Pop Off, $PFE 💉

Good news, ladies and gents… the FDA has officially granted FDA approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. 👏 

92 million Americans have already received Pfizer’s vaccine under the US’ Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). But Pfizer’s official FDA approval could be a sign of confidence that convinces millions of skeptical Americans to get the jab.

FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock commented: 

“While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated. Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the US.”

Moderna will finish its application for FDA approval later this month; J&J will also file for approval later this year. 

And as if the vaccine wasn’t enough news, Pfizer had more exciting news. On the heels of their vaccine approval, the company announced its acquisition of Trillium Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology company testing innovative cancer treatments. Pfizer purchased shares of Trillium for $2.26B in cash. 💰 💰

$PFE closed up 2.48%.

After months of shopping for a home, Virgin Orbit has become the latest space SPAC. 🚀 🚀 Virgin Orbit will merge with NextGen Acquisition II Corp. in a deal valuing the company at $3.2 billion.

Virgin will raise about $483 million in new capital after merging with $NGCA. Most of that cash will come from NextGen, the SPAC’s sponsor. However, the last $100 million will come from a totally-not-surprising source: Boeing (and friends).

Over the last two years, the words “Boeing” and “oops” have become somewhat synonymous… we probably don’t need to talk about. After last week’s washed Boeing Starliner launch, it looks like Boeing’s finance team is taking matters into its own hands (after all, the company’s engineering team can’t scrap some flying metal together without frightening regulators).

Virgin Orbit and close-cousin Virgin Galactic are majority-owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Mubadala Investment Company—Mubadala is the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates. Virgin Orbit plans to launch satellites using a unique launch method. In January 2021, the company launched satellites for NASA. A number of customers have lined up to see their satellites ferried to orbit by a rocket, riding underneath a 747.

Virgin Orbit plans to roll out IoT and “space-enabled data and analytics services,” among other offerings. Virgin Orbit will list under $VORB, joining the swath of recent space SPACs. 💫

For the first time since May 2021, $BTC.X surpassed the $50,000 price point. It’s a huge milestone for the crypto’s recovery. 🏆

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of over $64,000 in April, before being sold off throughout June and July. At its lowest point, the crypto fell below $29,500. China’s crackdown and Musk’s 180-degree turn on Bitcoin played a significant role in its decline. 

Since mid-July, Bitcoin has been clawing its way back into the green. The price has gotten a boost from Coinbase’s announcement that it would purchase $500 million in crypto on its balance sheet, as well as allocate 10% of their future profits into a crypto portfolio. In addition, the market got a boost overseas from the launch of PayPal’s crypto service in the U.K. 

However, momentum is leading the charge. The broader crypto market has grown in sympathy with Bitcoin, with $ETH.X approaching the $3400 mark. $ADA.X, which set record-after-record this week, reached a new all-time high and is now flirting with $3. 💚

The global crypto market cap sits a touch above $2.2 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Vox Media—owner of The Verge, Vox.com, and the sports-focused SB Nation—is buying a cocktail website to expand its food business. 🍹 The purchase is the company’s fifth recent acquisition, the latest catalyst for Vox’s business aspirations.

The company declined to share terms on its acquisition of Punch (which is currently owned by Bertelsmann SE’s Penguin Random House, a publishing company). However, a Wall Street Journal article suggests the company has its eyes on even more expansion. 👀  💸

There are three ways to go about raising large sums of money. Either you need to: know some rich guys (we call that venture capital), know a rich guy with a SPAC (SPAC exit, anyone?), or DIY (ask some rich guys to help you raise money through an old-fashioned IPO). The smart money is betting that Vox will peep their SPAC options, though. 😉

Why the SPAC? SPACs are eating up digital media companies. Vice Media and Buzzfeed are just two digital media businesses that recently SPAC’d to markets. What did they get? A lot of money from the SPAC’s raise to acquire more companies and grow their media footprint. And in the media vs. Big Tech war for ad dollars? Consolidation and impressions could go a long way.

Vox has an advantage many media businesses don’t. The company could make $400 million in revenue this year and turn a profit. We’ll keep an eye out for M&A action in media… and Vox’s next steps. 

Visa is the latest company to join in on the NFT mania. Last week, the payments processor bought CryptoPunk 7610 for about $150,000 in Ethereum. ❤️‍🔥

CryptoPunks are the OG NFTs, launched in 2017 by Larva Labs. The Punks are an elusive collectable in the world of cryptocurrency, featuring misfits and eccentric characters. There are only 10,000 total, which live on the Ethereum blockchain.

So what’s with Visa’s sudden interest in NFTs? 🤔 As it would turn out: pure curiosity. Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of cryptocurrency, blogged that CryptoPunks have become cultural icons within the crypto community. The purchase was intended to learn more about the growing NFT market—Sheffield said the company wanted to collect an NFT symbolizing excitement and opportunity. 

Visa’s purchase caught a lot of eyes and inspired other buyers. More than 260 CryptoPunks NFTs have been bought since the press release dropped, according to data from CryptoSlam. 🥳

Cheers to the non-fungible craziness. 🚀