Keybanc analyst Todd Thomas maintains American Assets Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AAT#NYSE">AAT</a>) with a Overweight and raises the price target from $42 to $44.

News

Price Target

Analyst Ratings

Keybanc Maintains Overweight on American Assets Trust, Raises Price Target to $44

Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:
<ul>
<li>Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>) will remain in focus with the company&rsquo;s two-day Prime shopping event beginning today. Amazon Prime Day was first observed on July 15, 2015, in celebration of the company&rsquo;s 20th anniversary. Amazon shares slipped 0.1% to settle at $3,486.90 on Friday.</li>
<li>Pfizer Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/pfe#NYSE">PFE</a>) COVID-19 vaccine received provisional approval for use in the age group 12 to 15 from New Zealand&#39;s medical regulator, Stuff reported. Pfizer shares fell 0.3% to close at $38.70 on Friday.</li>
<li>Orphazyme A S ADR (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/orph#NASDAQ">ORPH</a>) shares dipped around 50% on Friday after the company announced it received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA for its treatment for Niemann-Pick Disease Type C and also cut its FY2021 outlook. Orphazyme shares tumbled 49.7% to close at $7.33 on Friday.</li>
</ul>
Find out what&#39;s going on in today&#39;s market and bring any questions you have to <a href="http://premarket.benzinga.com/pre-market-show/">Benzinga&#39;s PreMarket Prep</a>.
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/investing/best-online-brokerage/">Choosing the best broker is an important part of being a successful trader or investor</a>
Globus Maritime Ltd (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/glbs#NASDAQ">GLBS</a>) reported total comprehensive loss of $0.8 million for the first quarter, compared to $9 million loss in the year-ago period. Its voyage revenues surged to $5.2 million from $2.3 million. Globus Maritime shares gained 0.8% to close at $5.06 on Friday.
Beigene Ltd (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/bgne#NASDAQ">BGNE</a>) disclosed that BRUKINSA received an approval from the China National Medical Products Administration for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory Waldenstr&ouml;m&rsquo;s macroglobulinemia. Beigene shares dropped 2.2% to settle at $321.81 on Friday.

Earnings

Pre-Market Outlook

Markets

Trading Ideas

AMZN

BGNE

GLBS

ORPH

5 Stocks To Watch For June 21, 2021

What Happened: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell by over 8% after news that China&rsquo;s third-largest bank would begin suspending customer accounts associated with cryptocurrency transactions.
The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), one of the &ldquo;big four&rdquo; banks in the country, issued a <a href="http://www.abchina.com/errors/Error404.htm?aspxerrorpath=/cn/PersonalServices/SvcBulletin/202106/t20210621_2011168.htm">statement</a> on Monday, saying that it prohibits the use of its services for virtual currency transactions such as Bitcoin.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/how-to-buy-bitcoin/">How To Buy Bitcoin</a>
The statement also emphasized that once relevant behaviors are discovered, customer accounts will be terminated and reported to the relevant authorities in a timely manner.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/IWk2nlTYlJ">https://t.co/IWk2nlTYlJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q4kymV8O0y">pic.twitter.com/Q4kymV8O0y</a>
&mdash; frxresearch (@frxresearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/frxresearch/status/1406862992969326597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>ABC reportedly consulted with relevant departments of the People&rsquo;s Bank of China before issuing the statement, saying that it will continue to &ldquo;carry out the crackdown on virtual currency transactions.&rdquo;
Why It Matters: The bank&rsquo;s statement comes as the latest move in a series of measures enforced over the weekend, demonstrating the Chinese government&rsquo;s efforts to clamp down on cryptocurrency-related businesses.
Most large Bitcoin mining farms in Sichuan were <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21635080/chinas-cryptocurrency-mining-crackdown-intensifies-spreads-to-sichuan">forcibly</a> shut down by authorities over the weekend, leading to a significant drop in the hash rate on the Bitcoin network.
According to a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-cryptocurrency-mining-crackdown-spreads-sichuan-2021-06-19/">report</a>, the Sichuan branch of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Sichuan Energy Bureau closed 26 suspected crypto mining projects on Sunday.
According to some accounts, ACB may have deleted the notice soon after posting it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Ok guys. Seems like the bank deleted the notice only a few minutes after it released. <a href="https://t.co/6YrXyVthOm">https://t.co/6YrXyVthOm</a> <a href="https://t.co/PCbVIQYUru">pic.twitter.com/PCbVIQYUru</a>
&mdash; 8BTCnews (@btcinchina) <a href="https://twitter.com/btcinchina/status/1406869377488539650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Price Action: At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $32,931. The market-leading cryptocurrency saw a 45% increase in 24-hour trading volume, which stood at $42 billion at the time of writing.
The 50-day moving average has fallen below the 200-day moving average, confirming a Death Cross <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21636957/bitcoin-death-cross-today-june-20-2021-opinion">scenario</a> for the digital asset.
Photo by Executium on Unsplash

Coverage of Bitcoin, Etherum, Ripple and all the latest digital currencies.

Cryptocurrency

Movers

$BTC

Bitcoin Drops To $33,000 As China's Third-Largest Bank Bans Users From Crypto Transactions

Nio Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nio#NYSE">NIO</a>) opened its twenty-fifth&nbsp;NIO House in China&rsquo;s Jiaxing City as it looks to ramp up its presence in the country and make a European debut, cnEVpost <a href="https://cnevpost.com/2021/06/19/nio-opens-25th-nio-house-a-facility-not-just-for-selling-cars/">reported</a>&nbsp;Sunday.&nbsp;
What Happened: Nio House is the electric automaker&#39;s experience center that also doubles up as a point of sales. The ramp-up comes ahead of Nio&rsquo;s Norway debut later this year where it plans to build its own sales and service networks.
The first Nio House outside China will officially open in Oslo during the third quarter followed by four more in Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, and Kristansand in early 2022.&nbsp;
The concept houses a showroom and also has large open spaces to display the Nio portfolio&rsquo;s capabilities and a peek into the premium lifestyle ecosystem.&nbsp;
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21523656/nio-wins-key-ewvta-license-for-es8-says-will-serve-as-essential-foundation-for-europe-expansion" style="text-decoration:none">Nio Wins Key EWVTA License For ES8, Says Will Serve As &#39;Essential Foundation&#39; For Europe Expansion</a>
Why It Matters: Jiaxing is one of the affluent cities in China where the NIO House features a NIO Caf&eacute;, a meeting room, a small theater-style forum area, a shared office area, a knowledge museum and a parent-child playground, the cnEVpost report noted.
Nio, which has sold 33,873 electric cars so far this year, has delivered over 1,000 units in Jiaxing. Currently, it has one battery swap station and two destination charging stations in the city and will add five new battery swap stations, three supercharging stations and four destination charging stations in Jiaxing within the year, the company said.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Price Action: Nio shares closed 0.93% lower at $46.91 on Friday.&nbsp;
Read Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/04/20830222/how-nio-is-impressing-ev-buyers-with-its-lifestyle-ecosystem-while-making-extra-cash">How Nio Is Impressing EV Buyers With Its Lifestyle Ecosystem While Making Extra Cash</a>
&nbsp;

Click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/electric-vehicles" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here&nbsp;</a>to check out Benzinga&#39;s EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles news.
Photo: Courtesy of Nio

Events

Media

Nio Opens Its 25th 'Nio House' Experience Center In Jiaxing City

China-based electric vehicle battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd has denied rumors that claim&nbsp;it has forced employees to buy defective Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>) vehicles, as per Global Times <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1226574.shtml">report</a> on Sunday.&nbsp;
What Happened: CATL, a supplier to both Tesla and its electric vehicle rival Nio Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nio#NYSE">NIO</a>), said it has for the past three years encouraged employees to buy emissions-free EVs at a discounted price, subsidized by the company and will continue to do so, as per the report.
An online post by a worker claimed CATL has instructed employees to buy defective Tesla vehicles at a discount to reduce the electric vehicle maker&rsquo;s inventory.
See Also:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21403865/tesla-nio-supplier-catl-said-to-be-planning-a-new-ev-battery-plant-in-shanghai">Tesla, Nio Supplier CATL Said To Be Planning A New EV Battery Plant In Shanghai</a>
Why It Matters: Tesla had earlier this year run into rough weather in China, a market that contributes nearly 30% of the electric vehicle maker&#39;s global sales and is its second-largest market after the United States.
A report by The Information earlier this month said Tesla&rsquo;s vehicle orders in China <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21417245/teslas-china-orders-fall-almost-50-in-may">nearly halved in May</a> from April, against the backdrop of increased government scrutiny on the U.S. electric carmaker.
In April, the EV maker <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/04/20762349/will-tesla-shanghai-auto-show-incident-be-a-watershed-event-for-rise-of-local-rivals-like-nio-xpeng" style="text-decoration:none">became a media and regulatory target</a> after a customer at the Shanghai auto show protested an alleged malfunctioning of brakes, the videos of which became viral.
Price Action: Tesla shares closed 1.09% higher at $623.33 on Friday.
Click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/electric-vehicles" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here&nbsp;</a>to check out Benzinga&#39;s EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles news.
Photo by&nbsp;<a href="https://unsplash.com/@milancsizmadia?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Milan Csizmadia</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/tesla-charger?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Retail Sales

TSLA

Tesla Supplier CATL Denies Forcing Employees To Buy 'Defective' EVs Of Elon Musk Company

Snap Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/snap#NYSE">SNAP</a>) is taking down the &ldquo;speed filter&rdquo; feature from its social media app Snapchat, as per a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/1007385955/snapchat-ends-speed-filter-that-critics-say-encouraged-reckless-driving" style="text-decoration:none">report</a> by the NPR&nbsp;that cited a Snap spokeswoman.&nbsp;
What Happened: The feature, which allows users to capture how fast they are moving in a vehicle&nbsp;and share it with friends, has in the past faced criticism on grounds that it encourages reckless driving, the report said.
Snap has faced lawsuits from the families of those who have been injured or killed in car crashes where drivers were moving at excessive speeds, allegedly to score bragging rights on the app, as per the report.&nbsp;
According to NPR,&nbsp;the company said the feature &quot;is barely used by Snapchatters,&nbsp;adding it may be a couple of weeks before it disappears completely for all of its 500 million monthly active users.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/21/06/21581173/cramer-thinks-snapchat-is-a-winner-has-changed-his-mind-on-ceo-evan-spiegel" style="text-decoration:none">Cramer Thinks Snapchat Is A &#39;Winner,&#39; Has Changed His Mind On CEO Evan Spiegel</a>
Why It Matters: Snap had earlier moved the speed feature from a filter to a sticker to lower its distinction after the speed feature was linked to many deadly or near-fatal car crashes, often with teenagers behind the wheel, as per the report.
The company made a number of other changes, as well, including issuing a &quot;Don&#39;t Snap and drive&quot; warning that would appear every time someone used the feature besides capping the top speed for which a post could be shared for &quot;driving speeds&quot; at 35 mph, NPR noted.
Price Action: Snap shares closed 1.43% higher at $63.17 on Friday.
Read Next: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/05/21230177/snapchat-confirms-ar-glasses-launch-to-let-users-tip-creators-all-you-need-to-know">Snapchat Confirms AR Glasses Launch, To Let Users Tip Creators: All You Need To Know</a>

Tech

SNAP

Snapchat Axes Controversial 'Speed Filter' In Face of Lawsuits

A hashtag calling for &ldquo;squeezing&rdquo; the SafeMoon (CRYPTO: SAFEMOON) cryptocurrency joined top trends on Twitter Inc&rsquo;s (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/twtr#NASDAQ">TWTR</a>) platform after a post gained traction on Reddit.
What Happened: The post by Reddit user &ldquo;GMEandAMCbroughtme&rdquo; on r/SatoshiStreetBets said&nbsp;that this was not a typical short squeeze but &ldquo;simply a squeeze due to massive sustained upward pressure on the price due to community and campaign driven volume induced token burn.&rdquo;
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/how-to-buy-safemoon/" style="text-decoration-line:none">How To Buy SafeMoon (SAFEMOON)</a>
At press time, in the early hours of Monday, the hashtag #safemoonsqueeze was among the top trends on Twitter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAFEMOON?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAFEMOON</a> 
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SafemoonSqueeze?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SafemoonSqueeze</a> has begun 
&ldquo;Consider this the official announcement of a community driven campaign to pop off the biggest squeeze of all time. This will be the crypto version of Gamestop and AMC but way bigger.&rdquo; 
&mdash;GMEandAMCbroughtme<a href="https://t.co/zka4vEH2kk">https://t.co/zka4vEH2kk</a> <a href="https://t.co/8EQ7UtOShW">pic.twitter.com/8EQ7UtOShW</a>
&mdash; SafeMoon Warrior (@SafemoonWarrior) <a href="https://twitter.com/SafemoonWarrior/status/1406844675399503872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>The Reddit Post said while the GameStop Corp (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/gme#NYSE">GME</a>) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amc#NYSE">AMC</a>) short squeezes were &ldquo;mostly an American phenomenon, this will be a global one.&rdquo;
Why It Matters: Making the case for a &ldquo;short squeeze,&rdquo; the post said SafeMoon&rsquo;s &ldquo;hyper deflationary nature&rdquo; will lead to a depleted supply due to token burn.
The poster also took stock of upcoming releases of products such as the hard and soft wallets and future listings of SafeMoon on exchanges.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21621259/exclusive-dogecoin-mania-didnt-prove-the-end-of-crypto-so-they-launched-commercial-toilet-" style="text-decoration-line:none">EXCLUSIVE: Dogecoin Mania Didn&#39;t Prove &#39;The End Of Crypto,&#39; So They Launched Commercial Toilet Paper-Backer Tetherino, &#39;The Most Ridiculous Cryptocurrency&#39; Ever</a>
SAFEMOON traded 0.28% lower at $0.00000393 at press time over 24 hours. The token has declined 2.02% over a seven-day period.
SAFEMOON has risen 3.84% and 3.69% against <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/is-bitcoin-a-good-investment/">Bitcoin</a> (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in the past 24 hours, respectively.&nbsp;
BTC traded 3.29% lower at $34,426.62 and ETH traded 3.72% lower at $2,119.46 at press time.
Some posts on SatoshiStreetBets took notice of the usage of the term &ldquo;squeeze.&rdquo;
&ldquo;There is no squeeze if there is no short,&rdquo; wrote user DayFeeling. Personaanongrata added to the string by saying, &ldquo;Not everything is a squeeze.&rdquo;
Read Next: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21560721/safemoon-spikes-20-5-after-ceo-discloses-involvement-in-dogecoin-spacex-partnership" style="text-decoration-line:none">SafeMoon Spikes 20.5% After CEO Discloses Involvement In Dogecoin-SpaceX Partnership</a>

$SAFEMOON

TWTR

'Safemoon Squeeze' Joins Top Trends On Twitter After Popular Post On Reddit's SatoshiStreetBets

The Pfizer Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/pfe#NYSE">PFE</a>)/BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/bntx#NASDAQ">BNTX</a>) COVID-19 vaccine has received provisional approval for use in the age group 12 to 15&nbsp;from New Zealand&#39;s&nbsp;medical regulator, Stuff <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300338584/covid19-pfizer-vaccine-approved-for-use-in-12-to-15yearolds-in-new-zealand" style="text-decoration-line:none">reported</a> Monday (local time).
What Happened: The vaccine already stands approved for those 16 years and older in the country. New Zealand&rsquo;s approval comes after regulars in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan approved the vaccine&rsquo;s use in 12-15 years olds.
&ldquo;Medsafe&rsquo;s approval has been a very carefully considered and robust process, with safety the key priority,&rdquo; said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, as per Stuff.
Why It Matters: As per Arden, there are 250,000 children in the 12-15 age bracket, and the country&rsquo;s existing Pfizer purchase order contains more than enough doses to administer two shots for the entire group, reported Stuff.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/21/05/21275317/modernas-covid-19-vaccine-effective-at-preventing-infection-in-adolescents" style="text-decoration-line:none">Moderna&#39;s COVID-19 Vaccine Effective at Preventing Infection in Adolescents</a>
In March,&nbsp; Pfizer and BioNTech <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/21/03/20419839/pfizer-biontechs-covid-19-vaccine-gives-100-protection-in-adolescents" style="text-decoration-line:none">reported Phase 3 trial data</a> evaluating the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12-15 years, which demonstrated 100% efficacy.
The vaccine was said to be well tolerated.&nbsp;
Price Action: On Friday, Pfizer shares closed 1.71% lower at $38.81 in the regular session and fell 0.28% in after-hours trading. On the same day, BioNTech shares closed almost 0.8% lower at $212.42 in the regular session.
Read Next: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/21/05/21050526/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-gets-fda-emergency-approval-for-age-group-12-15?utm_campaign=cityfalcon&amp;utm_medium=cityfalcon&amp;utm_source=cityfalcon" style="text-decoration-line:none">Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Gets FDA Emergency Approval For Age Group 12-15</a>
Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/50714632221">Marco Verch</a> on Flickr

Biotech

General

BNTX

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Approved For 12-15 Age Group In New Zealand

CNBC host Jim Cramer dished out advice for those shorting shares of Bed Bath &amp; Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/bbby#NASDAQ">BBBY</a>) on social media.
What Happened: &ldquo;Bed Bath shorts, why not use this decline over the coming days to cover your shorts. The Apes will be back&hellip;,&rdquo; Cramer <a href="http://twitter.com/jimcramer/status/1406008508026327045?s=20">said</a> in a tweet &mdash;&nbsp;referring to retail investors, particularly those on&nbsp;Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets.
Bed, Bath &amp; Beyond shares closed 6.71% lower at $27.38 on Friday in the regular session.
Why It Matters: The shares of the domestic merchandise retailer had a short interest of 32.14% at press time and a float of 103.4 million, as per Highshortinterest.com.
Last month, Cramer teased a short squeeze in the shares of&nbsp; Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/bynd#NASDAQ">BYND</a>) and<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/05/21333471/is-jim-cramer-teasing-a-beyond-meat-short-squeeze-making-sense-of-his-confounding-tweets" style="text-decoration-line:none"> urged bears to exit.</a>
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21599960/jim-cramer-advises-wallstreetbets-to-stay-focused-on-amc-gamestop-too-much-money-being-lost-on-your" style="text-decoration-line:none">Jim Cramer Advises WallStreetBets To Stay Focused On AMC, GameStop. &#39;Too Much Money Being Lost On Your Other Names&#39;</a>
This month, the former hedge fund manager said that Reddit investors are <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21485317/wallstreetbets-has-a-new-trading-strategy-to-target-stocks-beyond-amc-gamestop-clover-health-says-cr" style="text-decoration-line:none">&ldquo;spreading their wings&rdquo; </a>while pointing to discussions centered around Wendy&#39;s Co (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/wen#NASDAQ">WEN</a>) on WallStreetBets.
Cramer also said that the Reddit crowd may have got the choice of Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/clne#NASDAQ">CLNE</a>) <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21620668/jim-cramer-says-memesters-may-have-got-a-stock-right-but-its-not-amc-or-gamestop" style="text-decoration-line:none">right this month</a>.
Read Next: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21620796/clean-energy-fuels-ceo-on-wallstreetbets-interest-says-seems-like-they-get-it" style="text-decoration-line:none">Clean Energy Fuels CEO On WallStreetBets Interest Says &#39;Seems Like They Get It&#39;</a>

Long Ideas

Short Sellers

BBBY

BYND

CLNE

Jim Cramer Advises Bed Bath & Beyond Shorts To Cover Their Positions On Dip Because 'Apes Will Be Back'

Scion Asset Management founder Michel Burry issued a series of tweets last week warning retail traders about cryptocurrencies and the so-called Stonks &mdash; the stocks unusually favored by retail investors &mdash;&nbsp;according to a Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-18/crypto-meme-stocks-michael-burry-warns-about-mother-of-all-crashes?srnd=premium&amp;sref=TBDibEcD" style="text-decoration:none">report</a>.
What Happened: Burry, who deleted his tweets soon after, warned individual investors about losses &ldquo;the size of countries&rdquo; in the event of crypto and stonk declines.
&ldquo;All hype/speculation is doing is drawing in retail before the mother of all crashes,&rdquo; Burry wrote in the social media posts as per Bloomberg.
&ldquo;When crypto falls from trillions, or meme stocks fall from tens of billions, #MainStreet losses will approach the size of countries. History ain&rsquo;t changed.&rdquo;
Why It Matters:&nbsp;The hedge fund manager became popular after making billions off bets against mortgage securities during the 2008 financial crisis and is known to have placed bets against Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>).
The physician-investor is known for &ldquo;The Big Short,&rdquo; a film in which he was played by Christian Bale. The movie is based on his bet against the U.S. housing market.
Burry, who has a stonk&nbsp;fan following, had a bullish stand on online video-game retailer GameStop Corp (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/gme#NYSE">GME</a>) last year but has changed his stance this year after the frenetic retail investor-led short squeeze earlier this year.&nbsp;
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/01/19337273/gamestop-investor-michael-burry-of-the-big-short-fame-dubs-rally-unnatural-insane-and-dangerous" style="text-decoration:none">GameStop Investor Michael Burry &mdash; Of &#39;The Big Short&#39; Fame &mdash; Dubs Rally &#39;Unnatural, Insane, And Dangerous&#39;</a>
Burry has in the past deleted his tweets soon after posting them and some of his tweets had drawn a visit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he had told his followers.
Rally in stonks like GameStop,&nbsp;AMC Entertainment Inc.&nbsp;(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amc#NYSE">AMC</a>),&nbsp;Clover Health Investments Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/clov#NASDAQ">CLOV</a>), and&nbsp;Orphazyme A S ADR (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/orph#NASDAQ">ORPH</a>) resumed this month amid renewed interest. 
Meme-themed&nbsp;cryptocurrencies&nbsp;Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and&nbsp;Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB)&nbsp;have also registered a massive surge this year.
Price Action: At press time on a 24 hours basis, BTC traded 0.61% lower at $35,392.65, ETH traded 1.58% higher at $2,214.84, and DOGE traded 4.04% lower at $0.27.
Read Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21638290/amc-gamestop-wish-tesla-see-highest-wallstreetbets-interest-heading-into-new-week">AMC, GameStop, Wish, Tesla See Highest WallStreetBets Interest Heading Into New Week</a>

Short Ideas

$DOGE

$SHIB

CLOV

Michael Burry Issues Grim Warning On Cryptocurrency, Stonks: Losses Will 'Approach The Size Of Countries'

Heading into a new TRADING week, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amc#NYSE">AMC</a>), GameStop Corporation (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/gme#NYSE">GME</a>), and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>) were among the most discussed names on r/WallStreetBets or WSB, a retail investment forum best known for short squeezes.
What Happened: AMC, with 141 mentions, was the second most discussed on WSB over 24 hours, following exchange-traded fund SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA: SPY) with 179 mentions, as per Quiver Quantitative data.
GameStop and ContextLogic (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/wish#NASDAQ">WISH</a>) took the third and fourth spot with 105 and 82 mentions, respectively.&nbsp;Elon Musk-led automaker Tesla received 80 mentions.
Why It Matters: Last week, AMC, Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/clne#NASDAQ">CLNE</a>), and Blackberry Limited (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/bb#NYSE">BB</a>) <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21620165/amc-clean-energy-fuels-blackberry-continue-to-see-high-wallstreetbets-interest-corsair-petco-see-dro" style="text-decoration-line:none">dominated</a> WSB discussions.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21620258/is-blackberry-stock-seeing-renewed-interest" style="text-decoration-line:none">Is BlackBerry Stock Seeing Renewed Interest?</a>
On Friday, Clean Energy CEO Andrew Littlefair said he had seen posts on WSB and said that the <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21620796/clean-energy-fuels-ceo-on-wallstreetbets-interest-says-seems-like-they-get-it" style="text-decoration-line:none">WSB crowd &ldquo;they get it&rdquo;</a> in relation to the company&rsquo;s renewable modus operandi.&nbsp;
AMC shares ended Friday&rsquo;s regular session 2.42% lower at $59.26. On the same day, GME was down 4.37% at $213.82 and Tesla gained 1.09% at $623.33 in the regular session.
Read Next: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/21/06/21561620/apes-got-suckered-into-buying-woof-because-a-botnet-told-them-heres-what-this-top-post-on-wallstreet" style="text-decoration-line:none">Apes Got &#39;Suckered Into Buying&#39; WOOF Because A &#39;Botnet&#39; Told Them? Here&#39;s What This Top Post On WallStreetBets Is Saying</a>
Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AMC_Lakeline_9.jpg">JAH2k</a> on Wikimedia

WISH

AMC, GameStop, Wish, Tesla See Highest WallStreetBets Interest Heading Into New Week

<img alt="Fintech Header" src="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/2786381/hubfs/Fintech%20Header.png?upscale=true&amp;width=800&amp;upscale=true&amp;name=Fintech%20Header.png" />
Quote To Start The Day: &quot;We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.&rdquo;
Source: <a href="https://mytradingskills.com/motivational-trader-quotes?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">Warren Buffett</a>
One Big Thing In Fintech: Successive hearings before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have focused national attention on digitizing the dollar.
Despite agreeing on broad talking points, concrete plans for the architecture of a U.S. CBDC remain inscrutable.
Source: <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/108494/cbdc-central-banks-hearings-congress-june?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=2021-06-20&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">The Block</a>
<img src="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/2786381/hubfs/giphy-Jun-21-2021-03-14-01-17-AM.gif?upscale=true&amp;width=800&amp;upscale=true&amp;name=giphy-Jun-21-2021-03-14-01-17-AM.gif" />
Other Key Fintech Developments:
<ul>
<li>Axis-Z looks at <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/fintech/21/06/21599390/fintech-spotlight-axis-z-brings-virtual-reality-to-trading?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">merging</a> VR, trading.</li>
<li>Owning paycheck a <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/18/fintech-2021-paycheck/?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">key</a> to success.</li>
<li>Citi Ventures <a href="https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/38293/citi-ventures-joins-443-million-round-in-lending-network-splash?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">invests</a> in lending tech.</li>
<li>Clearlake Capital to <a href="https://www.thetradenews.com/clearlake-capital-to-acquire-data-solutions-firm-confluence/?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">buy</a> Confluence.</li>
<li>DailyPay, PNC and TCH <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/news/faster-payments/2021/dailypay-pnc-tch-partner-on-real-time-payments-of-earned-income/?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">teamed</a> up.</li>
<li>DeFi is the new great <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/108313/mark-cuban-defi-could-be-the-next-great-growth-engine-for-the-us?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=2021-06-20&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">growth</a> engine.</li>
<li>RBC <a href="https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/88163/rbc-rolls-out-insight-edge-transaction-analysis-suite-to-commercial-clients?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">rolls</a> out Insight Edge analysis.</li>
<li>Grayscale <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/108918/grayscale-exploring-13-new-products-solana-polygon?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=2021-06-20&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">exploring</a> more products.</li>
<li>Volt <a href="https://finledger.com/2021/06/18/volt-secures-23-5m-series-a-led-by-eqt-ventures/?utm_campaign=Newsletter%20-%20Daily&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsmi=134704497&amp;utm_content=134704497&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">secures</a> $23.5M Series A round.</li>
<li>Blockchain and water <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/109059/colorado-lawmakers-approve-law-to-study-technologies-like-blockchain-for-water-management?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">management</a>.</li>
<li>The <a href="https://www.builtinchicago.org/2021/06/15/fintech-innovation-pandemic?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">future</a> of fintech began in 2020.</li>
<li>Stablecoins cited as a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-16/crypto-lode-of-100-billion-stirs-u-s-worry-over-hidden-danger?srnd=premium&amp;sref=TBDibEcD&amp;utm_campaign=article_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsmi=134541808&amp;utm_content=article-5826&amp;utm_source=sg&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">risk</a> to system.</li>
<li>Splash <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/splash-financial-raises-more-than-40-million-in-series-b-round-301314755.html?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">raises</a> $40M Series B round.</li>
<li>Amazon <a href="https://thefintechtimes.com/amazon-aims-for-fintech-disruption-with-innovation-lab-in-dubais-difc/?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">aims</a> for fintech disruptions.</li>
<li>Raisin now <a href="https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/38294/raisin-goes-live-with-first-us-partner-bank?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">live</a> with US partner bank.</li>
<li>BBVA <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/108933/banking-giant-bbva-opens-bitcoin-trading-custody-switzerland?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">opens</a> bitcoin trading, custody.</li>
<li>Scotiabank <a href="https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/38297/scotiabank-brings-machine-learning-to-chatbot?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">tapped</a> machine learning.</li>
<li>Unit <a href="https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2021/06/176791-baas-fintech-unit-acquires-51m-in-capital-via-series-b-from-accel-better-tomorrow-ventures-others/?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">added</a> bank, payments product.</li>
<li>Novus <a href="https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/38287/novus-partners-visa-for-impact-driven-digital-banking-app?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">partners</a> Visa for banking app.</li>
<li>Galaxy is <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/108956/galaxy-digital-goldman-sachs-bitcoin-futures?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=2021-06-20&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">providing</a> GS BTC liquidity.</li>
<li>Amber Group <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-20/former-morgan-stanley-traders-turn-crypto-startup-into-unicorn?srnd=premium&amp;sref=TBDibEcD&amp;utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">adds</a> $100M Series B.</li>
<li>B Charitable <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/fintech/21/06/21620317/b-charitable-launches-as-modern-tax-exempt-fintech-for-charitable-donations?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">launches</a> new platform.</li>
</ul>
Watch Out For This: Loyalty should not be discounted.
Why? It leads to conversion.
That&rsquo;s the key takeaway from one recent TikTok video Jesse Itzler posted about on his relationship with rapper, producer and businessman 50 Cent who, many years prior, interned under Itzler.
Source: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/general/entrepreneurship/21/06/21618525/when-loyalty-leads-to-conversion-an-explainer-featuring-jesse-itzler-and-50-cent?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">Benzinga</a>
<img src="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/2786381/hubfs/maxresdefault_2.jpeg?upscale=true&amp;width=800&amp;upscale=true&amp;name=maxresdefault_2.jpeg" />
Interesting Reads:
<ul>
<li>Gilbert <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/startups/21/06/21619798/gilbert-family-foundation-rock-family-of-companies-support-opening-of-detroit-apple-developer-academ?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">supporting</a> Detroit innovation.</li>
<li>American Air cancellations <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-20/american-airlines-flight-cancellations-set-to-continue-monday?srnd=premium&amp;utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">continue</a>.</li>
<li>Supply crunch risks <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/supply-crunch-risks-extending-into-2022-stoking-inflation-11624197600?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">move</a> into 2022.</li>
<li>Companies look to meme <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/troubled-companies-take-page-from-amc-playbook-in-seeking-stock-market-lifelines-11624190402?st=m8m3e8ziqneojzw&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_twitter&amp;utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">playbook</a>.</li>
<li>Canada border to remain <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-20/no-full-reopening-to-u-s-until-75-canadians-vaccinated-chief?srnd=premium&amp;utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">restricted</a>.</li>
<li>Automakers <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/16/experts-from-ford-toyota-and-hyundai-outline-why-automakers-are-pouring-money-into-robotics/?utm_medium=TCnewsletter&amp;tpcc=TCtransportationnewsletter&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">pour</a> money into robots.</li>
<li>Delta <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/06/15/1026365/the-delta-variant-doubles-the-risk-of-hospitalization-but-the-vaccines-still-work/?utm_source=engagement_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=site_visitor.unpaid.engagement&amp;utm_content=06.20.21.non-subs&amp;mc_cid=2091786e3d&amp;mc_eid=644339f2bb&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">increases</a> hospitalization risks.</li>
</ul>
Market Moving Headline: Last week, U.S. stock index futures diverged.
The Nasdaq 100 traded relatively strong, in comparison to the weaker S&amp;P 500, Russell 2000, and Dow Jones Industrial Average. This action comes as the Federal Reserve signaled a faster-than-expected pace of policy tightening (learn more about the impact of policy tightening, here).
At the same time, in conjunction with the divergence in major indexes, participants saw sectoral breakdowns, a concern that may portend increased volatility after &lsquo;Quadruple Witching&rsquo; Friday, or the rebalancing of benchmarks, as well as the expiration of stock index futures, stock index options, stock options, and single stock futures.
Key Takeaways: Index futures diverge. Risk-off sentiment returns.
- Fears over inflation and taper sparking movements.
- Ahead: GDP, Home sales, PMI, Claims, Fed speak.
- Indices sideways to lower; growth, tech stay strong.
In the coming sessions, participants will want to focus their attention on where the S&amp;P 500 trades in relation to the $4,153.25 high volume area (HVNode).
In the best case, the index trades sideways or higher; activity above $4,153.25 puts in play the HVNodes at $4,177.25 and $4,199.25. Initiative trade beyond $4,199.25 could reach as high as the $4,227.75 HVNode, $4,235.00 Point Of Control (POC), and $4,258.00 overnight high (ONH).
Source: <a href="https://physikinvest.substack.com/p/weekly-brief-june-20-2021?utm_campaign=Fintech%20-%20BZ%20Fintech%20Daily%20Beat&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9sKSt9dmhDTTIFmdbBwDOOZbDa1CRr_pI41bEUUbhpy_54LYJPxxSL6UnzpSi0oT08mxgX">Physik Invest</a>
<img src="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/2786381/hubfs/Pre-Market%20Outlook%20(1).png?upscale=true&amp;width=800&amp;upscale=true&amp;name=Pre-Market%20Outlook%20(1).png" />

Fintech news covering the emerging Financial Technology services sector

Fintech

Fintech Focus For June 21, 2021

Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/psth#NYSE">PSTH</a>), a blank-check firm owned by billionaire investor William Ackman said on Sunday it is buying 10% of Universal Music Group, a unit of Vivendi SE (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vivhy#OTC">VIVHY</a>), for about $4 billion.
What Happened: Universal Music Group, which is home to artists such as Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, is being listed on the Euronext Amsterdam in the third quarter this year&nbsp;in a planned spinoff from the French media conglomerate Vivendi. Under the terms of the deal, once the listing is complete, PSTH shareholders will receive UMG shares.
After the $4 billion purchase of the 10% stake in UMG, PSTH will continue to exist and still have access to around $2.9 billion in cash with which Ackman plans to pursue another deal.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/m-a/21/06/21429882/bill-ackman-spac-announces-universal-music-deal-could-investors-see-a-1-hit" style="text-decoration:none">Bill Ackman SPAC Announces Universal Music Deal: Could Investors See A #1 Hit?</a>
Why It Matters: The billionaire will create a new special purpose acquisition rights company, or a SPARC, which is expected to trade on the NYSE or Nasdaq, and will allow holders to subscribe for SPARC shares once it finds its initial business combination partner, the company said.
Unlike a SPAC, a SPARC does not intend to raise capital through an underwritten IPO in which investors commit capital upfront &ndash; before knowing the company with which it will combine.
Assuming all of the SPARC Warrants are exercised, it will have a minimum of $6.6 billion of cash and access to up to $10.6 billion to complete a deal.
Price Action: PSTH shares closed marginally down at $22.70 on Friday.&nbsp;
Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/diversey/19200025289">Tony Webster</a> on Flickr

PSTH

VIVHY

Bill Ackman's SPAC To Buy 10% Stake In Universal Music Group From Vivendi In $4B Deal

Those living in the Lone Star State will be able to buy <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/is-bitcoin-a-good-investment/" style="text-decoration-line:none">Bitcoin</a> (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) along with their apples and oranges soon.
What Happened: Digital currency machine or DCM operator Coin Cloud is about to put its two-thousandth&nbsp;kiosk in a grocery store operated by H-E-B, a San Antonio, Texas-based chain, as per a statement.&nbsp;
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/how-to-buy-cryptocurrencies/" style="text-decoration-line:none">How To Buy Cryptocurrency</a>
A representative for H-E-B confirmed that the pilot program will be centered around 29 stores in the Houston area, Houston Chronicle <a href="https://www.chron.com/business/technology/article/H-E-B-cryptocurrency-bitcoin-machines-16257509.php" style="text-decoration-line:none">reported</a>.
&ldquo;As we continue to expand, retailers will become increasingly aware of the important role digital currency plays in the future and how Coin Cloud&rsquo;s expansive rollout of DCMs will help them meet the forward-looking needs of their shoppers from a technological and financial standpoint,&rdquo; said Chris McAlary, Founder and CEO of Coin Cloud.
Why It Matters: The machines will allow H-E-B customers to purchase over 30 cryptocurrencies using their debit or credit cards, as per the Chronicle.
Cryptocurrencies have been on a tear this year with DOGE rising over 5748% since 2021 began and Ethereum soaring over 200%. Gains in BTC have been modest comparatively at 21.85%&nbsp;
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21620349/dogecoin-co-founders-crappy-doodle-nft-made-in-his-underwear-sells-for-1500x-over-asking-p" style="text-decoration-line:none">Dogecoin Co-Founder&#39;s Crappy Doodle NFT, Made In His &#39;Underwear,&#39; Sells For 1500x Over Asking Price</a>
At press time on a 24 hours basis, BTC traded 0.61% lower at $35,392.65, ETH traded 1.58% higher at $2,214.84, and DOGE traded 4.04% lower at $0.27.
Platforms run by Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/coin#NASDAQ">COIN</a>), Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sq#NASDAQ">SQ</a>), and Square Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sq#NYSE">SQ</a>) also offer access to cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, cryptocurrencies can also be traded on a peer-to-peer basis.
Read Next: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21621259/exclusive-dogecoin-mania-didnt-prove-the-end-of-crypto-so-they-launched-commercial-toilet-" style="text-decoration-line:none">EXCLUSIVE: Dogecoin Mania Didn&#39;t Prove &#39;The End Of Crypto,&#39; So They Launched Commercial Toilet Paper-Backer Tetherino, &#39;The Most Ridiculous Cryptocurrency&#39; Ever</a>

$ETH

COIN

You Can Now Buy Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum Alongside Apples, Oranges At H-E-B's Houston Stores

Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) slipped over 2% at press time on Sunday night after a weekend that saw a car bearing the Shiba Inu mascot crash into a wall at NASCAR.&nbsp;
What Happened: DOGE traded 2.1% lower at $0.28 at press time over a 24-hour period. The meme cryptocurrency has tanked 14.72% over a seven-day basis.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/how-to-buy-dogecoin-doge/" style="text-decoration-line:none">How To Buy Dogecoin (DOGE)</a>
Against <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/is-bitcoin-a-good-investment/" style="text-decoration-line:none">Bitcoin</a> (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), DOGE fell 2.05% and 4.65%, respectively.&nbsp;
BTC traded 0.5% higher at $35,590.95 over 24-hours, while ETH traded 3.09% higher at $2,237.87 in a similar period.
Among the top gainers on Sunday evening, THORChain (CRYPTO: RUNE) topped the charts over 24 hours, as per CoinMarketCap data.
THOR traded 14.1% higher at $8.33 over 24-hours. Other gainers in the same period included SushiSwap (CRYPTO: SUSHI) up 12.79% at $8.31, Waves (CRYPTO: WAVES), which traded 10.86% higher at $17.48, and The Graph (CRYPTO: GRT) which spiked 7.75% to $0.63.
Why It Matters:&nbsp;The Dogecoin car, with Stefan Parsons on the wheel, made contact with an exterior wall at the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday in Stage 2 of the Tennessee Lottery 250.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dogecar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dogecar</a> has crashed.
TV: NBCSN <a href="https://t.co/eCb1PosOI3">pic.twitter.com/eCb1PosOI3</a>
&mdash; NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASCARonNBC/status/1406349369276735489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>The wreck occurred just before the finish line causing Parsons to finish last at the 36th spot in the race.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21621379/in-a-first-nascar-driver-to-be-paid-entirely-in-bitcoin-litecoin" style="text-decoration-line:none">In A First, NASCAR Driver To Be Paid Entirely In Cryptocurrency, Including Bitcoin, Litecoin</a>
Meanwhile, post the Federal Reserve&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21599641/amp-crypto-continues-to-strike-gains-as-bitcoin-ethereum-dogecoin-drop-lower" style="text-decoration-line:none">revised projection for hikes </a>in interest rates by the end of 2023, the number of BTC held by U.S. and Canadian closed-ended funds and European and Canadian exchange-traded funds declined to 782,558 BTC on Friday, which is the lowest level since Feb. 25, as per ByteTree Asset Management data, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-fund-holdings-hit-four-month-low" style="text-decoration-line:none">first seen on </a>CoinDesk.
&ldquo;BTC held by ETFs and funds are a significant and measurable sample of network demand,&rdquo; said ByteTree Chief Information Officer Charlie Morris, as per CoinDesk.
Read Next: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/06/21600974/exclusive-building-on-top-of-bitcoin-may-not-be-as-popular-as-ethereum-other-blockchains-b" style="text-decoration-line:none">EXCLUSIVE: Building On Top Of Bitcoin May Not Be As Popular As Ethereum, Other Blockchains, But We&#39;re &#39;Close To Seeing Some Runaway Success,&#39; Says Stacks</a>

$GRT

$RUNE

$SUSHI

$WAVES

Dogecoin Slips Another 2% After Nascar Appearance As Bitcoin, Ethereum Hold Together

Immutep secures commitments for A$60 million through a two-tranche institutional placement to expand its clinical development and manufacturing program into late-stage settings Key Highlights • Immutep has secured commitments for A$60 million via a two-tranche institutional placement which was supported by multiple institutional investors in Australia and offshore • Immutep will offer an SPP for eligible shareholders of Immutep to seek to raise a further ~A$5 million • Ongoing strength of Immutep's clinical data for efti (presented at SITC 2020, SABCS 2020 and ASCO 2021) provides the opportunity to seek to expand the clinical portfolio including a Phase III clinical trial • Moving efti manufacturing towards commercial scale • Preparing Immutep's autoimmune disease candidate, IMP761 for IND stage • The institutional placement improves Immutep's financial flexibility, providing a $108m1 cash balance and extending its cash runway to the end of CY2023 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Immutep Limited (ASX: IMM; NASDAQ: IMMP) (Immutep or Company), is pleased to announce that it has received commitments for a A$60 million via a two-tranche placement of new ordinary shares in Immutep (New Shares) to professional, institutional and sophisticated investors (Placement). Immutep CEO, Marc Voigt said: "Never has there been a more exciting time to be the leading LAG-3 biotech, following the recent industry validation of this promising new immune checkpoint. Efti has continued to report compelling results from multiple clinical trials over the last year, including from key patient subgroups in our AIPAC study. Efti will be tested in different late-stage randomised settings which is a key step towards potential commercialisation. We are very encouraged to have received such strong support from multiple existing and new institutional investors for this financing. The funds will be used to expand our efti clinical development portfolio into late-stage settings, and significantly strengthening our strategic and business development options. They will also support the manufacturing process to reach commercial status as we advance towards registration." Use of Funds The Company will use the proceeds received from the Placement to fund an expanded clinical program including the following: &#9642; New Phase III Registration Trial – metastatic breast cancer (based on AIPAC) 1 Pro forma cash balance based on IMM's cash balance at 31 March 2021 and excluding offer costs and assuming Immutep shareholders approve the issue of the Tranche 2 Shares (defined on page 2) at Immutep's extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to be held on 26 July 2021. 
 &#9642; New Phase II Trial – triple combination therapy with efti + anti-PD-1 therapy + chemotherapy (expected indication: NSCLC) &#9642; Other Trials – two new investigator-initiated trials (IITs) with up to 40 patients each &#9642; Manufacturing &amp; Validation – commence process characterisation and process validation for efti commercial manufacturing (2,000 litre scale) &#9642; Regulatory – ongoing interactions with the FDA and EMA &#9642; Autoimmune Program – IND package for IMP761 &#9642; Strengthen – the team and research projects Placement The Placement will involve the issue of New Shares to institutional and sophisticated investors in two tranches at an issue price of A$0.52 per New Share (representing a 12.9% discount to the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of the Company's ordinary shares as traded on ASX over the 30 days up to and including 16 June 2021). The Placement comprises: • the issue of New Shares ($13.7 million), which will be issued within the Company's available placement capacity with 15,848,340 New Shares issued under ASX Listing Rule 7.1 and 10,565,559 New Shares issued under ASX Listing Rule 7.1A (Tranche 1 Shares); and • the issue of 88,970,717 million New Shares ($46.3 million), the issue of which will be conditional on Immutep's shareholders (Shareholders) approving the issue for the purposes of ASX Listing Rule 7.1 at an extraordinary general meeting of Immutep (EGM) (Tranche 2 Shares). The EGM to seek shareholder approval for the issue of the Tranche 2 Shares (Shareholder Approval) is expected to be held on or around Monday, 26 July 2021 (EGM), with the Notice of Meeting for the EGM to be issued later this month. The New Shares issued under the Placement will rank equally with existing Immutep ordinary shares on issue with effect from their date of issue. Bell Potter Securities Limited and Jefferies (Australia) Pty Ltd, together acted as joint lead managers and bookrunners to the Placement. The Placement was not underwritten. Settlement of the Tranche 1 Shares is expected to occur on Friday, 25 June 2021 with issue of Tranche 1 Shares expected to occur on Monday, 28 June 2021. Assuming Shareholder Approval is obtained for the issue of the Tranche 2 Shares, settlement of the Tranche 2 Shares is expected to occur on Thursday, 29 July 2021 with issue of Tranche 2 Shares expected to occur on Friday, 30 July 2021. Share Purchase Plan Following completion of the issue of the Tranche 1 Shares under the Placement, Immutep will conduct an offer of New Shares under a non-underwritten share purchase plan (SPP) to existing shareholders in the Company with a registered address in Australia and New Zealand as at 7.00pm (Sydney, Australia time) on Friday, 18 June 2021, and who are not in the United States or acting for the account or benefit of a person in the United States (Eligible Shareholders). 
The SPP will provide each Eligible Shareholder with the opportunity to apply for up to A$30,000 of New Shares at the price payable per New Share in the Placement. The SPP is targeting to raise approximately A$5 million, while maintaining the flexibility to accept applications in excess of this amount. Applications in excess of the A$5 million target amount may be scaled back (on a pro rata basis at the discretion of the Board as per the SPP). In the event of a scale-back, the value of SPP shares allocated to investors may be less than the parcel initially applied for. If this occurs, any excess money will be refunded. Immutep expects to announce the final outcome of the SPP, including any scale-back, on Thursday, 22 July 2021. The SPP offer booklet (SPP Offer Booklet) containing further details of the SPP will be released separately and will be mailed to all Eligible Shareholders. Each New Share issued under the SPP will rank equally with existing Shares with effect from its date of issue and Immutep will seek quotation of the New Shares issued under the SPP on the ASX. Shareholder approval is not required for the issue of Shares under the SPP. Timetable* Event Date Record Date for Eligible Shareholders to subscribe for New Shares via the SPP 7.00pm (Sydney, Australia time), Friday, 18 June 2021 Announcement date for Placement and SPP Before market open on ASX on Monday, 21 June 2021 Trading halt lifted and trading resumes on ASX Monday, 21 June 2021 Settlement of Tranche 1 Shares Friday, 25 June 2021 Issue of Tranche 1 Shares under the Placement Monday, 28 June 2021 SPP Offer Booklet despatched to Eligible Shareholders Monday, 28 June 2021 SPP opens 9.00am (Sydney, Australia time), Monday, 28 June 2021 SPP closes 5.00pm (Sydney, Australia time), Monday, 19 July 2021 Immutep EGM (approval of Tranche 2 Shares) 4pm (Sydney, Australia time), Monday, 26 July 2021 Issue of New Shares under SPP Friday, 23 July 2021 Expected date for quotation of Shares issued under the SPP on ASX Monday, 26 July 2021 Settlement of Tranche 2 Shares Thursday, 29 July 2021 Issue of Tranche 2 Shares under the Placement Friday, 30 July 2021 *Immutep retains the discretion to alter any or all of these key dates These dates are indicative only and are subject to change. Immutep reserves the right, subject to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the ASX Listing Rules, to amend this indicative timetable. In particular, Immutep reserves the right to extend the closing date for the SPP, accept late applications under the SPP (either generally or in particular cases) and to withdraw or vary the Placement or SPP without prior notice. Any extension of the closing date for the SPP will have a consequential effect on the date for the issue of New Shares. All amounts are in Australian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Offerings

IMMP

Immutep Announced it Secured Commitments for A$60M in a Placement

Immutep Limited (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/immp#NASDAQ">IMMP</a>) announces it has signed an agreement to commence a new Phase I trial, called INSIGHT-003, to evaluate the combination of lead product candidate eftilagimod alpha ("efti" or "IMP321") in conjunction with an existing approved standard of care therapy consisting of a chemotherapy agent and ananti-PD-1therapy.
INSIGHT-003 will be an investigator-initiated trial conducted bythe Institute of Clinical Cancer Research IKF at Krankenhaus Nordwest in Frankfurt. The trial will be run as an amendment to the protocol of the ongoing INSIGHT trial as the third arm (Stratum C) with Prof. Dr. Salah-EddinAl-Batran as lead investigator.
Up to 20 patients with various solid tumours will be recruited to participate in the trial.Patients will receive 30 mg doses of efti every two weeks for 24 weeks in conjunction with standard of care chemotherapy plus anti-PD-1 therapy.Thereafter, patients will enter a maintenance phase and receive either efti alone or in double or continued triple combination withanti-PD-1therapy. The trial will assess the safety, tolerability and initial efficacy of the combination.
All regulatory and ethical approvals have been received, enabling recruitment to commence. The first patient is expected to be enrolled in Q3 of calendar year 2021, with first interim results expected in 2022.
Commenting on the new trial, Immutep CEO Marc Voigt said: "Testing efti as part of a triple combination therapy is an important and exciting expansion of our development program. Efti activates the immune system and could bring a significant benefit to multiple approved standard of care therapies and experimental therapies. Together with our other trials, we are building a very robust pool of data to understand how efti can ultimately improve outcomes for cancer patients."
Prof. Salah-EddinAl-Batran, Lead Investigator of the INSIGHT trial said: "There is a solid scientific rationale for adding efti to certain existingstandard-of-carechemotherapy plusanti-PD-1regimen in a triple combination approach and we are excited about the possibility of generating the first safety and efficacy data for theefti-add-ontriple combination in our INSIGHT trial platform."

Penny Stocks

Small Cap

Immutep Announced it Will Evaluate Efti in Triple Combination Therapy Phase I Study with Chemotherapy and an anti-PD-1 Therapy

Despite never being an avid cannabis consumer, Charlamagne Tha God, <a class="color-link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlamagne_tha_God" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" title="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlamagne_tha_God">controversial</a> co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club, television personality, actor and best-selling author, has gotten into the cannabis industry.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never really been much of a smoker. I don&rsquo;t have a lot of good memories associated with smoking. It always makes my body go through the roof,&rdquo; he admits during an exclusive interview.
Charlamagne -born Lenard Larry McKelvel- has recently been very open about his struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. In that way, he tries to fight the stigma around mental health in America, especially among black communities. Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks On Me, his second book after Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It, is related to this issue and reveals his personal traumas, regrets and fears.
In fact, McKelvel confesses he only survived 2020 because of all the self-care work he has done.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been going to therapy and practicing meditation. I think a lot of people had to sit still last year and see themselves for the first time, and they didn&rsquo;t like what they saw. That happened to me a few years ago, so I started doing the work. You can&rsquo;t keep running. You gotta deal with the trauma,&rdquo; he urges. And it is honest. C has had to do his fair share of introspection, apologies, and self-improvement.
<h2 class="subhead-embed color-accent bg-base font-accent font-size text-align">Tha God And Evolution</h2>
As a teen, Charlamagne was into weed because of its relationship with rap and hip-hop.
&ldquo;Every song was about smoking weed in some way, shape or form. The first time I smoked I was in high school, in Moncks Corner,&rdquo; he reminisces.
&ldquo;Getting high was cool because I was young and I didn&rsquo;t have as much trauma and stuff as you do when you get older. I just used to do it in a recreational and social way.&rdquo;
However, things changed after he got arrested for the first time and was put on probation. For him, smoking was just too scary: &ldquo;Even before I was diagnosed with panic attacks, it would give them to me. I didn&rsquo;t know what it was back then, but the weed was making me super paranoid.&rdquo;
So he left it alone for a long, long time.
<h2 class="subhead-embed color-accent bg-base font-accent font-size text-align">The Green Wave</h2>
In recent years, cannabis became a mainstream product, a topic of discussion, and a big driver of the economy, where it was legalized. And with this mainstreaming of the plant came the realization of the countless benefits medical marijuana has.
Trying to ride that wave, Charlamagne found out, yet again, that smoking was not good for him. It was still triggering anxiety attacks.
Eventually, he did some research and came across those good ol&rsquo; edibles.
&ldquo;The edibles are beautiful. I might do 10 milligrams and drink a glass of wine and be right where I need to be,&rdquo; McKelvel confides.
And so, reconciliation came through. He could finally see marijuana from a whole different perspective.
&ldquo;At this age, I never thought it was something that I would pick up with it. But definitely, when I&#39;m home on the weekends, and I have nothing to do, it&rsquo;s great for me,&rdquo; he says.
<h2 class="subhead-embed color-accent bg-base font-accent font-size text-align">Wake And Bake</h2>
Charlamagne and his The Breakfast Club co-hosts Angela Yee and DJ Envy have interviewed a long list of big names, including Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, current President and Vice President of the United States &ndash; in case you didn&#39;t know who they were.
Addressing the subject of cannabis, Charlamagne punctually questioned Biden about his promise to decriminalize marijuana instead of just legalizing the plant across the country. This promise is yet to be fulfilled, as the executive branch proves to be less cannabis-friendly than anticipated, with Biden even asking several White House staffers to resign due to past marijuana use.
After that experience, the radio host was left feeling sceptical about cannabis being legalized federally during Biden&rsquo;s term. He does hope, however, legalization will happen sometime in the next decade.
&ldquo;We have enough data that shows that marijuana is not addictive, not deadly and that it has a lot of medical benefits. Not legalizing cannabis is hypocritical,&rdquo; he voices.
&ldquo;It also opens up another industry and another form of economic empowerment for folks.&rdquo;
<h2 class="subhead-embed color-accent bg-base font-accent font-size text-align">By The People, For The People</h2>
The 42-year-old media personality recently got involved in the cannabis industry, becoming an advisor to <a class="color-link" href="https://www.citizengrown.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" title="https://www.citizengrown.com/">CitizenGrown</a>, a company whose motto is &ldquo;Cannabis by the people, for the people.&rdquo; Wu-Tang Clan&rsquo;s&nbsp;Raekwon is also invested in this company and was profiled in <a class="color-link" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/08/19/raekwon/" target="_blank" title="https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/08/19/raekwon/">this Forbes feature</a>.
With a unique business model, CitizenGrown provides households with automated cannabis grow boxes, allowing people to both literally and figurately harvest the rewards of this growing industry.
&ldquo;I was all in because this is a way to empower not just black and brown people, but also empower those who have been impacted by the War on Drugs, whether directly or indirectly,&rdquo; he explains.
As it is, marijuana has become a great place to start systemically reversing the consequences of the War on Drugs.
&ldquo;If there was such a thing as drug war reparations, this would be very, very close to it,&rdquo; he declares.
Deepa Sood, CEO of CitizenGrown, adds, &quot;We are in a tide change of sorts in terms of perceptions of cannabis. Having people like Charlamagne and Rae, people with such incredible influence, supporting our social justice approach to cannabis illustrates how public perception is changing for the better and how there is an appetite and ability to do this right, ground up, and change peoples&#39; lives.&quot;&nbsp;
Moreover, Charlamagne decided to support the community by launching The Black Effect Podcast Network, a service dedicated to uplifting Black culture and Black voices.
&ldquo;I always want people to check out the Black Effect Podcast Network on iHeartRadio, we have like 20 podcasts available,&rdquo; the Radio Hall of Famer concludes.
<a href="https://elplanteo.com/author/franca-quarneti/">Franca Quarneti</a> contributed to this report.
Photo by Fila USA via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charlamagne_Tha_God_2014.png">WikiMedia Commons</a>.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2021/03/29/charlamagne-tha-god-not-legalizing-cannabis-is-hypocritical/?sh=4202bb6b3b6f">Forbes</a> and appears here with permission.
Versi&oacute;n en Espa&ntilde;ol: <a href="https://elplanteo.com/entrevista-a-charlamagne-tha-god-no-legalizar-la-marihuana-es-hipocrita/">Entrevista a Charlamagne Tha God: &lsquo;No Legalizar la Marihuana Es Hip&oacute;crita&rsquo;</a>

Cannabis

Interview

'The Breakfast Club's' Charlamagne Tha God Says 'Not Legalizing Cannabis Is Hypocritical'

This article&nbsp;was originally published on <a href="https://microdose.buzz/psychedelic-guides-with-lucia-huang-of-osmind/">Microdose Psychedelic Insights</a>&nbsp;and appears here with permission.
This week&rsquo;s Psychedelic Guide is Lucia Huang, Co-founder and CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://osmind.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Osmind</a>. Osmind is committed to improving mental health care for those who need it most. They remain unwavering in their service of people with treatment-resistant depression and related mental health issues.
<h4>When did you first become involved in the psychedelic industry and why?</h4>
We co-founded Osmind in early 2020. I&rsquo;ve always been a big believer in psychedelic medicines as incredible healing therapies that can fundamentally shift the mental health paradigm. Especially for treatment-resistant/refractory patients, we realized that the current mental healthcare system fails them. We wanted to build the underlying infrastructure to help these new treatments (psychedelics being just one of them) succeed and present hope to these patients. 
Our backgrounds are more rooted in the traditional healthcare system and we wanted to bridge psychedelics and the mainstream.
<h4>Do you, or have you taken, psychedelic substances?</h4>
Yes
<h4>What&rsquo;s your favourite psychedelic compound?</h4>
<h4>Do your parents/family members know what you&rsquo;re doing?</h4>
Yes
<h4>Have you had an experience with mental health/chronic pain?</h4>
Yes
<h4>What&rsquo;s your vision of the industry in 20 years?</h4>
<blockquote>Psychedelics converge with mainstream mental healthcare. Patients don&rsquo;t have to spin through the healthcare system, going from provider to provider. Mainstream institutions like Kaiser will offer psychedelic therapy just like they offer talk therapy.
</blockquote>
<h4>What are your biggest worries for the industry?</h4>
Hype over substance. Losing track of the patient.
<h4>Who are your heroes?</h4>
Humphry Osmond, whom we&rsquo;re named after! 
Tom Insel and other modern-day heroes who have bridged mainstream mental healthcare with psychedelics.
<h4>If you could create a psychedelic to do anything you wanted, what would it do?</h4>
Wipe out stigma, prejudice, and other barriers. This would eliminate the root cause of a lot of suffering.
&nbsp;
We&rsquo;d like to thank Lucia for being a part of the Psychedelic Guides series. Stay tuned for weekly profiles on leaders in the psychedelic industry.

Psychedelic Guides With Lucia Huang Of Osmind

This article was originally published on&nbsp;<a href="https://psychedelicspotlight.com/israelis-palestinians-conflict-ayahuasca/">Psychedelic Spotlight</a>, and appears here with permission.
<h3>Could ayahuasca be the key to erasing conflict between Israel and Palestine?</h3>
New research from Imperial College London has investigated whether the psychedelic ayahuasca could be used in peacebuilding between conflict regions such as Israel and Palestine.&nbsp;
The study, published in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.607529/full" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Frontiers of Pharmacology</a>,&nbsp;examines the relational processes between Jewish-Israelis and Arab-Palestinians when drinking ayahuasca together in a group setting. This timely piece of research may pave the way for illuminating the most important aspects that can foster better relations between conflicting groups.&nbsp;
<h3>What is Ayahuasca?</h3>
<a href="https://psychedelicspotlight.com/the-healing-power-of-ayahuasca-an-ancient-medicine-for-modern-times/">Ayahuasca</a>&nbsp;is a psychedelic brew used in shamanistic rituals in South America. It combines two plants found in the Amazonian basin:&nbsp;Psychotria viridis, which contains the psychoactive substance DMT, and the&nbsp;Banisteriopsis caapi&nbsp;vine, which allows the DMT to become orally active.&nbsp;
The DMT-containing plant medicine induces a particularly intense psychedelic experience; strong hallucinations and visions are common, while vomiting and elimination&rdquo; purging&rdquo; are also hallmarks of an ayahuasca session.&nbsp;
Contemporary psychedelic research has often taken an individualistic approach to the journey&mdash; psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in the West is most often an intense and personal experience, with an individual taking a psychedelic in the presence of therapists.&nbsp;
<img alt="Understanding Ayahuasca" src="https://psychedelicspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Understanding-Ayahuasca.jpeg" style="height:312px; width:624px" />
However, ayahuasca is traditionally taken in group settings. As people travel around the world to journey with ayahuasca, sometimes groups of Israelis and Palestinians take the psychedelic plunge together. This provided a window of opportunity for the team of researchers to investigate whether taking ayahuasca together could affect the way that Jewish-Israelis and Arab-Palestinians could relate to each other, thus potentially identifying a catalyst for peace.
Dr. Leor Roseman from Imperial College London led a team of researchers, including Palestinian activist Antwan Saca, and Natalie Ginsberg, the policy director of MAPS in the groundbreaking study.
<h3>Journeying with Ayahuasca Together</h3>
While using psychedelics to build peace may sound far-fetched, there are strong foundations for setting up this kind of study. Roseman&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/221353/qa-could-psychedelic-ceremonies-help-people/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">highlighted</a>, &ldquo;In theory, psychedelics have the potential to bring more empathy and understanding to political processes. This is their potential for creating harmony, connection, and understanding of the other side.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The participants in the study were 18 Israeli-Jews and 13 Palestinians who attended ayahuasca ceremonies with participants from both groups. The ceremonies themselves weren&rsquo;t intended to build peace, but rather their focus was primarily on developing and fostering a sense of inner-spirituality.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict runs deep, with multiple issues underscoring the tension between the two groups. The relational differences between the two groups is immediately apparent when these ceremonies start. &ldquo;Many times Israeli and Palestinians sit separately by choice,&rdquo; Roseman&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH60L-iyeqs" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">said</a>.
To discover the potential role that ayahuasca has in breaking down the boundaries between Israelis and Palestinians, the researchers interviewed the 31 individuals following their participation in a ceremony. The interviews were then analysed, and key themes of the psychedelic experience were uncovered, which likely play a significant role in fostering unity.&nbsp;
<img alt="Israelis and Palestinians Turn to Ayahuasca to Heal Conflict Wounds" src="https://psychedelicspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/group-hands-psychedelic-spotlight-682x1030.jpg" style="height:680px; width:450px" />
Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash
<h2>Being One and Bearing Witness to the &lsquo;Other&rsquo;</h2>
The researchers found two main themes in their interviews. The first was based on the feeling of unity and oneness. The psychedelic experience is often punctuated by feelings of the boundaries between the&nbsp;self&nbsp;and&nbsp;other&nbsp;dissolving, what&rsquo;s known as ego death. However, the researchers saw that this dissolution of boundaries may also manifest itself at the group level. One Arab-Palestinian woman summarised it: 
&ldquo;You reach that point when you don&rsquo;t see this as Jewish or Arabic &hellip; there&rsquo;s nothing, no language, no religion, no gender, nothing.&rdquo;
The researchers seemed to find that the ayahuasca managed to dissolve the identities of participants, facilitating a connection on a much deeper level.
<img alt="" src="https://psychedelicspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/trippy-psychedelic-spotlight-687x1030.jpg" style="height:675px; width:450px" />
The second main theme was a connection based on difference. This theme seemed to work in synergy with the first; experiencing oneness facilitated togetherness, while recognising the difference between Israelis and Palestinians fostered appreciation for the &lsquo;other&rsquo;.
This &lsquo;difference-based&rsquo; connection was often carried through powerful moments of music or prayer. This capacity for groups to express themselves transcended the use of language, and allowed one group to become comfortable within the group setting (by expressing themselves), and fostered a sense of awe, reverence, and inclusion from the other.&nbsp;
The transformational power of ayahuasca to allow people to change their perception of the other group was astonishing. One Jewish-Israeli man was incredibly moved during his journey:&nbsp;
&ldquo;Suddenly you hear the language you most hated, maybe the only language you really hated, and suddenly it is sending you into love and light, and that&rsquo;s the way it always is. Whatever the song, whatever the words, you melt- that&rsquo;s it that&rsquo;s our peace, to sit and listen to a song in Arabic, that&rsquo;s peace.&rdquo;
<img alt="Public Psilocybin Depression Treatment Program" src="https://psychedelicspotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Public-Psilocybin-Depression-Treatment-Program-1030x579.png" style="height:351px; width:624px" />
<h3>Integrating Into Togetherness</h3>
This study spotlights the powerful potential that psychedelics have to facilitate togetherness and harmony&mdash;even when the conflict runs extremely deep. Roseman says that, while psychedelics may not be the main answer, the findings from the study may prove useful for future relational issues:&nbsp;
&ldquo;I would stress that psychedelics are not a solution in themselves, but potentially a tool which could help. They can create a strong group bonding, and they can help groups address conflicting political issues through new insights and revelations which can occur with psychedelics.&rdquo;
Roseman further highlights that integrating the experiences that people have during the ceremony into real life changes outside of an ayahuasca group ceremony is crucial.&nbsp; 
Further research is being conducted; the authors have an upcoming paper not yet released that will focus more specifically on the changes that occurred&nbsp;after&nbsp;the ceremony itself. This may answer the question: how long-lasting are the transformational effects of ayahuasca in a group setting?

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