Market Updates

The publicly-traded Destiny Tech100 saw its value skyrocket, then fall. The closed-end fund has holdings in 23 prominent pre-IPO companies, including SpaceX, OpenAI and Epic Games, and trades under the DXYZ symbol on the New York Stock Exchange. It allows retail investors exposure to a portfolio of private companies, and its launch got a lot of media attention, with some calling it a “meme-stock.” Since its late March debut, the price has jumped from $8.25 to a high of $105 in a matter of days, before falling to the $36 range today. It is still trading at a considerable premium to its last net asset value (NAV) of $4.84, which values its portfolio at around $54 million. Investors should understand that they are buying in at such a premium, and the volatility of the stock so far also speaks to the market’s uncertainty of how to value the portfolio. However, the rapid price growth and attention speaks to a pent-up demand for investing in pre-IPO companies, particularly prominent ones.

Major collectibles auction house Goldin was acquired by eBay. Best known for its Netflix show “King of Collectibles,” the company was only acquired by current parent Collectors Holdings in 2021. The deal gives eBay greater access to the high-end collectibles market, and allows Collectors to focus on its grading businesses. The deal was one of three that eBay and Collectors reached, with top grading company PSA also acquiring the eBay vault, and PSA and eBay agreeing on a trading card partnership that will better integrate the grading and selling process. This deal represents more consolidation in an industry that has quickly become dominated by three players - eBay, Collectors and Fanatics, and it remains to be seen how it will affect customers and the market as a whole.

Sotheby’s Sports Week saw mixed results. The series of six auctions highlighting top-end sports memorabilia included a $1.75 million sale of a Kobe Bryant NBA Finals jersey and a Michael Jordan game-worn jersey that sold for $571,500. However, the centerpiece item, Muhammad Ali’s trunks from 1975’s “Thrilla in Manila” fight, was pulled from auction after not meeting the reserve price. Still, it reached a high bid of $3.8 million and given that it last sold in 2012 for $155,350, the value has increased considerably. All in all, having a premium auction house like Sotheby’s devote a full week of auctions to sports memorabilia is a great sign for the market going forward.

Uniswap, the world’s biggest decentralized crypto exchange, received a Wells notice from the SEC. This is generally the precursor to formal enforcement actions, and it appears the SEC will be accusing Uniswap of running an unregistered securities exchange and acting as an unregistered securities broker. Uniswap is a decentralized finance (DeFi) marketplace that works on a peer-to-peer system, rather than a centralized bank or brokerage. CEO Hayden Adams said that “the future of financial technology and our industry hangs in the balance,” underscoring the importance of the potential legal battle. Uniswap’s native token, UNI, has dropped 16% since the news of the Wells action was released.