🍋 Jack Dorsey Triggered AF

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Short Squeez
December 22, 2021

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"If you don’t look on yourself and think, ‘Wow how stupid I was a year ago,’ then you must not have learned much in the last year." – Ray Dalio

Good Morning! Looks like the Build Back Better bill might have a shot of rising from the dead after President Biden expressed optimism of finding an agreement with Sen. Manchin who had all but KO'd the bill. "Some people think maybe I’m not Irish because I don’t hold a grudge," said Biden. OnlyFans has a new CEO, Amrapali Gan (ex. CMO)  after Tim Stokely, who founded the company in 2016, stepped away. After being canceled earlier this year, Bill Gates has now canceled all his holiday plans due to omicron.   

1. Story of the Day: Jack Dorsey Triggered AF

Post-Twitter Jack isn't taking any prisoners and is raging out in the open (well on Twitter). Why is a guy who is working 50% less and worth $12 billion dollars losing his damn mind? Two words: a16z and Web 3.0.

Jack is a Bitcoin maximalist, meaning he believes Bitcoin is the only digital asset in the world that matters and all others (Ethereum, Solana, Doge etc.) are inferior. In response to Cardi B's tweet if crypto is going to replace the dollar? Jack responded: "Yes, Bitcoin will."

Web 3.0 is apparently the new coming of the internet that will save us from the evils of Big Tech. It's a world in which everything is decentralized (on the blockchain) and allows participants to own parts of the internet. While the origins of the word go back to 2006, it has only recently gained popularity and is basically a sexier word for everything "crypto."

Its biggest supporters? VCs, particularly Andreessen Horowitz (commonly referred to as a16z) who are heavily investing in it.

A large chunk of web 3.0 infrastructure runs on chains such as Ethereum and Solana (e.g. trading of NFTs). Countless applications and games are being made on the Ethereum blockchain, which Dorsey doesn't seem to be too happy about. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has been relegated to only a "store of value."

On Monday night, a triggered Jack had enough and tweeted: 

Subsequent tweets were fired off calling out a16z and basically everyone that disagreed with him.

Of course, Elon Musk got in on the action, asking if anyone has seen Web3, to which Dorsey responded "it’s somewhere between a and z," hinting that it’s under the control of a16z.

Later Jack also summarized his thoughts in a meme (which we are really thankful for):

Short Squeez Takeaway: Only time will tell how real Web 3.0 is or whether it was a fad created by a16z to make 1,000x on their investments. So far, there seem to be real-world applications that are giving people utility and also making them money (i.e. flipping JPEGs). Jack meanwhile won't stop in his pursuit to make Bitcoin the currency of the planet. His company Block (ex. Square) includes Spiral, a project “aimed at making Bitcoin the planet’s preferred currency."

Source: Bloomberg

2. Markets Rundown

Stocks finished sharply higher Tuesday, ending a selloff in the past three sessions, as the Biden admin vowed to shun March 2020-style lockdowns and outlined plans to fight rising omicron cases.

Movers & Shakers

  • (+) Rite Aid ($RAD) +22% after beating earnings estimates.

  • (+) Citrix Systems ($CTXS) +14% after talks that Elliott Investment Management and Vista Equity Partners are considering a joint bid for the software maker.

  • (–) General Mills ($GIS) -4% after missing earnings estimates.

3. Top Reads

  • Covid-19 pandemic drives US population growth to record low (WSJ)

  • How the 2020s economy could resemble the 1980s (NYT)

  • Americans are tired of Covid (CNBC)

  • Why the US stock market has (recently) been exceptional (MS)

  • Google CEO addresses employee concerns about loss of ‘candor, honesty, humility and frankness’ by execs (CNBC)

  • We can’t go back to normal yet. The NBA shows why (BB)

  • Criminals have stolen nearly $100 billion in Covid relief funds (CNBC)

  • Via, a transportation-tech startup files for IPO (BB)

  • The robot chefs that can cook your Christmas dinner (BBC)

A Message from Masterworks: We Are Officially Speechless

Christmas is already here. But market volatility got express delivery. We don’t remember adding that one to the wish list. And, neither do CEOs. 

According to CNBC, CEOs across the market agree on one 2022 prediction: M-O-R-E V-O-L-A-T-I-L-I-T-Y.

J Pow is about to hike rates. Inflation is at 6.8%. And thanks to Omicron, lockdown 2.0 might be coming soon. 

With 2022 looking sketchy, now is the perfect time to rethink your portfolio.

As for us, we’ve got our eyes on possibly the most dependable asset class of all time: blue-chip art. 

WSJ reports that volatility and higher inflation are making investors “want things like art that won’t lose value.” Blue-chip art has the lowest correlation to equities of any major asset class, according to Citigroup. 

That’s why we partnered with the only alternative investing app that lets you invest in works by Warhol, Banksy, and other legends without needing millions.

The best part? Short Squeez readers can claim a holiday present. Merry Xmas ya filthy animals.

*See important disclosures

4. Book of the Day: Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos

In a rarified world of scientific research, a revolution has been brewing. Its activists are not anarchists, but rather Nobel Laureates in physics and economics and pony-tailed graduates, mathematicians, and computer scientists from all over the world. 

They have formed an iconoclastic think-tank and their radical idea is to create a new science: complexity. They want to know how a primordial soup of simple molecules managed to turn itself into the first living cell—and what the origin of life can tell us about the process of technological innovation today.

This book is their story—the story of how they have tried to forge what they like to call the science of the twenty-first century.

“Everything affects everything else, and you have to understand that whole web of connections.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

  • Check out the official newsletter of the internet's favorite meme doctor! Dr. Parik Patel breaks down his top news stories, insights and memes of the week. Guaranteed to make you learn and laugh. Subscribe here

  • Christmas edition: Merry but deadly

  • How Y Combinator changed the world

6. Daily Visual: Migration Destinations & Origins

Top destination and origin countries for international migrants in 2020

Source: Bloomberg

7. Daily Acumen: On Leadership

The "how" of leadership is often the first question we ask. The first step, however, should be to ask if leadership is even the right path for you.

Do you have the motivation and focus required for a journey that will likely take decades? Some business leaders enjoy celebrity status, which makes it tempting to set off on the path of business leadership without considering the length of the journey. Is your stamina strong enough to endure decades of grind, grit, and challenge? Can you remain passionate about your business despite all the challenges? Can you stay on the right track despite ever-changing circumstances? 

Do you have the potential to become a high-impact leader? Do you have the skills needed to both distinguish yourself among your peers and to lead at scale? One of the things that make a CEO stand out among current business leaders is their ability to hold true to their values, vision, and impact. Are you capable of such a commitment? Do you have the relationship skills necessary to build a community based upon shared values, vision, and impact?

Source: Inc

8. Crypto Corner

9. Memes of the Day

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