logo
What Blackjack Can Teach You About Wall Street

What Blackjack Can Teach You About Wall Street

Bloomberg24-06-2025
Boaz Weinstein is among those hedge fund managers who use card games to sharpen their abilities. At the tables, he walks the tricky territory between luck and skill—often with big money on the line. Sound familiar?
Only Weinstein, 52, takes it a step further. While casinos frown on the perfectly legal skill of card counting, Weinstein shows how the ability to master this incredibly difficult tactic can be an object lesson in finance: To succeed, you need to know the extent of your advantage. On this episode of Bullish with Sonali Basak, he takes Bloomberg Originals to Bally's Atlantic City to show us how it's done—and in doing so, gives a masterclass on why the trading floor and the casino floor aren't all that different.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

4 trends among retail investors according to Robinhood's CIO
4 trends among retail investors according to Robinhood's CIO

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

4 trends among retail investors according to Robinhood's CIO

Institutional investors are feeling more bullish, but where does overall retail investor sentiment sit? Robinhood's (HOOD) chief investment officer, Stephanie Guild, joins Market Domination to share some of the key trends she's noticed among retail traders, including Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) being the most common stocks traded by bears and bulls alike. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination. Bank of America is out with its most bullish fund manager survey since February with lower probabilities of a hard landing and equity allocations on the rise. That survey records how institutional investors are feeling, but we want to talk about retail traders and how they're feeling in the stock market today. So with me is Steph Guilds, Robin Hood Chief Investment Officer. So Steph, when you look at some trends that on the Robin Hood platform, what sticks out to you? What are you noticing? Uh, a couple things. One is, Tesla and Nvidia continue to be like the most popularly traded, no matter no matter what side. Um, more recently we've been seeing, um, a trend of, I don't want to say it's meme stocks, but you know, the the theme of the dorks that came out of, you know, a few weeks ago, like Open Door, for example, that started being something that we we saw a rise in popularity on our platform. Um, but overarching all that continues to be the that our customers really do kind of create take core positions and then trade around the volatility. So what that has meant is, um, Eli Lilly, right? Like not a great quarter, ended up being a top buy, um, Tesla top sell. You know, it was up like $20 in the last week or $40 I think actually in the last week. Um, so they do tend to do that. I'd say on the crypto side it's been, ETH is starting to be a little more rising popularity, but, um, Ripple has been the most popular over the last few weeks. Um, we're also seeing like we have something called the Robin Hood Investor Index. And so that tracks kind of ownership over time. And about 20% of the index is in some sort of AI or AI related names. So you have like, you know, that over other overarching theme is that our clients tend to be able to invest in a secular trend over time. Is that low or is it is relative to the past? It used to be lower, I would say, like because it used to be a lot more of like the Mag 7s and like the things that they know and use, like Disney and Apple, and and those things used to be at the top. And now you're starting to see like things those things start to drop and more of this theme coming in. The other theme that I saw come in more recently over the last month is, um, aerospace and defense names are starting. So that's like 3% of the index, which is not huge, but you know, it has a little bit of a name in there. Yeah. And you were just saying how you're seeing more individual stock picking on the platform. There was a big ETF boom right around the April lows from the tariff announcements. So what can you decipher from that? Are retail investors becoming more tactical, are really chasing a lot of these momentum opportunities and volatile, uh, time period? I think they play the volatility really well. Um, I I think they're they're, uh, very savvy, um, our customers are anyway, generally speaking. Um, and that tells you like when there's a big dip, they're like just go long beta, right? Like that's kind of the way maybe a multi-asset class portfolio manager might think. Um, and then once you kind of get to the point where beta, there's more to play in the individual name space, that's where they, uh, tend to focus. And and you do see it. I mean, the one thing I would say is that there's also a little bit of a, um, our customers do also like income, at least a subset of our customers like income. And so playing some of those, um, ETFs that have a focus on income, that is something else that I've started to see more recently. And a few weeks ago, there was a lot of talk about investor euphoria, whether or not the market was getting too frothy, we saw a lot of short selling, a lot of the meme stock reaction. Has that settled down at this point, or is that just as active as it was a few weeks ago? I, we didn't see that so much. Um, I mean, I I'd say, meaning that like activity has been high and it continues to be high. I haven't seen much of a shift. Um, but I think there's a place where you could, I'm not sure it will turn because our customers are younger on average, if you think about it, like they're average age of 34. Um, that is definitely lower than some of the other platforms. And they can take longer term views and sort of play the volatility. So if there is a big dip, if things are, you know, then they, you know, they do buy when there is a dip, which I think is different than those that maybe a little older and need to start thinking about preserving capital. And we've been talking to a lot of experts that say retail traders have really been leading the market higher because they've been continuously buying the dip, and then sort of dragging along those institutions with them. Yeah. Yeah. And things turn out to not be as bad as they were expected. Yeah. No, at least at least not in this current moment. We'll have to wait and see. But Steph, thank you for those insights. Related Videos 3 reasons the Fed hasn't cut rates yet this year How Trump's pressure on Fed Chair Powell could backfire Stocks close mixed, the Dow ends the week higher Berro and Jones on Consumer Sentiment, Labor Market, Rate Cuts Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

It's time to put these three crypto IPOs on your radar after Circle and Bullish's big debuts
It's time to put these three crypto IPOs on your radar after Circle and Bullish's big debuts

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

It's time to put these three crypto IPOs on your radar after Circle and Bullish's big debuts

It's time to put these three crypto IPOs on your radar after Circle and Bullish's big debuts originally appeared on TheStreet. Whether or not you think crypto is a pivotal technology or generational scam, there's no arguing that there's money to be made off of it. But despite the improbable returns and all-time highs in leading digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, there might arguably be even better money for investors buying companies selling access to the boom. See, there's an old adage about selling pickaxes to gold miners. And arguably, nobody's done it better than Robinhood () and Coinbase () . The two industry leaders spent years in the dumps after their respective 2021 IPOs, but with the years-long recession of trading speculation in the rear view, the two companies have soared. They're up 475% and 62% over the last year. Their performances have created a lot of FOMO among crypto and fintech operators. And thanks to a slew of new pro-crypto policies from the Republican-run U.S. government, and record valuations in digital asset land, there's a new boom of firms seeking out Wall Street. It's already created some of the year's most fantastical rallies. Take USDC creator Circle Technology () for example, it's up over 400% since its IPO. It's not a one-off thing, either: crypto exchange and media firm Bullish BLSH, which IPOed this past week, proved the demand for crypto IPOs is durable; it's nearly doubled from its IPO price. So who should be on your radar next? Here are three to watch out for: Grayscale If not for Grayscale, the largest digital asset manager, we might have been waiting years for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs to become reality. The company was a first-mover in bringing crypto to Wall Street through its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale Ethereum Trust. The funds, plus dozens of other products offered by the asset manager, offered spot exposure to the digital assets long before major asset managers paid any mind to the crypto industry. Next on its list, it plans to take itself to Wall Street, capitalizing on the robust drip of management fees from its various crypto products. It manages over $33 billion in assets. In mid-July, it was reported that the firm had confidentially filed for an IPO. Gemini They might not have invented Facebook, but settlement money in hand, the Winklevoss twins have managed to build a billion-dollar business in the burgeoning crypto business. After buying millions in Bitcoin and attempting to bring a 'Winklevoss Bitcoin Fund' to Wall Street over a decade ago, the twins settled for building their own crypto exchange. Today, Gemini has grown to be one of the larger centralized exchanges. As a result, it's seeking to strike while crypto demand is strong. In fact, it was one of the first firms to throw its hat in the ring, in light of the strong performance seen by Circle. Last it raised money from venture capital investors in Nov. 2021, crypto was at all-time highs. Filing confidentially for an IPO, the company would likely seek a valuation around the $7.1 billion it fetched back then. BitGo Crypto custodian BitGo has also joined the chorus of crypto firms seeking a home on Wall Street. It might score big, given the fact that it's already a massive home for crypto assets. BitGo custodies over $100 billion in assets now, making it one of the largest holders of crypto. It provides services directly to exchanges, asset managers, and other businesses. Not just holding and securing coins, but staking them and providing trading, lending, and borrowing services as a prime broker. It's fair to assume that the firm's near-doubling in assets over the last year is an indication it's ready for prime time, but outside of the $1.75 billion valuation it fetched in Aug. 2023, we won't know a whole lot more until the company's confidential IPO becomes public. Are crypto IPOs a safe bet? It's hard to call anything a sure thing these days, particularly with U.S. stock benchmarks and crypto markets at record levels. For those interested in playing the IPOs, there's likely an opportunity to hop in on the ground floor of the new listings, playing the first-day pop and ensuing optimism. Some brokerages, like Robinhood and SoFi, even allow investors to request shares at the IPO price. For longer-term holders, closer examination of the companies' financials will be a must. Most of that information is not public yet, though. To that end, if you're a crypto believer, a bet on these firms might make sense if they're financially strong and growing. But given the nature of this fickle market, that means betting that the crypto market's best days are still ahead. And that's by no means a sure thing. It's time to put these three crypto IPOs on your radar after Circle and Bullish's big debuts first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 16, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Bullish stock ends first day at $70 with 90% gain, giving crypto exchange market cap above $10 billion
Bullish stock ends first day at $70 with 90% gain, giving crypto exchange market cap above $10 billion

Yahoo

time14 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Bullish stock ends first day at $70 with 90% gain, giving crypto exchange market cap above $10 billion

Cryptocurrency exchange operator Bullish (BLSH) rose 12% on Thursday before the bell, reaching $78, doubling its IPO price of $37 and valuing the company at more than $10 billion. Still, this marked around a 16% drop from where the stock opened for trade. Bullish stock opened for trade at $90 near 1:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and the stock traded hands as high as $118 per share shortly after, a more than 215% gain. The stock was halted for trade due to volatility at least twice within the first few minutes of trading. The company, which operates a crypto exchange and owns the prominent trade publication CoinDesk, priced its IPO at $37 per share on Tuesday, above the $32 to $33 range the company had expected in its second shot at making a public market debut. Bullish began its IPO process looking for a price between $28 and $31 per share. At 30 million shares offered, the IPO price saw Bullish raise $1.1 billion and value the fintech company at $5.41 billion. Bullish first attempted to go public via a SPAC merger in 2021 that would have valued the company at $9 billion, but the deal fell through after regulatory scrutiny, and Bullish withdrew its registration. The company's debut rode the outsized success of recent go-publics like Figma (FIG) and Circle (CRCL) and served as the latest sign that the IPO window remains wide open after a few challenging years for investors. Through Wednesday, 2025 has so far seen 133 IPOs come to market worth more than $50 million, up more than 58% from the same time last year, according to IPO tracker and ETF operator Renaissance Capital. Ahead of its IPO, Bullish also garnered major institutional interest. Asset management giant BlackRock and Cathie Wood's investment firm Ark Invest expressed interest in purchasing up to $200 million worth of shares in the offering, according to securities filings. "We now intend to IPO because we believe that the digital assets industry is beginning its next leg of growth," Bullish CEO Thomas Farley, previously COO and president of the NYSE Group, wrote in a letter to investors about Bullish's offering. "I believe that the digital assets industry is at the inflection point of institutional adoption, and Bullish is uniquely positioned at the center of this market. The compliant, institutional-focused market infrastructure model is time-tested and works, and Bullish is proud to be the one bringing this proven framework to the crypto landscape." Read more: Can you buy crypto with a credit card? See the pros and cons. Bullish's main business comes from its Bullish Exchange, a digital assets spot and derivative exchange geared toward institutional-sized clients. The operator processed an average $2.6 billion in daily volume through Q1, according to the company's prospectus. When USDC stablecoin manager Circle Internet Group went public in June, its shares soared by 168% in their first day of trading. And while the price has come down, the stock is still up more than 120% since inception. Design software maker Figma popped even higher in its end-of-July offering, rocketing upward by more than 250% in its first day, though its price has now come back to earth, down more than 3% since inception. AI infrastructure provider CoreWeave (CRWV) is up more than 200% since its March debut after losing more than 20% on Wednesday. Digital assets and blockchain services firm Galaxy Digital (GLXY) is up more than 20% since its own May offering. Bullish is also riding a rally in major cryptocurrencies this year. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is up more than 30% since the beginning of the year, and ETH (ETH-USD) is up more than 40%. Ripple's XRP (XRP-USD) is up more than 57%. The public offering comes as the latest sign that Wall Street's prediction for a lethargic IPO market in 2025 was off the money. Jake Conley is a breaking news reporter covering US equities for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @byjakeconley or email him at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store