💰 5 Fact Friday: Is Your DNA for Sale?

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ECONOMY
1. The Price Of Trump’s “Made In America” Push 🏭

The S&P 500’s three-day win streak hit the brakes on Wednesday after Trump dropped the hammer: a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles, effective April 3.

Investors had been betting the reciprocal tariffs due April 2 might be milder than expected. But that bet just blew up. Auto and tech stocks sold off, dragging the broader market with them.

This month has been a wild ride of megadeals and mixed signals, as Trump’s tariff threats continue to stir up both investment and anxiety.

With the world’s biggest consumer market as leverage, Trump is forcing global firms to play ball. But the back-and-forth rollout is also creating ambiguity—and that’s starting to bite.

Let’s talk pros first.

In the past couple of months, corporations have rolled out the red-white-and-blue carpet:

• Apple is investing $500B into U.S. operations—including thousands of jobs in a new Houston server manufacturing facility

• TSMC is adding another $100B for five more chip fabs—on top of the $65B already underway in Arizona

• Johnson & Johnson committed $55B (with $11B confirmed new spend) to build U.S. facilities and research hubs

• Hyundai is dropping $5.8B on a Louisiana steel plant to supply auto factories in the South

• Stellantis is adding 1,500 jobs and shifting Dodge Durango production from Canada to Detroit

• Honda moved production of its next-gen Civic hybrid from Mexico to Indiana

• Samsung, LG, and Nissan are all reportedly eyeing similar shifts from Mexico to the U.S.

Sure, some of that is routine spending dressed up for headlines. But a meaningful chunk appears to be genuinely new—and tariff driven.

Now the downside.

Consumer confidence is crumbling. The Conference Board’s index just dropped to a 4-year low, and expectations plunged to a 12-year low.

So far, it’s all “soft data.” As Fed Chair Powell put it:

But if the tariff whiplash continues, companies may freeze capex and delay hiring. When sentiment becomes spending, that’s when things get real.

And if that happens, it’ll be harder for Trump to advance his industrial revival—and Wall Street won’t take it lightly.

STOCKS
2. From DNA Darling To Data Dumpster Fire 🧬

Once worth $6 billion, 23andMe $ME ( ▲ 3.93% ) is now worth less than a fancy house in Palo Alto.

The genetic testing pioneer—famous for letting you spit in a tube to trace your ancestry—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, capping off one of biotech’s most famous flameouts.

But here’s where it gets personal:

As part of the bankruptcy process, 23andMe is selling off its assets—including the genetic database of 15+ million users. And yes, legal experts say your DNA could go to the highest bidder.

One likely bidder? Co-founder and longtime CEO Anne Wojcicki. 

Wojcicki, who’s been trying to take the company private for months, stepped down this week—only to announce plans to buy it back herself. That’s after burning through $1B+, laying off more than half the staff, and watching all seven independent board members resign in protest last fall.

The company insists your data is still protected and that any buyer will have to comply with privacy laws and 23andMe’s existing policies. But if you’d rather not roll those dice, you can delete your data in just a few clicks.

STOCKS
3. CoreWeave IPO Tests The AI Hype Cycle 🤖

CoreWeave began as a crypto miner, but after the 2018 crash, they pivoted fast—turning their Nvidia-powered fleet into one of the hottest AI infrastructure plays in the world. Now, they’re going public.

This morning, CoreWeave $CRWV ( ▼ 0.55% ) hits the Nasdaq in the first major listing of the generative AI era. That makes it a big test for both the IPO market and the AI trade. The buzz? Loud. The risks? Also loud.

What They Do

CoreWeave operates 32 data centers stacked with over 250,000 Nvidia GPUs, offering AI compute power on demand. Instead of buying your own chips, you can rent clusters by the hour—perfect for companies training large-scale AI models.

Microsoft is their biggest customer—making up over 60% of revenue—and Nvidia owns a 6% stake. That kind of backing is powerful… but that level of customer concentration is also a big red flag.

Why The Hype?

Revenue exploded 737% in 2024, growing from $16 million to $1.9B in three years. CoreWeave isn’t chasing one-off chip rentals—they specialize in long-term leases of giant GPU clusters to hyperscalers like OpenAI.

They’re also sitting on $15B+ in future contract obligations. Demand is real—and sticky.

But Here’s The Concern…

CoreWeave burned nearly $6B in cash last year, carries $8B in debt, and relies heavily on Nvidia’s now-aging Hopper chips—which are rapidly being outclassed by the Blackwell generation.

Those H100 chips that rented for $8 per hour in 2023? Now available for under $2 per hour.

As Nvidia continues to drop faster, cheaper, more powerful chips, CoreWeave may be forced to shorten the depreciation schedule on its GPU inventory. Instead of spreading investment expenses over 5-6 years, they may need to squeeze them into 3-4 years.

That would hit profitability hard—though to be fair, they’re not profitable anyway. The company posted net losses of $594M in 2023 and $863M in 2024.

The Bet

Bull case: If AI demand keeps compounding and long-term GPU contracts remain sticky, CoreWeave could ride the wave and scale profitably over time.

Bear case: If chip prices keep falling and AI workloads shift to newer, more efficient hardware, margins could evaporate—and so could confidence in that $23B valuation.

It’s a high-growth, high-stakes debut. Just how Wall Street likes it.

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CRYPTO
4. Stablecoins: The Calm In Crypto’s Chaos 💵

Stablecoins are having a moment.

This week alone, Fidelity and World Liberty Financial—a crypto venture backed by the Trump family—both announced plans to launch a stablecoin.

The timing isn’t random. The SEC is easing up on enforcement, new regulatory frameworks are emerging, and Trump wants to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

But before we get swept up in the hype, let’s zoom out: What exactly are stablecoins—and why is everyone piling in?

Stablecoin 101

Stablecoins are crypto tokens designed to maintain a fixed value—usually pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which can gain or lose 10% before breakfast, stablecoins aim to stay glued to $1.00 by backing each token with dollar-based assets, like U.S. Treasuries.

Who’s In The Game?

Two giants dominate the ~$234 billion (and growing) market:

• Tether $USDT.X ( ▼ 0.01% ) – The largest stablecoin by market cap, widely used across the globe and based in El Salvador—though its offshore structure raises some security concerns.

• USD Coin $USDC.X ( ▲ 0.0% ) – The arguably more buttoned-up, U.S. counterpart. It’s favored by institutions and is slowly gaining ground in domestic payments.

What’s The Big Deal?

Stablecoins solve crypto’s biggest problem—volatility. They’re fast, cheap, and globally accessible:

• Cross-border transfers execute in seconds, not days

• International transactions cost cents, not $50+

• They operate 24/7, not 9 to 5

• No middlemen, so no risk of being “debanked”

Plus, since each stablecoin is backed by dollar-denominated assets, they actually increase global demand for the U.S. dollar. That helps keep U.S. borrowing costs low and maintains America’s financial influence.

That’s why even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is a fan.

Bottom Line

You won’t 10x your portfolio with stablecoins—but in a $2T market full of chaos, they’re the boring, reliable backbone. With players from Fidelity to fintechs now getting involved, expect them to stay center stage as crypto regulation takes shape.

STOCKS
5. Guess That Stock 🕵️‍♂️

This meme stock legend is creeping back into focus as it slims down, reshuffles priorities, and rethinks what a corporate treasury should look like.

Can you name the stock?

1. A video game retailer by trade, this stock skyrocketed from under $20 to $483 in early 2021—one of the most infamous short squeezes in Wall Street history.

2. Still prone to meme stock mania and the occasional Roaring Kitty tweet, shares have climbed 65% over the past year—though they remain more than 95% below that frenzy-fueled peak.

3. In its latest earnings report, the retailer beat expectations despite declining sales—posting $131 million in net income. But that wasn’t the headline that grabbed Wall Street’s attention…

4. The company also announced plans to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet as a treasury reserve asset. With $4.8 billion in cash on hand, it’s got plenty of ammo to make that crypto pivot count.

5. Led by Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen, the brand’s future looks less like a retailer and more like a reinvention play. Crypto? Acquisitions? A complete pivot? All options seem to be on the table.

Got a guess? Tap here to reveal the answer → 

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