Another day, another round of stock market news (no, I am not just talking about Bill and Melinda gates splitting up). Wall Street had a lot to process today, with a busy calendar of earnings and increased attention to the so-called Covid-19 reopening plays. So what did the stock market do today?
- The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.27%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 0.7%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed lower by 0.48%
So what did the stock market do today? Here are some of the top stories.
What Did the Stock Market Do Today? Meet a New Billionaire.
The billionaire club got a new member today, and he is not just any member.
Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) co-founder Vitalik Buterin is 27 years old. As of today, he is the youngest crypto billionaire in the world. This comes as Ethereum continues to hit a series of all-time highs, spurred on by growing interest in decentralized finance and upcoming changes to its blockchain via Ethereum 2.0. Buterin also raised excitement in recent weeks with talk of sharding, a feature that would remove some of the congestion on the Ethereum blockchain.
Based on Buterin’s ether address, he currently holds 333,520 ETH. As of this afternoon, those holdings were worth $1.09 billion.
So what does this all mean? Buterin is yet another figurehead for the growing wealth associated with cryptocurrencies. With analysts calling for ETH to hit $10,000 by the end of 2021, he could be an even bigger player soon.
SafeMoon Gets a CertiK Report Card
Today, investors finally got a look at the SafeMoon (CCC:SAFEMOON-USD) audit from CertiK.
Essentially, CertiK is a blockchain company that evaluates other blockchains, DApps, wallets and smart contracts. It does a line-by-line review of codebases, and it compares projects against industry leaders. Auditors even make sure that the logic of a project matches up with its stated intention. From there, CertiK classifies issues in a range of critical to informational, and it makes recommendations to improve security and user experience. It also tracks how the project has responded to those recommendations.
So what was in the SafeMoon audit?
CertiK reported finding 13 issues, although none were classified as critical. It did find one major issue, focusing on centralization and privilege risks with the liquidity pool. According to its SafeMoon audit, as things stand, the owner address will accumulate a large portion of the tokens in the liquidity pool over time. This is particularly relevant, considering that forfeit tokens from seller fees end up in that liquidity pool. CertiK recommended that SafeMoon further decentralize ownership of the liquidity pool, or potentially introduce a decentralized governance or voting structure.
So what else do investors need to know? There are three things to consider.
The first is that as of right now, SafeMoon says it is not planning on changing the centralized nature of its liquidity pool ownership. In its response, which is part of the CertiK audit, it recognizes the unique structure of its leadership team. However, it claims that it less susceptible to scams. This is because each of the team members has a public presence and says they are aware of legal risks. The second takeaway is that CertiK audits are not an endorsement or a form of approval.
Lastly, investors should keep a close eye on CertiK. The company got caught up in bad news over the weekend, after Spartan Protocol (CCC:SPARTA-USD) suffered an exploit of its liquidity pool. CertiK recently audited that project.
Will Greg Abel Get Along Better With r/WallStreetBets?
Over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, NYSE:BRK.B) Vice Chairman Charlie Munger accidentally let some big news slip. In response to a question, he shared that Greg Abel is currently slated to be Warren Buffet’s successor. Buffett confirmed the news in a follow-up interview.
So what should you know about Abel?
As InvestorPlace Web Editor Nick Clarkson wrote today, Abel has had a long career with Berkshire Hathaway and its holdings. He currently serves as the chairman of non-insurance operations, as well as the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Abel has been involved with the Berkshire family of companies since 1992, when he joined Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
Why does this matter? And what does it mean for investors?
Well, on one hand, this is big news because Wall Street has long been speculating on who will take the role of Warren Buffet’s successor. Now that we know it is Abel, the exec will be under further scrutiny, as he has big shoes to fill. Will he become an icon like the current Oracle of Omaha?
On the other hand, the news of Buffett’s success comes at a time when the Oracle is in the news… for all the wrong reasons. He and Munger got into a spat with the retail investor crowd, dissing Robinhood, Bitcoin and special purpose acquisition companies. As a new generation rises up, only time will tell how Abel will fit in. Although Munger says Abel will maintain the current culture, maybe we will learn that he has some diamond hands.
You can read more about Buffett’s successor here.
On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Sarah Smith is the Editor of Today’s Market with InvestorPlace.com.
