🍋 Another Bank Run

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Good Morning! The new Bridgewater CEO Nir Bar Dea is shaking things up. He says the hedge fund wants to focus on AI, put a cap on its signature fund, and lay off workers. More celebrities are getting in on the buyside world - Venus Williams joined private equity firm Topspin Consumer Partners and Gwyneth Paltrow is raising as $75 million venture capital fund.

Citi is the latest firm to announce layoffs, including in its investment banking division. And the Inverse Cramer ETF went live yesterday, allowing you to bet against his picks in real time.

With inflation out of control, Upside is a free app that that gets you cash back on everyday items like groceries, gas, and at restaurants. Frequent users earn ~$340/year. Download here.

If you are interested in getting in front of a smart, young audience of business leaders, bankers, investment professionals, policy influencers of over 500,000 people, then fill out this form, we’ll be in touch.

1. Story of the Day: Crypto Bank Run

Silvergate Capital became the latest casualty of crypto winter and the FTX aftermath yesterday. Silvergate’s stock fell 58% on Thursday after the crypto bank told regulators it’s holding off on filing its annual report and evaluating whether or not it can stay in business.

Silvergate quickly became one of the world’s largest lenders to crypto firms. The bank isn’t just some run-of-the-mill startup - it’s a mainstream, federally insured-lender.

But Silvergate went all-in on crypto, and that move backfired. Silvergate’s customers withdrew $8 billion in deposits after FTX’s collapse. It became a classic case of a bank run - customers withdrew money because they were worried Silvergate could go insolvent, but that only added more fuel to the fire. Silvergate reported over a $1 billion net loss in Q4 as the bank covered deposits, and some expect the bank to lose even more money.

After Silvergate’s announcement yesterday, some of the largest crypto firms like Coinbase and Galaxy Digital dropped Silvergate as their banking partner.

Takeaway: Most banks and other financial services firms are still playing it safe when it comes to crypto. But the players that went all-in on crypto look like they’re getting burned in 2023.

2. Markets Rundown

Stocks closed higher as Salesforce sparked a market rally.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Salesforce ($CRM) +12% after surprising investors with a monster quarter.

• (–) Tesla ($TSLA) -6% after an underwhelming investment day.

• (–) Silvergate Capital ($SI) -58% after delaying its annual report, concerns over viability.

Private Dealmaking

• TD Bank completed its $1.3 billion acquisition of investment bank Cowen

• Cargo Therapeutics, a cancer treatment startup, raised $200 million

• Divert, a food waste management startup, raised $100 million 

• CodaMetrix, a healthcare revenue cycle services startup, raised $55 million

• Vitally, a customer success software company, raised $30 million

• Kratos Studios, a video game blockchain startup, raised $20 million

A Message from Upside: Don’t Cut Back, Get Cash Back

The cost of eggs has risen 190.9% since 2020. And with costs continuing to rise, we’re all trying to figure out where we can cut back a little bit.

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Get an extra 25¢/gal cash back on your first tank of gas. Download the free Upside app and use code: “BHBusiness25”.

3. Top Reads

• Americans need to be richer than ever to buy their first home (BB)

• Mortgage rates jump again, surge closer to 7% (YF)

• Tesla’s growth ambition comes with a $175 billion price tag (WSJ)

• Can five generations coexist in the workplace? (Forbes)

• 9 questions about the threats to ban TikTok, answered (Vox)

• Why the push for a central bank digital dollar has slowed (Axios)

• Credit Suisse 5-year CDS widen as shares plummet (Reuters)

• Activist hedge fund Dan Loeb takes a passive stake in AMD (CNBC)

• We are all gamblers now, from sports to crypto (WP)

• He’s a Harvard MBA but can he beat Djokovic? (WSJ)

4. Book of the Day: Win Every Argument

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MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan isn’t one to avoid arguments. He relishes them as the lifeblood of democracy and the only surefire way to establish the truth.

Arguments help us solve problems, uncover new ideas we might not have considered, and nudge our disagreements toward mutual understanding. A good argument, made in good faith, has intrinsic value―and can also simply be fun.

Arguments are everywhere―and especially given the fierce debates we’re all embroiled in today, everyone wants to win. In this riveting guide to the art of argument and rhetoric, Hasan shows you how.

As a journalist, anchor, and interviewer who has clashed with politicians, generals, spy chiefs, and celebrities from across the world, Hasan reveals his tricks of the trade for the first time.

Whether you are making a presentation at work or debating current political issues with a friend, Mehdi Hasan will teach you how to sharpen your speaking skills to make the winning case.

“Communicate with confidence, rise above the tit for tats on social media, and triumph in a successful and productive debate in the real world.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

• Wonder Tools is a fast-growing free weekly newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. It's trusted by 20,000 readers who rely on it to save time and to avoid missing out on what's new and valuable. Get smarter today

• All 32 NFL teams ranked by workplace conditions

• 7 books that will rock your reality

• How to get better at making every type of decision

• Did remote and hybrid work break performance reviews?

• The lifecycle of greed and fear

6. Daily Visual: Fintech’s VC Dominance Continues to Fade Away

_{Source: CBInsights}

7. Daily Acumen

Success is hard to achieve despite small changes leading to significant results due to the lack of consistent discipline.

Most people can do something once but struggle to maintain it over a long period of time, especially during challenging situations.

Positioning yourself for success requires discipline in doing ordinary things consistently even when the results are not immediately visible.

Loving the process means persevering through difficult times and continuing even when others give up.

Achieving extraordinary results requires uncommon discipline from ordinary people.

8. Memes of the Day

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