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Hello again, and TGIF! Whether you’re gearing up for some big NYC sporting events or have no idea what we’re talking about, this read can kick off your weekend.

Coinbase users might’ve been shaken up by yesterday’s extortion-related news. COIN stock is doing fine for now, though (+8% on the day) and BTC’s price hovers around $104,000. 

Speaking of a US public crypto company: Galaxy started trading on the Nasdaq today, and Ben has more on how the company plans to use that as a springboard. Casey, true to form, has us covered on the economic data front. Let’s dive in:

Nasdaq listing, check. What’s next?

After a process that took years (1,300 or so days, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz noted on a Tuesday earnings call), GLXY shares are trading on the Nasdaq. 

The US listing boosts the stock’s visibility — i.e. via Robinhood and perhaps one day in indexes (S&P, MSCI, Russell, etc.)

More than that though, we’re watching how it helps the firm scale as competition stiffens in the growing crypto space. 

“Most of Galaxy's growth over the last seven years was internally funded with investing profits or trading profits, and so there was a regulator on how fast we could grow,” Novogratz explained. “Depending on the opportunities we see, being able to tap the deepest capital market in the world is a huge advantage.”

In other words, the CEO added on the call: “Bigger is better in financial services, and we plan to get a lot bigger."

We’ve seen some huge crypto M&A so far this year. To name a few: Coinbase-Deribit (a $2.9 billion deal); Kraken-NinjaTrader ($1.5 billion); and Ripple-Hidden Road ($1.25 billion).

Novogratz noted that having a more fairly valued stock — after historically trading below its book value — allows Galaxy to more seriously look at acquisitions. 

“There are some businesses that make sense to grow organically and some that make sense to add on,” Novogratz said. “And so, I think you're going to see a little of both in the coming 36 months.” 

DeFi Technologies also listed on the Nasdaq this week. 

That company, like Galaxy, has been trading publicly in Canada (and continues to). 

But as DeFi Technologies CEO Olivier Roussy Newton put frankly: “Canada is a small population base compared to the United States. The world trades on the US capital markets.”

He also alluded to M&A, telling me: “You [present] your equity for investors, and if you can do that effectively you trade at a high multiple and you raise more money and you buy more companies.”

DeFi Technologies looks to have 100 crypto investment product listings by the end of the year. The company bought ETP issuer Valour in 2021 before acquiring Reflexivity Research and crypto liquidity provider Stillman Digital last year.

As for future acquisition targets, Newton said: “There’re a lot of private trading technology companies in the digital asset space that would want to…access capital market equity financings and other derivatives mechanisms to enhance those opportunities.”

Scale and product breadth will be especially important for firms like Galaxy and DeFi Technologies as more financial giants wade deeper into crypto. 

One area that TradFi players entering the space are focused on (or will be) is tokenization, Novogratz said.

“We are trying to build our moat through domain expertise, through better customer relationships and through kind of staying one step ahead of those guys,” he noted on the earnings call.

All’s to say, we’ll be watching more than just the GLXY and DEFT stock prices.

— Ben Strack

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This is how much the cost of imports into the US — minus fuel prices — rose in April. In March, the import index (minus fuel) declined 0.1%. 

The headline figure (which includes fuel) rose 0.1% — despite analysts projecting a decline of 0.4%. Had global oil prices not dropped last month, this headline figure would have been a lot higher.

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Investors had a busy week unpacking new tariff policies and the first bits of economic data since “Liberation Day” last month. Next week’s economic calendar is looking quiet as we head into Memorial Day weekend. 

Here’s a recap: 

• The consumer price index for April rose 0.2% over the month and 2.3% over the year — marking the lowest annual inflation rate in more than four years. Core CPI (excludes food and fuel prices) also increased 0.2% in April, coming in at 2.8% annually. Analysts say it’s not unusual that we haven’t seen tariffs impact prices yet, considering businesses are still trying to predict exactly where the policies will land. 

• Initial jobless claims for the week ended May 10 were unchanged at 229,000. This is slightly higher than projections (226,000) but not a huge cause for concern. For now, the labor market does not appear to be experiencing a tariff-fueled pullback, but it’s something we (and the Fed) are watching closely. 

• April’s producer price index came in much lower than expected, at -0.2% vs. 0.3%. As Felix mentioned yesterday, a major drop (-6.9%) in portfolio management fees dragged the headline figure down and, in the process, obscured the fact that for now, businesses seem to be absorbing price increases (as opposed to consumers). There’s another explanation for the CPI print.

— Casey Wagner