A quarter ended September 30 bore witness to StepStone’s initiation into Chime’s fold. The sum of 150,000 shares, valued at $3 million, now rests within the fund’s $212.7 million portfolio, a mere 1.4% stake. Yet in the realm of institutional capital, even such a fractional claim is a sonnet of intent.
Imagine, if you will, a parade of these shiny new trust banks-“First National Digital Currency Bank” and “Ripple National Trust Bank”-like fresh recruits vying for applause in a society obsessed with shiny new toys. In the wings, three veterans-BitGo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos-are getting their last-minute pep talks, awaiting the OCC’s final nod, after proving they’re not just a bunch of digital jokes. Ah, the pomp and circumstance of regulatory approval! 😂
Interactive Brokers Group Inc. has officially started allowing a subset of eligible U.S. retail clients to fund individual brokerage accounts using stablecoins. This move marks a major integration of digital assets into the world of mainstream finance. The feature is being implemented in cautious phases. Therefore, it begins with just a part of the eligible clients in the US.
So, they’re both in the same neighborhood but with different priorities. IWM’s like the general store, IWO’s the specialty shop. Which one you pick depends on if you want a little bit of everything or just the shiny stuff.
A motive entangled with crypto-the most fashionable vice of our times-has been suspected in the demise of Danylo Kuzmin, son of Kharkiv’s deputy mayor. Vienna’s finest are investigating a gruesome tale wherein a very substantial amount vanished from his digital wallet post-mortem. The young man, found in a charred convertible in Vienna’s Donaustadt (autumn 2023), was the offspring of Serhii Kuzmin, a local official who surely wishes he had a digital child-proof lock. 😅
Both entities, in their labyrinthine pursuit of large-cap growth, are ensnared within the confines of their respective indices, each a separate yet parallel path through the same desolate landscape. VOOG, bound to the S&P 500 Growth Index, and VUG, tethered to the broader CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index, embody the paradox of choice-a choice that feels less like empowerment and more like an inevitable march toward abstraction.
In January 2024, the US DOJ decided to bring Xue Lee, affectionately known as Sam Lee, and Brenda Chunga, who prefers to embrace ‘Bitcoin Beautee’, into the spotlight. Turns out, these characters spun a tale so unbelievable that even the most gullible might have thought it was a grocery store full of free samples. The story? They claimed that investors would be rolling in crypto riches, thanks to mining operations that apparently existed only in the realm of fantasy.
The Gist of It
Trading close to its net asset value, it appeared the market was less inclined to shower this firm with the kind of exuberant premiums typically reserved for star-crossed investments.
After President Trump’s tariffs, the S&P 500 took a hit so dramatic it felt like a bad haircut. But then, like a determined tourist in a foreign city, it bounced back, adding 16% year to date. The economy, however, is less of a tourist and more of a person who’s lost their passport. Hiring has slowed, unemployment hit a four-year high, and I’m not sure if anyone’s still buying the “I Heart Tariffs” mug I got at a roadside stand in 2018.