The WC – Let’s Learn about Ponzi Schemes

August 3, 2022 | ± 4 minutes

New here? The WC is a random mix of useful / interesting / notable stuff that gets pumped into your inbox every Wednesday.

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Biggie Smalls goes full crypto

…Or his estate does, anyway.

Last week, a Biggie NFT was released via marketplace oneof.com

biggie

The NFT comes with the usual celeb roadmap stuff (future drops, IRL events), but the difference here is the access to royalties to one of his unreleased freestyles.

Based on the terms, the NFT holders get to choose who and how to license the music out and then how to spend the cash as it comes flowing (trickling) in.

The members of Sky’s The Limit will together decide which artists, DJs, and musicians can remix or sample the track – keeping the dough to help grow the Collective.

The collection sold out pretty quickly at $100 a pop, but you can still get your hands on one for around $124 (at time of writing).

It’s pretty terrible from any sort of investment point of view, but I wouldn’t mind having Biggie as my Twitter avatar for a bit. And more importantly, Biggie’s estate is a huge name in the space, and this could be one more little shove toward putting music royalties on the blockchain for good.

Can a can of wine taste good?

It’s no craft beer, but it can.

According to Wine Spectator, that’s a robust yes with notes of hell yes.

I live in Spain, where canned wine isn’t a thing yet, so I was surprised to learn it’s a $235m industry in America, growing to $570m by 2028.

Browsing through Wine Spectator today (as one does), I came across their 24 best canned wines, and a lot of them sound…really good?

Lucky Rock caught my eye – they’ve got a few selections in the top 25, and won some awards at the (I promise this is a thing) 2021 International Canned Wine Competition, and their branding is pretty edgy for a wine company.

Going for the stoner/canned wine aficionado overlap.

And if you’re not quite sure why you’d choose a can of wine over a bottle, here’s some reasons:

  • Aluminum is way better for the environment than glass is (more recyclable, lighter to ship)
  • Smaller serving sizes are convenient if you just want a glass or two on the go (ideally not while driving)

Still not clear? Check out Lucky Rock’s incredibly helpful video

My favorite review, for a brand (unfortunately) called Hogwash:

This rosé from Hogwash basically tastes like “strawberries and sunshine” in a can, according to Martinez. If that doesn’t sell you, she shared a bit more detail, telling us that the wine has “great acid with layers of fruit that range from citrus to red berries to even a soft peachiness that really rounds the wine out in a pleasant way.”

Not sure about this one, though: “Lemon-lime, green apple and grapefruit flavors mingle with matcha green tea and white pepper accents, backed by terrific acidity.”

That just ..sounds awful.

File NJ under WTF

Rents in Jersey City, NJ climbed 66% last year to an average of $5,500 per month, the highest in the US. That topped Palo Alto, CA, Manhattan, NY, and everywhere else in America.

Which is weird, because:

  • You can rent the mansion from the Godfather films for only $50 a night (not NJ but close enough).
  • Or you can buy Muhammad Ali’s sprawling Cherry Hill home for well under $2m.
  • Everyone in America hates New Jersey.

As far as I can tell, the best thing about homes in Jersey City in this price range is their views of New York

You can look, but you can’t have

Video games won’t ruin your kids

According to the biggest study ever conducted about how much video games may or may not f*ck up your kids, they won’t. There’s no causal relationship at all between how much time someone spends playing games and how messed up they are.

But it matters how they feel about it.

If the kid feels compelled to play (addicted), then there are consequences.

Like with most stuff – if you’re addicted, you should stop.

And this is nothing new – the WHO classified video game addiction as a disorder years ago.

I’m just happy someone with a PhD has validated my parenting strategy of “put kids in front of a screen while I drink bourbon in the dark while listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd.”

Maybe it’s not a Ponzi scheme

For all those waiting with bated breath, I’ve finally got an answer to the “is Agridime a Ponzi Scheme” question.

And for those who may need a reminder, this is my working theory:

So, is Agridime a Ponzi scheme?

Probably not. Here’s some feedback I got from one of their competitors:

With Agridime you’re signing a contract where you agree to buy at $X per head and sell to them at $Y per head (on the same contract). They are assuming they will outperform the guaranteed rate by processing their animals and getting the larger margins on the meat cuts when they sell on their site and other distribution outlets. If the company remains solvent and they’re able to continue selling their meat inventory at a good profit margin, it’s a good model.

So you’re buying the company’s high-yield unsecured debt. 15% to 20% is pretty decent for that, though it’s low if you’re comparing it to merchant cash advances or invoice factoring.

Always DYOR.

What caught your eye this week?

Cheers,

Wyatt

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Author

Wyatt Cavalier

Wyatt Cavalier

With a background in finance & intelligence analysis, Wyatt has an unhealthy obsession with finding the best blue chip investment opportunities. His previous newsletter, Fractional, resonated deeply with subscribers, bringing actionable insights and unconventional trading strategies. His rare book collection specializes in banned editions. He currently lives in Spain with his beautiful wife, three young boys, and dog Monty.

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