Nov 5, 2021 Sign Up

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"I remember knowing, for a while, for a long time, that I was kind of abnormal in some sense." ⁠— Vitalik Buterin

Good morning! Michael Jordan is still the highest paid athlete of all time according to Sportico rankings released yesterday. Jordan earned $2.05 billion ($2.62 billion inflation-adjusted) after he turned pro in 1984 (see full list in Daily Visual below). Peloton, once the darling of pandemic stocks, has been in free fall lately and yesterday dropped more than 25% in after-hours trading after reporting weakening sales growth. Credit Suisse is still hurt after the Bill Hwang fiasco earlier this year and announced it will slash ties with hedge funds and focus on its core business of catering to the global rich.

As promised, please find the Short Squeez financial modeling course here, updated with the 4th module. There are 5 modules in total and the last one will be sent next Friday.

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1. Story of the Day: What The Shiba?

October was a month to remember for Shiba Inu. Not the dog breed but the cryptocurrency inspired by the Shiba Inu breed. The same breed that also inspired the Dogecoin. (seriously tho can we get some diversity on the dog breeds here?) Shiba Inu price has been spiraling down lately, losing nearly 40% in the last week.

As the coin price tanks, the crypto world has been focused on a "whale" wallet controlling billions of dollars worth of the token. This is the same whale that turned $8k into $5 billion as a result of the price rally. The whale has been moving the coins into different wallets, raising concern the holder was about to sell.

The whale did four transactions out of that account, each sending $695 million of SHIB to a different account -- so a total of $2.78 billion. The move triggered speculation on where the SHIB trillions would end up. There was no other indication that the SHIB whale was moving the tokens to the open market.

While the SHIB whale’s motivation for moving the tokens is unclear, the market reacted strongly as sell-offs increased and the price of the coin tanked.

Shiba Inu is not the first coin to trigger concern about high ownership concentration. Initially, Bitcoin and Ethereum were highly influenced by whales whose trades could sway market prices. Their ownership concentration has since declined, as more institutions and retail investors jumped into crypto. That said, even today about 2,000 addresses own more than 40% of all Bitcoin.

Short Squeez Takeaway: The coin drama highlights the large influence whales have in the cryptocurrency world. Even though every transaction is recorded on the blockchain and everyone can see it, still no one knows what TF will happen next given the anonymity of some of the players involved. This is what makes holding some of these "sh*tcoins" quite dangerous e.g. if you bought Shiba last Thursday, you probably don't have to worry about Biden's tax plan by now.

Source: Bloomberg, Coindesk

2. Markets Rundown

• S&P 500 index rose for the sixth straight day to close at new record Thursday as investors greeted a Fed decision to taper bond purchases as a sign that economy’s recovery from the pandemic is on track.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Etsy ($ETSY) +13% after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations.
• (+) Nvdia ($NVDA) +12% after Wells Fargo raised its price target on the stock to a Street high of $320 per share from $245, citing a bullish outlook on the company’s Omniverse platform.
• (–) Moderna ($MRNA) -18% after a weaker-than-expected quarterly report.

3. Top Reads

A Message Alternative Assets: Explore unique investment ideas

As a Short Squeez reader, you already understand that investment options are all around us. But if you're only thinking about stocks & crypto, you're missing out on some major opportunities.

Alternative Assets is a newsletter that demystifies the world of options that don't get talked about as much.

Check out Alternative Assets →

4. Book of the Day: Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But in today’s dramatically reconfigured world, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others.

In Give and Take, Adam Grant, an award-winning researcher and Wharton’s highest-rated professor, examines the surprising forces that shape why some people rise to the top of the success ladder while others sink to the bottom. Praised by social scientists, business theorists, and corporate leaders, Give and Take opens up an approach to work, interactions, and productivity that is nothing short of revolutionary.

5. Short Squeez Picks

• Why you should leave room in your life for serendipity (spectator.co.uk)
• Sick of working on a tiny laptop screen? Check out ViewSonic’s portable monitors that are great for working on the road. (Use code OWS for 15% off in the US & Canada)
• Career hot streaks don't happen by accident
  

6. Daily Visual: Top 10 Highest Paid Athletes of All-Time

Source: Sportico

7.  Daily Acumen: McDonald’s Theory

“I use a trick with co-workers when we’re trying to decide where to eat for lunch and no one has any ideas. I recommend McDonald’s.

An interesting thing happens. Everyone unanimously agrees that we can’t possibly go to McDonald’s, and better lunch suggestions emerge. Magic!

The same goes for groups of people at work. The next time a project is being discussed in its early stages, grab a marker, go to the board, and throw something up there. The idea will probably be stupid, but that’s good! McDonald’s Theory teaches us that it will trigger the group into action.”

Source: Jon Bell

8. Memes of the Day

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