Alternative Investing Report - October 30, 2025

*as of 10/29; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

In a widely expected move, the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark lending rate by a quarter-point to 3.75%-4.00%, the lowest it has been in three years. There were two dissenters, one who wanted to keep rates steady and one who wanted a half-point cut. The outlook for the final meeting of the year in December is unclear, though Fed Chair Jerome Powell lowered expectations of a further cut. This pullback caused markets to wobble, with equities falling immediately after Powell’s remarks and crypto declining as well.

➨ TAKEAWAY: The government shutdown has complicated matters for the December meeting, as a lack of data could cause the Fed to be cautious and hold off on further cuts. CME’s FedWatch tool now pegs the chance of a cut at around 70%, dropping from more than 90% before the announcement. As yesterday’s cut was already priced into the market, with another expected in December, there could be a market disruption in the short-term. Mortgage rates, for example, are already rising, which is likely bad news for the real estate market.

Vincent's Slava Rubin and Sacra's Jan-Erik Asplund discussed Databricks, Groq, Anduril, Anthropic, and Canva, five of the hottest pre-IPO companies in the asset class - and how investors can get access to them.

Presented by the Fundrise Innovation Fund.

In what could be a market-changing deal, Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire pre-IPO trading platform EquityZen. The terms of the deal, which is expected to close early next year, were not announced. Morgan Stanley already has a partnership with the startup management company Carta, which could help provide the supply of pre-IPO shares to meet demand from EquityZen customers.

➨ TAKEAWAY: This acquisition is a big development in the transformation of private markets, as it promises to increase venture capital access for Morgan Stanley’s clients. The question going forward is whether other big banks will follow its lead and target the numerous other pre-IPO trading platforms out there. If you want to learn more about EquityZen and the pre-IPO space, listen to EquityZen CEO Atish Davda as a guest on Vincent’s Smart Humans podcast and his repartee with Cathie Wood on our recent venture capital event.

🚀 Cleantech funding down: Funding for the sector is under $20 billion so far this year, putting it on pace to fall significantly from last year’s $34 billion mark and well under the $55 billion peak in 2021-22. One silver lining is that funding has increased since Q1 and Q4 is off to a relatively strong start.

🏡 Pending sales flat: Despite mortgage rates falling, pending home sales stayed flat in September and are down 0.9% year-over-year, as buyers continue to sit on the sidelines.

🪙 Western Union stablecoin: The venerable money transfer firm is jumping into the digital asset space with plans to launch a Solana-based stablecoin early next year, called the US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT).

🤖 AI browser security: With AI browsers and browser agents coming to market, consumers should be aware that they pose greater security risks than traditional browsers, and granting permission to email, calendars, and contacts could expose users to even more cyber attacks.

📺 Classic TV memorabilia: A trove of classic TV memorabilia at Heritage Auctions fetched more than $3 million, including $575,000 for costumes from the original 1960s Batman series, and $225,000 for a Wonder Woman costume from the 1970s show.

🏡 Bay Area comeback: Thanks to the AI boom and the slow return of office work, the once-struggling Bay Area housing market is showing strong signs of life, with pending sales up 17% year-over-year and San Jose and San Francisco ranking as the two markets where homes are selling the fastest.

On ongoing story in the world of AI has been how children and teens interact with the new technology, with a number of concerning stories particularly surrounding chatbots, including many that ended in suicide. Facing a lawsuit, the chatbot site Character.AI is banning minors under the age of 18 from using their service, slowly phasing in age verification requirements. The company is getting in front of potential federal legislation to ban any AI site from allowing minors to use their chatbots, with criminal penalties for those that expose minors to sexual content or that encourage suicide. This could end up presenting a challenge to companies like OpenAI, who have a large teen userbase for schoolwork and homework, and will have to build a framework that complies with any regulation.