Alternative Investing Report - April 24, 2026

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*as of 4/23; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, 30YM

One of only 10 1997 Kobe Bryant Metal Universe Green Precious Metal Gems (PMG) cards sold for $3.15 million, setting a new record for any solo Bryant card. The card is graded as a 5 by PSA, and it was purchased by the trading card platform Alt, who also own several other seven-figure basketball cards. A new record was also set for a solo Michael Jordan card, as a 1997 Upper Deck Game Jersey card sold for $4.25 million in a private sale at Goldin auctions. This card is one of 23 that come from the first ever set of game-worn NBA jersey cards, and represents the most expensive basketball card Goldin has ever sold.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Both sales represent significant increases on their last comparables. The last green PMG card was sold for $2 million in 2022, and that card was graded an 8.5 by Beckett, though PSA cards tend to be more desirable on the market. The last 997-98 Upper Deck Game Jersey Jordan card sold for $2.7 million in late 2021. These transactions signal growing demand for ultra-rare sports cards of iconic players and a possible rebound of the modern high-end card market.

🎨 Design auction record: A set of 15 mirrors by the French artist Claude Lalanne sold for $33.5 million at Sotheby’s, smashing expectations and setting a new auction record for any “design work.” Interestingly, Lalanne’s work broke the record set last year by a bar in the shape of a hippopotamus that was created by her husband François-Xavier Lalanne.

🏢 National office report: The national office vacancy rate remains high, at 17.8%, but that represents a significant 2.1% decrease from a year ago as return-to-work policies become more commonplace. The amount of co-working space, while still a small percentage of office space as a whole, increased by 16.5% year-over-year.

🪙 Sun sues World Liberty: Crypto billionaire and Tron founder Justin Sun sued Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial, alleging it froze tokens worth up to $1 billion after he refused further investment. Sun is a vocal Trump supporter and also reportedly the largest individual holder of Trump’s memecoin — which itself has decreased significantly in value — so this legal action is a bad sign for World Liberty FInancial.

🏡 Luxury market stabilizing: The threshold for the luxury market, defined as the top 10% of all listings, decreased 0.6% in the last year and has stayed relatively stable over the past five years, even though wealthy buyers are less sensitive to higher mortgage rates. Some markets, such as Miami, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area, remain luxury hubs.

🚀 Secondary market reset: If and when the rumored IPOs of SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic happen, it will cause a significant shift in the secondary market, with a massive amount of unlocked liquidity and an absence of today’s top three companies that drive the bulk of trading volume.

💵 Individual fundraising craters: More numbers are coming in to illustrate private credit’s rough Q1, with fundraising for funds targeting wealthy individuals falling 45% year-over-year. At the same time, similar real estate funds saw a 26% year-over-year increase and infrastructure funds grew by 14% annually, reflecting the loss of desirability of private credit as an asset class.

Monday: 🎨 Paris art auctions, 🪙 Schwab crypto trading
Tuesday: 🚀 Pre-IPO investment trends, 🚀 Cerebras IPO
Wednesday: 🤖 AI valuations, 📊 Retail sales spike
Thursday: 🧑‍⚖️ Kevin Warsh hearing, 🤖 SpaceX and Cursor

Have a great weekend!