argued in court to allow the sale of high-value paintings for dorm renovations.
- Lévy Gorvy Dayan will not renew its Hong Kong lease, as auction house sales fell 27% in H1 2024.
- Artworks billed as Picassos in a gender-discrimination lawsuit at an Australian museum were revealed as fakes by curator Kirsha Kaechele.
- P. Buckley Moss, known for depicting Amish and Mennonite communities, died at 91.
- A Memphis artist’s car was stolen with a sculpture piece for a South City art project commissioned by the Urban Arts Commission.
- Pioneering video artist Bill Viola died at 73 after battling Alzheimer’s, leaving a five-decade career in video art.
How to invest in Artwork right now:
I’d pay big money to get a tarot reading from Johnny Depp.
Vintage Autos
Bullish News
- A 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione sold for $11 million at RM Sotheby’s Paris sale.
- Bonhams’ Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale achieved a record £11,035,691, the highest for a UK sale in 2024.
- A 1948 Tucker ’48, once owned by George Lucas, is up for auction at Monterey Car Week, estimated at $2 million.
- A 1970 Lamborghini Miura P400 S is set for Gooding & Co’s Pebble Beach auction, estimated at $2-2.5 million.
- Bonhams’ Modern Design and Art sale will feature 35 lots from Jim Carrey’s collection, expected to fetch over $250,000.
- RM Sotheby’s will auction a 2014 McLaren P1, chassis number 002 of 375, expected to realize up to $2,350,000.
Bearish News
- Thieves stole three vintage vehicles in a pre-dawn Brooklyn raid; a 1955 Chrysler, 1966 Mustang, and 1968 Camaro.
- A 1958 Chevrolet Impala was stolen in broad daylight from a barn near Medicine Lodge, Kansas.
- A 1969 Mercury Cougar convertible and 1974 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale have been discovered rotting in a Texas junkyard.
- Wholesale used-vehicle prices increased 1.8% from June, with electric vehicles down 12.1% year-over-year.
How to invest in Vintage Autos right now:
Festival of Speed is the best name for an auto show I’ve ever heard.
Rare Coins
Bullish News
- The 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, originally worth $1, is now valued at $7,750,000.
- The 2011-P American Silver Eagle Reverse Proof retails for about $200 to $220 in PR69 and $350 to $400 in PR70.
- Baldwin’s Ancient British and World Coins sale saw a Japan Meiji copper Pattern Yen from 1870 sell for £48,000, over triple its estimate.
- A double-struck 1794 S-28 Head of 1794 early large cent will cross the block in Heritage’s ANA US Coins Signature Auction August 13-18.
- GreatCollections will display the 1794 Silver Dollar at the ANA World’s Fair of Money.
- Editions Gadoury and the National Library of France published a new two-volume of French royal gold coins.
- Czech archaeologists discovered over 2,150 silver coins from the 11th-12th centuries near Prague.
Bearish News
- The theft of a 17th-century coin from the British Museum revealed more than half of the museum’s collection remains uncatalogued.
- Brazilian artist Ilê Sartuzi stole a historic coin from the British Museum and dropped it in a donation box as art.
How to invest in Rare Coins right now:
I was just wondering where I’d left my 2,150 silver coins from the 11th-12th centuries.
Farmland
Bullish News
- US vertical farming startup Plenty is forming a $680 million deal to develop indoor farms in the Middle East.
- Owner-operated cotton fields had the highest rates of cover crop adoption for owned land, with 22% in 2019.
- US farmland values propelled up in two strong farm income periods over the last 15 years.
- The Flickner Innovation Farm in Kansas is set to unveil the 360 RAIN irrigation system, one of only two operating in the state.
- The Toll Brothers acquired an 86-acre parcel in Langhorne for $40.5 million.
- Senator Richard Blumenthal announced a new legislation, which aims to improve crop insurance for small farms.
Bearish News
- The farm sector debt is expected to reach $547.6 billion this year, a 40% increase since 2017.
- The Farm Bill stalled as the deadline approached, with the House version calling for a significant decrease in SNAP funding.
- Indiana lost 345,700 acres of farmland over 12 years from 2010-2022.
- A Michigan farmer motioned to dismiss wire and mail fraud charges for allegedly setting up sham farming operations.
How to invest in Farmland right now:
Vertical farming is looking up.
Luxury Goods
Bullish News
- Balenciaga launched the first luxury fashion app on Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset.
- Formula One is set to unveil LVMH as a global partner in a $150 million per year contract starting in 2025.
- The son of Asia’s richest man gifted his groomsmen limited-edition Audemars Piguet watches worth over $200,000 each.
- A recent study found that affluent millennials prioritize spending on luxury goods over experiences.
- Louis Vuitton released a capsule collection with Timberland, featuring the LV 6-inch Boot crafted in their Italian atelier.
- EssilorLuxottica acquired lifestyle brand Supreme in a $1.5 billion cash deal.
Bearish News
- Luxury brands are rolling out 50% discounts as Chinese shoppers rein in spending.
- Richemont’s sales were almost flat in the three months through June.
- Omega owner Swatch Group’s shares fell the most in four years, with profit dropping 70% in six months.
- The 17 apparel, accessories, and luxury goods stocks tracked reported revenues 2.2% below consensus for next quarter’s guidance.
- Burberry appointed a new CEO as it warned of a first-half operating loss.
- Italy’s Competition Authority has opened an investigation on Dior and Armani over alleged labor exploitation.
How to invest in Luxury Goods right now:
Virtual Luxury might fit in my budget.
Wine, Tequila, and other Spirits
Bullish News
- Wines of last treasures’ from the Avery family’s private cellar, featured in a Christie’s auction, reached £2.57 million in sales.
- The global beer market is projected to increase by $148.43 billion from 2024 to 2028.
- New Jersey’s 3BR Distillery released vodka intended to taste like egg and cheese on an everything bagel.
- Guinness World Records will designate New Jersey’s Meximodo restaurant as having the most varieties of agave spirits commercially available.
- A bill granting Boston more liquor licenses could make the city’s restaurant scene more equitable.
- Tabitha Brown is set to unveil her inaugural wine collection exclusively at Target.
- Whisky Chicks and Bourbon Brotherhood announced two rare bourbon raffles benefiting the Coalition for the Homeless.
Bearish News
- Pernod Ricard sold most of its wine brands as global wine consumption hit a 27-year low.
- A vineyard sued its insurer, claiming it owes coverage for $50 million of bad wine.
- Thieves stole $5,000 worth of unlocked wine and spirits from a Safeway store in Ephrata, Washington.
- OLAF investigators dismantled a major smuggling scheme for counterfeit vodka and whisky worth an estimated €14 million.
How to invest in Wine and Spirits right now:
Tabitha Brown’s wine must be good!
Music and Film
Bullish News
- Apple is pursuing significantly more Hollywood deals for licensed movies to expand the Apple TV+ catalog.
- Taylor Swift helped lift UK vinyl and CD music sales to £164 million in the first half of 2024.
- SoundLabs AI will provide Universal Music Group’s artists with new technologies, including a ”language transposition” feature.
- TikTok teamed up with Eventbrite to enable in-app ticket sales.
- Republic Records appointed David Wolter and Miles Beard as co-heads of East and West Coast A&R respectively.
- J.D. Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ climbed to number one on Amazon after he was named as Donald Trump’s running mate.
- Relix Marketplace partnered with ANALOGr.com to offer 19 unique Grateful Dead mementos spanning the band’s post-60s career.
Bearish News
- Record labels sued Verizon for over $2 billion for alleged “massive copyright infringement” by its subscribers.
- On-location reality TV filming days in Los Angeles dropped nearly 57% between April and June 2024.
- Paramount+ canceled the live-action “Halo” series after two seasons.
How to invest in Music and Film right now:
Taylor Swift is a walking economy.
Metals and Gems
Bullish News
- The gem faceting machine market surged to $849.8 million in 2024 and is poised to reach an estimated $1.27 billion by 2034.
- Microsoft invested in Cyclic Materials, a startup that developed a technology to recover rare earth metals from end-of-life hard drives.
- Jolt Energy Storage Technologies developed a large-scale battery storage solution that doesn’t use rare metals like cobalt.
Bearish News
- Platinum Group Metals had roughly 8 months of cash runway as of May 2024, with analysis spotting 3 warning signs.
- The CFTC shut down Safeguard Metals for selling precious metals coins to seniors at inflated prices of 50% or more over the spot.
- Indonesia’s nickel industry expansion is driving deforestation twice as fast around new processing plants.
How to invest in Metals and Gems right now:
There’s nothing seniors love more than special coins.
Collectibles
Bullish News
- “Apex,” a nearly complete stegosaurus fossil discovered in 2022, sold for $44.6 million at Sotheby’s, setting a new auction record.
- The collectibles industry is valued at $622.4 billion in 2024, with a projected 9.2% annual growth rate.
- Fanatics launched Fanatics Collect, a collectibles marketplace streamlining the buying and selling of trading cards.
- A PSA Type I photo from Willie Mays’ 1951 debut sold for $12,063 at Goldin Auctions following his passing.
- TOYMAK3RS and $WEN launched a limited-edition collectible toy that unlocks cross-chain NFTs using Jellybean technology.
- Police in Oregon recovered 4,000 stolen Lego sets worth over $200,000.
Bearish News
- Comics and graphic novel sales in the US and Canada declined by around 7% in 2023.
- Pokemon Go Fest 2024 is under scrutiny for being unnecessarily expensive.
How to invest in Collectibles right now:
If I were police in Oregon, I’d watch my step.
Websites and Domains
Bullish News
- Atom launched its updated Cloud Broker program, allowing brokers to earn a 20% commission on domain sales.
- Nearly all (94%) of retail executives plan to maintain or increase their investment in e-commerce over the next 6-12 months.
- Notable end-user domain sales at Sedo included ISS.io for $19,780 and Patent.co.uk for £6,750.
Bearish News
- A global tech outage caused by CrowdStrike’s bad code disrupted businesses and canceled over 5,000 flights.
- Squarespace’s weak security defaults enabled domain hijacks of at least a dozen organizations.
- BrandShield identified 17,243 suspicious domains related to former President Trump and 3,336 related to President Biden.
- A study reveals an “emerging crisis in consent,” with up to 45% of data in the C4 dataset restricted by websites, posing significant challenges for AI training.
How to invest in Websites and Domains right now:
Crowdstrike? That’s exactly what they’ll do.
Cheers,
Wyatt
Disclosures
- We hold BTC, ETH, and a couple Star Wars Action figures in our ALTS 1 Fund.
- There are a couple of affiliate links above. If you click them, we may get a couple of bucks.