Alternative Investing Report - April 20, 2026

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*as of 4/19, Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

Paris Art Week brought two big modern art sales at major auction houses, with Christie’s 20th and 21st century art auction on Wednesday bringing in $47 million, just above the pre-sale high estimate. Then, on Thursday, Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Art evening sale recorded $41 million in sales, above the pre-sale high estimate of $38 million, and a 84% increase from the same sale last year. It was led by the $12 million sale of a Claude Monet painting that had been unseen in public for nearly a century and was estimated to sell for $10 million.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Overall, Christie’s totaled $94 million in sales across the week, a 39% increase over its performance last year. The strong results for both auction houses continued a resurgence in the art market so far in 2026, with Paris cementing itself as a major hub. Next on the calendar to watch are the major New York auctions in May, which will cap off the spring season and illustrate clearly where the market sits.

🚀 Arxis’ strong IPO: The space and defense tech company Arxis went public last week and popped 36% in its first day of trading, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The market’s response to the offering is a good sign for the sector, as it awaits a potential mega-IPO from SpaceX later this year.

🪙 Charles Schwab launches crypto trading: In the coming weeks, the brokerage will be making Bitcoin and Ethereum available for its clients to trade, putting it in direct competition with the likes of Coinbase and Robinhood. Easier access for Schwab clients, who collectively hold $11 trillion in assets, is likely to boost buying demand for the two major tokens.

🚘 Record funding for self-driving: Autonomous driving startups have already raised $21.4 billion so far this year, more than triple the $5.9 billion raised in all of 2025. While the increase is largely due to Waymo’s $16 billion raise, removing that outlier still puts this year’s total close to last year’s with more than eight months to go.

⚡ X-Energy IPO: The Amazon-backed nuclear energy startup set its target price for its upcoming public offering, and is looking to raise up to $800 million at a valuation of up to $7.5 billion.

🏡 Homebuyer demand declining: Pending home sales fell by 4.1% in the past month, and home touring activity is well off of last year’s pace. Potential sellers are responding to the lagging demand by staying out of the market, with new listings also down 1.4% year-over-year.

🚤 Titanic life jacket: The first life jacket from the legendary doomed ship to ever be sold at auction fetched $900,000, nearly twice the high estimate, as Titanic memorabilia stays hot.

Tuesday: Pending home sales, U.S. retail sales reports released; Kevin Warsh, the Fed Chair nominee, is scheduled to have a confirmation hearing.

Wednesday: Earth Day.

Thursday: Sotheby’s Rock & Pop music memorabilia auction in New York, featuring a guitar used by Elvis Presley with a $2 million high estimate.

Friday: Consumer sentiment report released.

Saturday: Goldin’s Spring Game Used auction, featuring a 1988 Wayne Gretzky jersey expected to fetch seven figures.