Sponsored by
Happy Tuesday. The National attracted record collector crowds, a pair of alternative energy companies raised big money, the Midwest has the best house-hacking markets, and a tiny castle is on the market in Oregon. Let’s dive in!
🎫 Attend: Today, at 11 AM - our investor briefing looking at the state of the IPO market post-SpaceX and potential public offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic.
This issue is brought to you by Liquid - One account, every market, no closing bell.
📈 DAILY MARKETS
⚾ NATIONAL RECAP
Last week, the biggest event of the year in the collectibles space took place, with the National Sports Collectors Convention outside Chicago drawing record crowds of an estimated 125,000-150,000 people over five days. As is always the case, major auction houses showcased six and seven-figure cards, and a lot of the trading activity took place in the off-hours at “trade nights.” There were also reports of a growing investor presence at the show, with more capital coming into the space and more participants treating it like an asset class.
➨ TAKEAWAY: The reports coming in from the weekend are largely positive for the industry, with more enthusiasm than ever and the growing presence of younger generations a strong sign for the future. Anecdotal evidence points to social media playing a big role in driving interest, with content creators now roaming the floor with full production crews. The rise of Pokémon and Trading Card Game (TCG) cards is also a significant factor in bringing younger people into the hobby. 2026 has been a strong year for collectibles, and the positive momentum seems to be on track to continue through the rest of the year.
Partner
One Account. Every Market. No Closing Bell.
Markets don't wait for Monday. News breaks on a Saturday morning, and most traders can do nothing but watch.
Not on Liquid. Trade domestic and international equities, commodities, forex, crypto, and prediction markets — all from one account, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Liquid gives you access to any market, from anywhere, anytime. To us, access is arbitrage.
Getting started takes under 10 minutes: log in with Google, deposit with Apple Pay or a bank transfer, and trade from your phone or desktop — wherever you are in the world.
While everyone else is refreshing headlines and waiting for the open, you're already positioned. That's the difference between reacting to markets and actually trading them.
📺 UPCOMING EVENT
Join Vincent’s Slava Rubin and Sacra’s Jan-Erik Asplund as they revisit the SpaceX investment thesis to see how it played out. They’ll examine the company’s public debut, the impact of lockup expirations, and what the listing reveals about today’s IPO environment. They’ll also turn to the next wave of potential IPOs, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and other late-stage private companies, and discuss what investors should watch for as the IPO market evolves.
Today at 11 AM ET
📰 NOTABLE NEWS
🚀 Commonwealth Fusion’s big raise: The fusion energy startup raised a $1 billion round at an undisclosed valuation, bringing its total capital raised to more than $4 billion, the most of any fusion startup. The alternative energy sector has attracted growing investor attention with the rapidly scaling power needs of the AI industry.
🚀 Antora Energy fundraise: The alternative energy startup closed a $550 million funding round at a reported $2.5 billion valuation, an estimated 3-5x above its previous unreported valuation from 2024. The company builds thermal batteries to supply cheap, clean power to industrial operations.
🏡 Best house-hacking markets: Midwestern markets Cincinnati, Detroit, and Indianapolis are the strongest for buyers looking to “house-hack” - living in one unit of a multifamily building while renting out the others. These markets offer relatively affordable entry points while still offering high enough rents to make the numbers work.
🪙 Coldcard Bitcoin exploit: Hackers have stolen approximately $116 million worth of Bitcoin from Coldcard hardware wallets in an ongoing hack related to a vulnerability in seed phrases. This is extremely concerning for crypto holders, as self-custodied hardware wallets are supposed to be the safest form of storage, and this hack puts that narrative into question.
💵 Pre-IPO lending: Wall Street's banks are ramping up their lending to those with large holdings of Pre-IPO shares in top AI companies, offering a form of liquidity to people who otherwise might be tempted to sell their shares on the secondary market.
🚘 McLaren F1 auction: A 1996 McLaren F1 GTR that competed in the 1995 Le Mans race is being auctioned this month at Sotheby’s as part of Monterey Car Week. It carries an estimated price tag of more than $35 million, which would make it the most expensive McLaren F1 car of all time.
🏡 LISTING OF THE WEEK
(Realtor.com)
Do you want to live in a castle, but don’t want to deal with the massive upkeep that generally entails? A “tiny” castle in Eugene, Oregon just cut its price again to $1.15 million despite apparently grossing $100,000 per year in AirBnB revenue. The 2,000 square-foot castle has three bedrooms and a gourmet kitchen, with a separate basement studio with a private entrance, bathroom, and kitchenette. There is also a detached 1-bedroom guesthouse with a bathroom and kitchen, giving the property three separate rentable units. There is also a 2-car garage, and the property is located right behind a golf course. It was built in 1975 and last sold in 2022 for $875,000.
