Public Company Will Pay Bitcoin Dividend

MARKET MOVERS

Toyota dethrones GM to become America’s top-selling automaker in 2021. Toyota outsold GM in 2021, marking the first time since 1931 that the Detroit automaker wasn’t the best-selling car company in the U.S. The historic change occurred as Toyota was able to manage supply chain issues better. GM said it sold 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2021, down by 12.9% compared to the year earlier. Toyota, by comparison, said it sold 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, up by 10.4%. Read more here.

Manhattan real estate breaks record in 2021, reaching $30 billion in sales and will continue in 2022. Sales have now eclipsed pre-pandemic totals, and are showing no signs of slowing in 2022. Fourth-quarter sales topped $6.7 billion, a mark not seen since such records were kept, according to a report from Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman. The average price for an apartment in Manhattan is now $1.95 million. The median price, which many consider being a more accurate indicator of the market, jumped 11% in Q4 of 2021.

A theme of early 2022 seems to be borrowers locking in low funding costs before interest rates rise. Top-rated US corporations are selling debt at an elevated clip, creating technical pressure on Treasury yields. High-grade yields are about the highest since May 2020.

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs pass $1 billion in total sales. The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), a collection of 10,000 ape avatars that individually act as tickets to an online social club, has become one of the most prominent brands in the NFT space. And now, the NFTs have generated more than $1 billion in total sales. They’re also highly sought after: Eminem bought one for ~$462,000 on Dec. 31, joining the ranks of other celebrity buyers like Jimmy Fallon and Steph Curry.

Nasdaq-listed BTCS announced that they would be paying their corporate dividend to shareholders in bitcoin. They are calling it a “bividend”. The dividend is only available to shareholders of the business (on or before March 16, 2022). Shareholders aren’t forced to take bitcoin. They have the option to elect to be paid in dollars or bitcoin. Third, the dividend will be $0.05 per share. The Pomp thinks if bitcoin dividends are popularized, it could be a great way for public companies to get younger people to buy and hold stocks. Read more here.

Travel and leisure stocks surge as Omicron disruption fears fade. Investors are standing by the data that says Omicron causes less intense illness than previous strains. Plus, new evidence shows the current vaccines hold up against even severe Covid-19 outcomes. Omicron has caused thousands of flights to be canceled over the past two weeks, but even major airlines aren’t worried about a hit to their summer peak season. Source(4:30)

Sony unveiled a prototype electric sport-utility seven-seater vehicle with all-wheel drive. The company said it would create a car unit and explore entering the electric-vehicle market, in another sign of how the electronics and car businesses are overlapping. The company said it would establish a company called Sony Mobility Inc. in the spring.

Chrysler unveiled a self-driving concept EV at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Chrysler wants to sell only electric vehicles by 2028. In addition to self-driving technologies, the Chrysler Airflow will include STLA SmartCockpit, which personalizes the driving experience, connecting work and home devices for a user. Per charge, the range is targeted at 350 to 400 miles. Pricing isn’t available yet. The Airflow will be Chrysler’s first all-electric vehicle and is due to hit roads in 2025.

Cathie Wood begins 2022 buying the dip in her favorite stocks. She is buying at lower prices now as this should result in a quadrupling over the next five years, she has said. The founder of Ark Invest purchased 1,185,460 shares of DraftKings through ARK Innovation. Wood also purchased a $47.6 million position in Block Inc., and 332,950 shares of video game company Roblox. Wood also purchased shares of Stratasys, 2U, Invitae and Berkley Lights, Beam Therapeutics, and Teladoc Health.

Robinhood will launch its beta version of its crypto wallet in mid-January. The crypto wallet rollout will mean customers could use the app to send and receive crypto, rather than just buying and selling it. Robinhood has finished its initial testing phase transfering Dogecoin to an external wallet. The next step is to open its beta testing to some of the Robinhood customers on the waitlist. Once it launches, Robinhood customers will be able to send and receive any of the seven cryptocurrencies the broker supports. They can then trade them commission-free on Robinhood's platform. Read more here.

Samsung announced that this year, it's making three television models – MicroLED, The Frame, and Neo QLED -- which are all compatible with NFTs. Users who currently have NFTs can look at them on a larger screen than was previously possible, as well as view other details about the NFT such as facts about the transaction and who created the NFT, which will be gleaned from the blockchain itself. Additionally, owners of these select TV sets will also be able to buy and sell NFTs directly from websites via the big screen.

In the ESG trade in the near term, we're going to see all of that electric vehicle infrastructure rally, says Tony Greer of TG Macro. What's good for Tesla is going to be good for the electric vehicle market. We're going to see carbon credits rally and natural resources rally alongside them because without aluminum and copper we have no electricity or electric platforms. This is all part and parcel of the trade. Source(23:10)

OpenSea is in talks to raise at a $13 billion valuation in a deal led by Coatue, says Eric Newcomer. Paradigm will also co-lead the $300 million funding round, according to a spokesperson for the firm. Kathryn Haun’s new crypto fund, which is currently operating under Haun’s initials “KRH,” is also participating in the funding round, according to sources. Dan Rose at Coatue is spearheading the round and may take a board observer seat. Stratechery says OpenSea has a lot of power now because it controls the vast majority of demand. Not being listed there means an NFT can’t command a higher price.