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October 27th, 2023 - This Week in Alternative Investments

October 27th, 2023 - This Week in Alternative Investments

Adam Katz
October 27, 2023

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Headlines

Bite sized market updates

Bitcoin prices hit an 18-month high. The cryptocurrency surged past $35,000 in anticipation of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

A Basquiat self-portrait could sell for $60 million at a November auction. 1982’s “Self Portrait as a Heel (Part Two)” hasn’t been displayed in public since it sold for $772,500 in 1999.

Wellington Access Ventures raised $150 million to invest in diverse founders. They are looking to invest in early-stage founders from underrepresented backgrounds.

A shovel used to collect moon rocks sold for $875,000. The 5.5-inch shovel was used during Apollo 16 in 1972.

Plus: SBF testifies, Marvel is joining Magic, and a New Yorker cartoon sets a record.

Partner

IPO Season is Back

Recent IPOs from companies like Instacart, Klaviyo, and Arm have opened the door to more startups going public in the coming months.

Sandhill Markets opens up access for accredited individuals to invest in institutional Pre-IPO deals like Stripe, Anthropic, Databricks and Epic Games.

How does it work?

Through Auctions. We don’t set the price. You and other investors do. Here are a few of our latest auctions:

Epic Games: $500
Flexport: $6
Rippling last round: $29.77
Databricks: $70.10

Bids for all of these start at $1. New auctions every week.

This week's auction is Notion! 🥳. Check auction prices here.

Smart Humans Podcast

Smart Humans explores the world of alternative investments. From Venture to Collectibles, Real Estate to Art and beyond - we discuss a new world of investment opportunities and the catalysts that impact their demand.

In this episode, Slava Rubin talks with Fundrise's Ben Miller about real estate investing and three housing markets that will continue to appreciate.

Bitcoin prices hit an 18-month high.

Market Updates

For the first time since May 2022, Bitcoin rose above $35,000. The price of the cryptocurrency has risen nearly 20% in the past week and has doubled since the beginning of 2023, but is still around half of its all-time high of over $68,000 in November 2021. The major catalyst is the possibility of government approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which could create wider public access to the asset. As of this writing, it is trading at just under $34,000 per coin.

A Basquiat that sold for $772,500 in 1999 now carries an estimated value of $40 million - $60 million. The 8-foot tall “Self Portrait as a Heel (Part Two)”, painted in 1982, hasn’t been seen publicly since that 1999 auction and is now scheduled to be auctioned next month at Sotheby’s. Basquiat consistently ranks in the top-10 in worldwide auction revenue and his original works are still in high demand.

Led by four Black founders, Wellington Access Ventures raised $150 million. As an offshoot of trillion-dollar asset manager Wellington Management, WAV is a first-of-its-kind fund with a mandate to invest in companies founded by underrepresented groups. In the third quarter of 2023, Black founders raised just 0.13% of all VC funding in the U.S., and funds such as WAV are hoping to change that number. They will be investing between $1 million and $6 million in early-stage startups and also offering support from its larger parent company.

A NASA “moon-rock scoop” sold for $875,000 at auction. The shovel was used by astronaut Charlie Duke (one of twelve men to walk on the moon) in 1972 to collect samples from the surface of the moon during Apollo 16. The one-of-a-kind artifact came directly from Duke himself and was part of RR Auctions’ “Space Exploration” auction, which saw its other four top lots sell for double, or nearly double their estimates.

Learn

Research and Insights from the Vincent team

A History of Sports Cards

Though there’s been renewed interest in sports cards over the past few years, cards have a long and storied history that spans more than 150 years.