Morning Brief – March 24, 2022

By Editor•

Let’s take a break from the gloom for today…

Yes, the war is still raging.  But we’ve beaten that story to death.  And sure, oil is still gushing.  

But let’s take a break from those stories for today.

Investors are paying millions for metaverse real estate.

According to a report from Brand Essence Market Research, the metaverse real estate market could grow at a compound annual rate of 31% through 2028.

Even more exciting, “Prices have gone up 400% to 500% in the last few months,” says Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Tokens.com, as quoted by CNBC. In fact, someone just paid about $450,000 to be a neighbor to Snoop Dogg, who is reportedly building a virtual mansion.

So, how can the average investor trade the news?  

Defiance Digital Revolution ETF (NFTZ)

One of the best ways to diversify in a growing market, at less cost, is with an ETF, such as the Defiance Digital Revolution ETF (NFTZ).

While its chart isn’t anything to write home about just yet, give it time.  With an expense ratio of 0.46%, investors can own some of the top crypto and NFT companies on market with this ETF, including eBay Inc., DraftKings Inc., Coinbase Global, Hut 8 Mining Corp., Canaan Inc, Cloudflare Inc., HIVE Blockchain Technologies, Block Inc., and Funko Inc.

Matterport Inc. (MTTR)

MTTR is another great way to trade the market.

Multi-billion-dollar companies are racing for a piece of the virtual world. Celebrities are even buying metaverse real estate, including Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg.  Nike just filed for new trademarks to design and sell virtual sneakers in the metaverse. CVS Corp. wants to sell virtual goods. Walmart just filed for new trademarks to sell virtual goods in the metaverse, too. 

Better, analysts at Emergen Research say the metaverse could be worth about $829 billion by 2028.  That could be substantial news for companies, like Matterport Inc., which digitizes parts of the real world to create “digital twins,” which can be used in the metaverse.

Markets

  • The Dow is up 164 points to 34,414
  • The S&P 500 is up about 28 points to 4,475.50
  • The NASDAQ is up about 112 points to 14,559
  • Gold prices are up $1.34 to $1,947.40
  • Bitcoin is up 2.3% to $43,013.63
  • Oil prices are down slightly to $114.80
  • The VIX is up slightly to 23.23

 

Trading Tips

Oil just hit $115 a barrel.

All thanks to tighter global supply, with Russian output impacted by sanctions.

Plus, as noted by CNBC, “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more pressure on Russia from other countries as the conflict appears to be entering a stalemate.” And, the American Petroleum Institute just said crude stocks fell by 4.3 million barrels for the week ended March 18, according to Reuters.

But wait, it gets worse.

Crude oil exports from Kazakhstan’s CPC terminal were shut down after damage caused by a major storm, added CNBC. That pipeline accounts for about 1.2% of global demand, and could be completely stopped for up to two months.

Here’s how we’d trade it.