🍋 Crypto Finds a Likely Hero

Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, who cofounded FTX, is providing credit lines to keep his struggling industry afloat. Stocks bounced back. Uber Pool is also coming back. For fourth of July holiday, a record 42 million Americans are expected to hit the road. Despite Elon’s reluctance, Twitter's board is pushing for the takeover to move forward.

Short Squeez
June 22, 2022

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"Spending money to show people how much money you have is the fastest way to have less money." — Morgan Housel

Good Morning! Stocks came back big from their long weekend – Dow jumped 600 points and the S&P 500 was up 2.5% after the worst weekly loss in two years. Also making a comeback are shared rides via Uber, now called UberX Share instead of Uber Pool. That might be the best way to get around this Fourth of July, as a record 42 million Americans are expected to hit the road for Independence Day. Even though Musk has been raising doubts, Twitter's board does not want independence and is pushing for the takeover to move forward.

Today's sponsor, Miso Robotics, gives you exposure to the $300B fast-food industry with its futuristic kitchens. Get shares in Miso Robotics before the raise closes on June 23rd.

1. Story of the Day: Crypto Finds a Likely Hero

Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, who cofounded FTX Trading, is providing credit lines to keep his struggling industry afloat. Nothing like having to finance your peers to make sure that you don't go down with the ship.

BlockFi, which has been raising money at a reduced valuation, said it secured a $250 million line of credit from FTX. This is right after Voyager Digital, whose stock is down 90% YTD, got a $200 million credit facility, comprised of cash and USDC stablecoins. Voyager also got a separate 15,000 bitcoin revolver from Alameda Research, another Bankman-Fried firm.

Recent liquidations have spread contagion risks in the crypto industry. Up until recently, the only contagion risk people were worried about was COVID, but apparently digital assets are not immune to falling sentiment, among other things.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, said, "Sam Bankman-Fried is the new John Pierpont Morgan - he is bailing out cryptocurrency markets the way the original J.P. Morgan did after the crisis of 1907."

Short Squeez Takeaway: Here we thought bailouts were frowned upon. Apparently, it's fairly common in crypto, with FTX providing $120 million in debt financing for Liquid Group last year after hackers stole from the Japanese exchange. I guess if SBF is willing to keep his industry afloat, and isn't worried about getting paid back, then investors should feel hopeful someone is willing to keep the dream alive.

2. Markets Rundown

All markets were up in what looks like a relief rally after days of weakness across the board.

Movers & Shakers

(+) Exxon Mobil ($XOM) +6% after Credit Suisse upgraded them to outperform from neutral.
(+) Tesla ($TSLA) +9% after Elon Musk provided more clarity on job cuts announced earlier this month.
(+) Spirit Airlines ($SAVE) +8% because JetBlue boosted its takeover offer by $2 a share to $33.50/share.

Private Dealmaking

Newcleo, London-based developer of nuclear power start-up, raised €300 million in funding
Platform.sh, Bay Area-based platform-as-a-service focused continuous deployment, raised $140 million in Series D funding
Wahed, New York-based fintech whose savings and investment products let Muslim customers invest in line with their faith, raised $50 million in Series B funding
Plobal Apps, India-based, no-code mobile app platform for e-commerce stores, raised $8.5 million in funding
Rider, Pakistan-based “Amazon-like” next-day delivery start-up, raised $3.1 million
Saltalk, CA-based ghost kitchen startup, raised $8 million in Series A funding

3. Top Reads

Local magazine company N2 rebrands to Stroll as revenue tops $131M (Axios)
Real estate is the crisis risk to watch now (BB)
Musk etc warn of recession (BB)
Zuck shows prototype headsets to build support for $10 billion metaverse bet (CNBC)
The battle for Spirit heats up (Fox)
Naomi Osaka starts media company with LeBron's help (NYT)
What content dominates Instagram? (Axios)
Sales of existing homes fell in May (CNBC)
Ex-OnlyFans CEO has a new job (Axios)
Beyonce's new song is about the Great Resignation (CNBC)

A Message from Miso Robotics: Last Chance To Invest In The Robo-Cooking Revolution

You have less than 48 hours to get a piece of Miso Robotics.

While most restaurants struggle with profit margins under 5%, Miso’s kitchen automation solutions can help them cut costs and raise margins by as much as 3X.

That’s why these robot chefs are already teaming up with:

Jack in the Box, piloting Miso’s tech at a test location
White Castle, hiring Miso bots in 100 more locations
Buffalo Wild Wings, customizing a wing-frying robot

And Miso just announced they’re expanding internationally.

They could be cooking for the entire $300 billion fast food industry before you know it.

Get shares in Miso Robotics before the raise closes on June 23rd.

4. Book of the Day: The Startup of You: Adapt, Take Risks, Grow Your Network, and Transform Your Career

In this invaluable book, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Ben Casnocha show how to accelerate your career in today’s competitive world. The key is to manage your career as if it were a startup business: a living, breathing, growing startup of you.

Why? Startups—and the entrepreneurs who run them—are nimble. They invest in themselves. They build their professional networks. They take intelligent risks. They make uncertainty and volatility work to their advantage.

These are the very same skills professionals need to get ahead today.

This book isn’t about cover letters or résumés. Instead, you will learn the best practices of the most successful startups and how to apply these entrepreneurial strategies to your career.

Whether you work for a giant multinational corporation, stitch together multiple gigs in a portfolio career, or are launching your own venture, you need to know how to:

• adapt your career plans as pandemics rage and technologies upend industries

• develop a competitive advantage so that you stand out from others at work

• strengthen your professional network by building powerful alliances and maintaining a diverse mix of relationships

• engineer serendipity that produces life-changing career opportunities

• take proactive risks to become more resilient to industry tsunamis

• tap your network for information and intelligence that help you make smarter decisions

In an urgent update to the frameworks that have helped hundreds of thousands of people transform their careers, this new edition of The Startup of You will teach you how to achieve your boldest professional ambitions.

“When the Naysayers Are Loud, Turn Up the Music"

5. Short Squeez Picks

Tired of having to use 5 different apps and 10 spreadsheets to monitor your investment portfolio? With Delta Investment Tracker, you can get a clear overview of everything that you own in one app. Check it out today!
Bullish investors love posting GIFs
Don't live a life of what-ifs
What to do when you are stressed out
Bummer summer ahead

6. Daily Visual: US Newspaper Ad Revenue

Digital newspaper ad revenue expected to eclipse print newspaper ad revenue by 2026

Source: Axios

7. Daily Acumen: On the Shortness of Life

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.

Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested.

But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing.

So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it.”

Source: Roman philosopher Seneca

8. Crypto Corner by Bonkalytics.com

Crypto influencer wakes up "with Celsius sweats"
Colombia's new president seems to be a fan of Bitcoin
Amidst this bear market, we need NFTs to promote positivity
Mastercard holders will be able to purchase NFT
Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden reaches $1.6 billion valuation
Celsius warns community about fake accounts, pauses Twitter spaces and AMAs

For more crypto-focused content, sign-up here.

9. Memes of the Day

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