Market Updates

Social media giant Reddit filed for its highly anticipated IPO. The company was last valued at $10 billion in 2021, but the IPO value is reported to be $5 billion. It is the first major social media company to go public since Snap and Pinterest in 2017, and how it performs initially could affect the stagnant tech IPO market as a whole. A strong post-IPO performance could also bolster other major pre-IPO companies who have been hesitant to file for their own public offerings. In an interesting wrinkle, Reddit is reserving shares for its most active users, as they will not be subject to a lock-up agreement, and Reddit users have been responsible for large stock market movements in the past.

The value of U.S. farmland owned by investors grew to $16.6 billion by the end of 2023. This number has doubled since the end of 2020 and comes from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. Still, this only represents a small slice of the estimated $3.4 trillion market, which shows the potential for farmland as an asset class. As the world population grows, demand for farmland will rise, and climate change is causing the supply to decline. Indeed, the U.S. has lost 20 million acres of farmland since 2017, leading investors to expect prices to keep rising.

Cryptocurrency Ethereum passed the $3,000 mark for the first time since 2022. Growing excitement over the possibility of Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pushed the price up over 10% since the beginning of last week. The price of Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, has nearly doubled in the last four months as part of a wider crypto rally. Investors are hoping that it will follow in the footsteps of Bitcoin, which has seen its value rise since its ETFs were launched, though investor inflows have flatlined recently.

The opening night of Christie’s Elton John auction fetched $8 million in sales. The legendary British singer is auctioning off items from his personal collection, and the first night exceeded expectations, led by a $1.9 million Banksy painting. Many lots went well above pre-auction estimates, showing the power of celebrity-owned items. A pair of his boots sold for $94,500 (low estimate: $5,000), a pair of his sunglasses sold for $22,680 (low estimate: $2,000), and his 1990 Bentley Continental sold for $441,000 (low estimate: $25,000). Finally, a leopard-print Rolex Daytona watch sold for $176,400, setting a new auction record for the model.