Welcome back to another day with Renaissance. We’re like if Motley Fool and the Wall Street Journal had a baby - but even smarter, 10x as funny, and if it came out ‘just a little different.’

Straight in (no kissing) to this week’s issue. Bank busts, bitcoin booms, memecoins rule, short sellers drool.

*I’m working on my writing and my financial themed deaf poetry, can’t you tell 👀

Here’s what you need to know today:

I Woke Up And It Was 2008 - The Banking Crisis Vs Bitcoin

The Business Behind The MET Gala Explained

Coinbase Kerfuffle's Aren't Looking Good (We Hate Them)

What Top Performers Do To Unwind

.......And Of Course. Your Daily Source Of Alpha 👇

The Board

The Renaissance Over-Under

Where do you think the markets are going next week?

Business, Money Markets & Financial News

Banks Vs Bitcoin - Plus The Face Melting Breakdown Of The US Hitting The Debt Ceiling - ‘An Expose’

Call your mom about those bank withdrawals! I feel like they’re gonna be late……👀

I don’t know if you’ve been living under a rock (or more likely you’re gonna be), but US regional bank stocks have imploded after the collapse of First Republic Bank (the biggest failure since 2008). 🏧

For any idiots in the audience, money printing isn’t good. And it gets us to fun places like this one! PacWest Bancorp tumbled nearly 30%, while Western Alliance Bank and KeyCorp fell 21% and 10%. 📉

Despite this the Fed is actually trying to raise rates again! What’s hilarious is that at the start of the week Jamie Dimon said that the banking crisis was over after he bought out First Republic!

There hasn’t been something less over since my old teenage girlfriend’s threats to break up. 💔

The total market cap for US regional banks went from $480bn in January 2022 to $100bn now, a $380bn drop!!

Meanwhile the market cap of $NVDA has gone up by +$440bn since October 2022. Overall there’s been a +$60bn “Banking Crisis vs AI” gains in windfall wealth for people investing correctly since January.

Insight and Alpha⚡: GUYS, what do we tell you here!? History doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme. We’ve seen these indicators before in 2008 and this crisis is highly accelerated. AI is extremely hot like any tech bubble or Web3 bull market.

There is nothing more important than ‘the theme’ when trading and creating wealth: follow the waves, the buzzwords, map history on top and make adjusted trades.

If you’re invested in AI stocks or suppliers like NVDA, and been shorting banks like we at Renaissance have been, you’d be very happy. 🤝

In the financial crisis over 150 banks went out of business. Today, just 4 failures already equals the amount of assets financial institutions held during the banking crisis of '08 and '09! This is meltdown levels of unstable! 

So where does smart money run in times of uncertainty? Either shorts like we said, or gold and Bitcoin.💰

The US is, at the same damn time, flirting with a countrywide default (an event never before seen in history) while there’s a a load of banks cooking in the back! This would mean the end of the dollar as the global reserve currency. 💲

…….Look, we’re no quant savants here at Renaissance…….but we’re prettttyyy sure sovereign defaults are bad for the financial system.🤷‍♂️

The US could run out of cash by June 1st. Congress can only suspend or raise the debt ceiling. It’s time to turn the money printer on again and brrrrrrrr our way through it and increase inflation or total meltdown.

 It’s time for the US to pull my parent’s ol’ classic trick. Avoid bankruptcy by getting a second credit card to pay off the first one😎…….…’Merica! 🦅 Dear God.

TLDR and Alpha⚡: Bitcoin is up 75% YTD in this banking crisis, the US is screwed with inflation and busted banks incoming. 🏦

Bitcoin is rising in direct correlation with inflation and this WILL continue through the year. An estimated call is Bitcoin hitting ~$100k in 2024 with the halving occurring around the same time as an additional accelerant.

The Business Behind The MET Gala And Vogue As The Real Winner

Yeaaahhhhh something more businessy and lighter. It’s going to be alright. No more bad banks or global chaos, it was just a nightmare. 🙏

A table costs a total of $300,000. And they needed to sell out those tickets and tables (Jared Leto’s cat costume sold separately👀)

 What’s the purpose? It’s simple. To be a rich spendy well dressed MF💪, and if you’re new here at Renaissance - we’re into that shit.

It raises almost $20M a year in a single night alone! A single ticket is upwards of $35,000. The best part is, if Anna Wintour & Vogue doesn’t like you - you don’t get in😂. Back in 1960 a ticket was only $100 (inflation meets smart business).

The MET keeps more profit than you think…it only pays basic rent. All of the money are charitable donations! And it’s the sponsors such as Bank of America, Chanel, Fendi, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Reliance Industries, The MET Life Foundation, etc… whose corporate support helps The MET fulfil its mission by funding its operating budget!📰

Yet, on the side-line Vogue makes a killing from advertising slots, they sold two 6 second slots for $1million and more on influencer posts!

The amazing thing is that the red carpet is all that consumers get to see of the event, unlike the Superbowl or Oscars etc.. it’s completely different as a business and advertising model.

The MET Gala generates $543M in media impact value (MIV), compare that to the Superbowl’s $520M and then compare the events and their costs and ad slots - it’s insane!!!🤯🤯

Alpha and Takeaway⚡: Anna Wintour is a business genius. She’s created the event, made it tax efficient, kept other media coverage out and had her own company charge excessive ad fees as the only option - ‘the Superbowl of fashion’.

For your business you need to think about how you can create constraints where only you can provide the service. This is created synthetic value that she’s selling! If it’s your own event in your own industry or space, how can you create the MET Gala and capitalise on the vogue effect?

Me trying to look respectable while avoiding all the risky memecoin trades I told everyone about this week 👀

LITTLE BITS 😎

Another Hindenburg short report (good name for a segment?) calls out billionaire Carl Icahn on his corporate structure, claiming it’s financials are misleading!

AS ALWAYS the stock price has dropped and Carl’s net worth has shed 10 billion. His mortal enemy, Bill Ackman, is out for blood and piling on!

Renaissance is always telling you to follow these short trades because they are pure money (that’s 4 trades all with insane returns!) Turn your notifications on for Hindenburg and sit your ass down for the next one!

Article For Bill: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/bill-ackman-carl-icahn-billionaire-investor-short-seller-hindenburg-research-2023-5?

Short report: https://hindenburgresearch.com/icahn/

More on the debt ceiling and what it means 👇

https://dailyhodl.com/2023/05/01/debt-ceiling-dysfunction-could-trigger-global-financial-crisis-warns-hillary-clinton/

Bitcoin As A Safe Haven in a Crisis 🏡

https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/bitcoin-emerges-as-the-king-of-assets10x-growth-over-gold-during-us-banking-crisis/

The Very Best MET Gala Memes On Twitter 💃

https://www.storypick.com/met-gala-memes/

NOSTALGIA OF THE DAY

Crypto Market & NFT News

Tracking Early Memecoin Wallets And Their Activity For Alpha ⚡

Were you late to PEPE after we told you in this newsletter? Did you miss the 10x?

Well here are the top wallets that were earlier than we were. We’ve isolated them all so you can track them, their holdings and their next early moves.

We’re tracking them down like Nazis after the war!

Find the full board here for more investments and wallets that were early to this memecoin frenzy! ➡ https://dune.com/cryptokoryo/memelords

This wallet, 0x4322fd98f95a219d2aae2bba6664e3574b4c3708, is a whale 🐋 with a $7M portfolio

Renaissance breaks down what he’s holding……then breaks down emotionally because we don’t have it. 😢

This guy is a big Arbitrum maxi. First position held is in $MAGIC. Obtained at $0 and at $0.13 it’s now worth $3.3M!!!💸

Arbitrum is his next biggest holding. He didn’t receive it like magic, he bought it at $1.38-$1.66. He’s still actively buying up ARB and his position is now worth $2.5M! 💰

There is a pretty bullish signal from this and other wallets we’ve looked at.

The third biggest holding is $AGIX. He bought this one as well, thus very bullish! Bought between $0.39-$0.44 the position is currently worth $1.25M with $300k profit so far! 📈

Coinbase And Crypto - Latest Analysis | Open An International Exchange For Users Outside The US……Why Now?

PEPE has ripped again after being listed on OKX and now that the dust has settled, eyes are turning to Tier 1s like Coinbase and Binance. 👀

No one was expecting the exchange so soon. We think it’s due to the PEPE listing and so they can capture the insane volume that’s being traded legally!

Coinbase quietly made a dedicated page instructing users how to buy PEPE through their noncustodial wallet only (an interesting data point when we add it to this new exchange). This wallet is not the same as a listing but only hosts decentralised exchanges in the background.

If this exchange that’s now open lists PEPE the price will skyrocket and that’s what we’re speculating on here, a Tier-1 listing! 🚀

Speculate to accumulate on this one. We’re way past the safe take-profit points. But Coinbase is making some serious sneaky moves.…..

This exchange also comes on the back of Coinbase suing the SEC to force them to give regulatory clarity on what a digital asset is and is not. They’re sidestepping the rules, and with all this red tape it makes sense!

Crypto is dead in America if these kind of stupid hold-ups are happening. Ironically the closest to acceptance and regulation of a Crypto exchange was FTX which bribed every agency and politician to get there!💵

Personally at Renaissance we don’t believe in doing things exactly by the book and red tape. And Coinbase have been learning why very fast since their direct listing.

You’d think them suing the SEC would be bullish for COIN stock right? Empowerment etc? Well………

Coinbase insiders sued for billions: Brian Armstrong, the CEO, and Mark Andreessen alongside others.

They all avoided well over $1Billion in stock losses by selling based on private insider knowledge. This knowledge showed the company in a negative light and they chose not to disclose this as first quarter earnings were rapidly approaching!

Now they’re all being sued for insider trading - they’re coming for their coinsssss.

Yet. Yetttttt, Cathie Wood (good ol’ Cathie🙏) from ARK Invest bought $8.5M worth of COIN on the first of May. Her total bag holdings..…I mean total holdings is over $750M. 

She has periodically bought in times of the company’s distress, but what does she know that we all don’t?

Honestly Renaissance community, do not touch this stock or speculate on it, we’re deeming it for insiders and idiots only. It’s business, profits, decisions, legal worries, and a random Cathie, all make it far too speculative and the reward isn’t there for the risk either.

Alpha And Takeaway⚡: You should be fundamentally against Coinbase as its place in Crypto is centralised, and the true nature of Web3 is full decentralisation without crazy fees for nothing.

And if you do want to speculate on Crypto, pick individual tokens and projects that have a better risk reward outlook. Coinbase is a tired centralised giant strangled by the legal system they chose to enter, without innovating at all.

No hard feelings Cathy, RIP. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while!🐿

If it wasn’t for Cathy we’d be calling for a short position and have been thinking about it for the past year.

 ‘Bags of baldy man’s shit’ - by Cathy Wood

Wealth Building, Personal Finance Hacks & FAT FIRE

5 Weird And Wonderful Ways To Get Wealthier Right Now, Go From This To Thisss!..…Results May Vary And You Will Not Own Amazon

*I wonder if that masterclass in writing click bait titles has paid off yet……

1.  Increase your home equity: Pay that phattt mortgage off and increase your net worth in an instant!🏡

    Equity vs debt is a key ratio to understand for net worth! The more equity in the home or investment property you own, the wealthier you are.

   And the faster you pay it off you save years of payments in interest! Even if you overpay your mortgage by single digit percentages, you could pay off 7-10 years faster.

2. Business: Start that business, get the side hustle! It’s the number one driver behind us at Renaissance, business first - investments second! You have to find a business to increase your income level so your investments can be meaningful. We dont want a 100% return on your $72 savings do we? No, we want more income first! 💸

   So grind. Or or or, if you’re not good at starting things then just buy a cash flowing business cheaply on Flippa and grow it from there on the side! 🤷‍♂️

   https://flippa.com/websites

3.  (Assets) — (Liabilities) = Net worth: Sell the god damn liabilities. If you don’t need it then lose it. Cars on finance, all the stupid stuff - if it doesn’t produce cash flow then it’s a liability. The wife - a liability, get ri!…Joking joking.

4. Land: There’ll be 11.2 billion people by 2100. We’re playing a finite game on planet earth and we’re pretending we’re not. The space and the resources are running out. Land is typically not required for housing in developed nations now, but is desperately for the resources they have!

   E.g. a hectare of land in the Netherlands is worth 69,000 euros, this is still cheaper than buying a house, and you don’t even have to pay any building costs - just hold it! 

   The price of a hectare of arable land will skyrocket 🚀 as the infinite game plays out. Why do you think Bill Gates and others are buying so many farms? You can even passively invest in this type of land on a fractional basis!

5.  Index Funds (Ramit Sethi has a hard on somewhere right now):

   Now we’re in this recession all stocks and index funds have dropped massively. So if you’re in it for the long game then a discount on an index fund is great timing! 

   The S&P 500 has lost 20% since the beginning of the year, investing in it now wouldn’t be a huge risk. Even if it drops an extra 10 to 20%, you would probably break even within the next 1 to 2 years!

   But personally I’d wait just a little longerrrr and get into any of these funds: 👇

   Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF.

Physical & Mental Health

Now it’s time to focus on health. So as Renaissance readers we can also look like Renaissance sculptures 💪

Here are our top tips for staying in shape while travelling for business 💼

1. Book a hotel with a gym.🏋️‍♂️Travelling for work can be stressful and unpredictable. You want to remove as many barriers as possible that may prevent you from getting your exercise routine in!

   Having a gym readily accessible can make all the difference.

2. Use what you have. Business travelling often requires travelling light. And we understand - your squat rack doesn’t fit in the overhead compartment. 🤷‍♂️

   Be flexible. Incorporate bodyweight exercises into your routine. If there are trails or a park nearby even go for a run.

3. Make exercise a priority and schedule your gym time. It is often easiest to exercise when you do it at the same time everyday. The easiest time for this is often the morning. Prioritise your exercise and get it done before the craziness of the day gets in the way.

4. And NONE of this matters if you don’t eat and sleep properly. Drink plenty of water, eat healthy and try to get proper sleep.😴 You’ll be more productive, have more energy and exercising will be sooooo much easier. Oh and maybe it’ll help combat that ever-present jet lag 🤷‍♂️

Weekly Negroni

Here at Renaissance we work hard. But we also like to unwind. And what better way to learn how to unwind than to look at the best.

We got interested in this after watching an interview with Michael Jordan. 🏀 During his hour-long interview with Cigar Aficionado, Michael Jordan said:

He “Started smoking a cigar going to the games. In 1993. It became a ritual for every home game.” He continued by saying, “It became such a relaxing thing to do… each and every day for a home game, I smoke a cigar. I wanted that feeling of success and relaxation. It’s the most relaxing thing.”

That’s right. One of the best athletes of all time used to smoke a cigar before every home game.

So maybe, if it is good enough for the greatest NBA player, then it should be good enough for you. 🤷‍♂️

It is safe to say that Michael Jordan has expensive taste when it comes to cigars. Nothing but the best will do.

So what are the cigars Jordan has named as his go-to?

The classic and iconic Cuban Partagas Lusitania.

Partagas is one of the oldest, most well-regarded brands of Cuban cigars. The award-winning stogie is frequently out of stock due to its high demand among the elite. When available, a box of 25 Partagas Lusitania cigars sells for approximately $500.

Bottom line - if you want to smoke like the king, then there should be some Cubans in your humidor. 😎

Meme of the Day

Music

In honour of his first ever live performance after 12 long years of mystery. Here’s one of our favourite Jai Paul songs below 👇

Originally part of his debut album. After it leaked online he scrapped it, leaving only the unfinished demo versions and still hasn’t released an album since. 💽

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That’s a wrap for today! Meet us on Twitter to talk all about it. Where we’ll send you jokes, tips, and all important news from the world of money, business and crypto and more! (@RenaissanceDly)

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