The Weekend Rip: An Uber-Sized Disaster

Lyft and Uber took a big hit this weekend after a state judge ruled against a ballot proposition which would have allowed the companies to continue classifying drivers as independent contractors.

A state bill passed in 2019 would have required the companies to treat their workers as employees. That would have entitled drivers to benefits such as workers comp, unemployment, paid sick and family leave, and health insurance.

Because the companies didn’t want to put up with that, they dumped millions into lobbying for Proposition 22. The proposition would have overturned the passed bill, allowing the companies to consider their drivers as independent contractors.

Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash spent over $200 million on the Yes on 22 campaign. And that money worked in convincing the overwhelming majority of Californians to vote yes on the prop. Unfortunately, that money went up in flames after a judge found it was “unenforceable and unconstitutional.” 😲

This court battle will likely rage on in the months ahead. However, in the meantime, the companies will likely have to encumber Californians with higher prices on their rides and deliveries. And this adverse ruling for the companies almost certainly means moves for their stock prices… and not the good kind. 📉

One of Binance Smart Chain’s largest decentralized exchanges is bulking up in the competition for traders. In July 2021, PancakeSwap was the third-most visited crypto exchange in the world. They came up short of only two exchanges: Binance and Coinbase. 

PancakeSwap, which appreciated significant growth in Q1, is even starting to catch up with some of the most recognizable DEXes and lending platforms in terms of volume and total value locked (TVL). TVL is one way to measure the amount of user adoption in a DeFi protocol, because it measures how much money that investors are storing in a protocol or platform. 

The world’s largest DEX by volume, Uniswap, posted roughly $7 billion in TVL as of this writing. PancakeSwap posted $5.9 billion. For volume, which measures how much money is being traded on the platform, PancakeSwap posted $712 million in the trailing 24-hour period. Uniswap posted just over a billion between their v2 and v3 platforms. 🦄🦄

The two exchanges are getting closer and closer in terms of meaningful figures. However, Uniswap and PancakeSwap are worlds away from each other in terms of market cap.

Uniswap trades at nearly 4x the market capitalization of PancakeSwap. That difference can speak to two factors: the awareness that investors have of Uniswap and investors’ preference for Ethereum. After all, Binance Smart Chain is run by one of the more controversial players in the world of crypto.

However, as the bull market gets back on its feet? $CAKE.X might be in a better position to run than its overpriced ETH-based competitor, $UNI.X, which is worth over 3x more than it manages in TVL. 

$CAKE.X is down over 50% from its April highs, but up from $0.62 on Jan. 1. Today, it’s worth $22.93. 🥞🥞🥞

Since the pandemic started in March, many commodities have appreciated significant gains. The gains have investors calling it a commodities supercycle.

Early in the pandemic, a broader market crash led commodities lower. Investors expected suppressed demand, but the opposite happened. And by the time that many companies had realized, it was too late.

Robust demand, COVID lockdowns, people staying at home because of enhanced unemployment benefits, and supply chain breakdowns led commodities higher. Douse that flame with a lil’ bit of fresh JPow Money Printer™ money and you’ve got a recipe for… big price moves in everything! 📈📈📈

Commodities went to the moon… it’s as if crypto traders checked out and started YOLOing all their money on lumber and hogs. Lumber was one of the commodities that appreciated the biggest gains. Alas, the lumber mania is over. We’ve gone through the trouble of annotating it for you below:

Many commodities are starting to fall as we return to business as usual. That’s great for companies involved in the manufacturing, production, and construction of goods. For lumber specifically, it’s a positive development for homebuilders. There were over 1.5 million housing starts in July, that was up 2.5% YoY. Unfortunately for consumers, lower lumber prices are unlikely to translate to cheaper houses anytime soon. 🏠🏠