The Best One Yet - “A $1M JPEG file” — NFT’s pre-mainstream moment. Nasdaq’s “correction” latte. Amazon’s 2nd profit puppy.

Episode Date: March 8, 2021

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are having their moment. People are buying JPEGs or video files… that anyone can watch online. The Nasdaq’s midday plummet on Friday reminds us of a barista’s moves on your latte foam. And Amazon has a big decision to make with Amazon Go.$AMZN $QQQ NFTGot a SnackFact? Tweet it @RobinhoodSnacks @JackKramer @NickOfNewYorkWant a shoutout on the pod? Fill out this form:https://forms.gle/KhUAo31xmkSdeynD9Got a SnackFact for the pod? We got a form for that too:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe64VKtvMNDPGSncHDRF07W34cPMDO3N8Y4DpmNP_kweC58tw/viewformLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. And this is Snacks Daily. Welcome back. It is Monday, March 8. First of all, happy International Women's Day, everybody. Yes, it is perfect timing because this happens to be our best podcast yet. Better than what we did last week.

For our first story, Amazon is expanding its Amazon Go stores. Jack, this is Shakespeare. To license. We're not to license. For our second story, that hilarious cat video, it could be your property for $50,000. We got an FYI on NFT's non-fundible. tokens. For our third and final story, if you own stocks, your stocks are probably bruised after last one. I know your portfolio, Jack. Nasdaq, it's down 10%, Jack. It is, it's time to have the talk.

It's time to have the talk. But before we hit that wonderful mix of stories today, Jack, we got a growing menu of these not regular foods and drinks over here. Not regular foods and drinks. It all started with plant-based meat a few years ago. Honestly, best name and plant-based meat, it still goes to incognito. It gets us every time. Without question. But then there's a new thing called meat-based plants, no joke. Real thing. You take the ground beef and then you just form it into the shape of a carrot. Right.

And a meat-based carrot is called a merit. And also, I'm pretty sure that's not a real thing. I think it is a joke. Not really we're trying to make it a thing. But then we heard about air-based meat. Okay, so you transform carbon dioxide from the air to make an edible protein. Real thing. But the non-regular food that takes the cake goes to Snacker Guillome Dumont,

who pointed out last week a new thing. called plant-based water. That's right, plant-based water, the essence of moisture, which is the essence of beauty. Maple farmers, especially the ones in Vermont, they're harvesting sap for maple syrup. But the thing is, 97% of that sap is comprised of water. So typically they keep the 3% that sugar, and then the 97% that's water gets thrown away. The 3% that sugar becomes maple syrup. The 97% of water goes nowhere. It gets wasted. If so facto, plant-based water is the bottling of that plant water. Now you might be asking, is plant-based water fresh? Is it pure? Will it taste like water? Well, your tap water's traveling through the metal pipes. Plant-based water, it's traveling

through like photosynthesis. Sounds pretty fresh. Plus, if you drink like a few gallons of this stuff, it probably counts as your daily vegetable intake. We actually don't know about that, but we should just hit our three stories. The surgeon general's definitely not on board with that last part. Get on board. You're tuned in the snacks daily. We spoke to the lawyers and we got to get something legal out the way. It snacks about the hair ain't food. It's air candy. They don't reflect the user to robberhood family. It's all informational just so you know. We're not recommending any securities.

Nope. It's not a research report or investment advice. Not an offer or sale of a security. Right. Snacks is digestible. Business news for you. Robberhood Financial, LLC, member Fenra slash SIPC. For our first story, Amazon is looking for its second profit puppy.

Amazon Go as a service or egg ass, as we call it? That just might be the second profit puppy. Okay, so Jack, you want to share the story three years ago? Three years ago, I visited Amazon's Global HQ in Seattle for a recruiting trip when I was at business school. I know what happened, Jack. You were wearing a suit and tie, weren't you? Everyone. I looked good.

Every MBA business trip involves a student tie. They all did. The shoes were very uncomfortable. But a new thing back then in 2017 was Amazon Go, the touchless, humanless, cashierless convenience store. Okay, so this thing was like Hogwarts. You'll walk in, you show your Amazon app, boom, you go. grab the butter beer, you walk out, and then that's it. It feels like stealing.

It does. Until your Amazon app vibrates and you realize it was $27. Yeah, it's a wild experience. Now, we got about 25 of these Amazon Go stores in the U.S. And just last week, new and opened in London for the first time. Yeah, that was new stories number one. Amazon Go comes to London. But then there was a separate and similar story last week as well.

This, we thought, was wild. Amazon just launched their first ever. Amazon powered Hudson. door. Now, you might not know Hudson, you know Hudson. It's right next to Gate 14C at like every airport terminal. Jack Hudson, home of the $9 bottle tap water. They specialize in overpriced RX bars, overpriced gum, and a romantic thriller paperback book for that middle seat that you got stuck with. They got a dozen of them. Jack, this is classic captive retail. You can't shop anywhere else to get two tablets of Advil, so they charge $15 for it. Oh, and guess what? You're all

me waiting in line for, give or take six minutes while Betsy pulls out the credit card or fumbles a few times. Hudson, it's the absolute worst. Now, Hudson nonstop is this new Amazon powered Hudson store. They just opened, and it's basically just a quicker version of their OG airport convenience store. All right. The first one, it's in the Dallas airport. So Snackers, if you're going through Dallas for it worth, which odds are one of you are, we'd like a video. We'd like a pick. Anything. We'd prefer a video. And how about this? Try to steal something. We bet you. you can't do it. We can't endorse this, but I mean, here's what. This store is powered by Amazon Go's just walk out cashierless technology, even though you don't know that. There's not going to be any Amazon. It's branded Hudson. So those two Advil, they're still going to cost you 15 bucks over

at Hudson, but it's only going to take you 15 seconds to grab it and go. And airports, if you think about it, are the perfect place for Amazon Go because everyone is in a rush. Efficiency is critical. Plus, you can test this out. You can't shoplift and like jump the gate that scans your app, because then TSA is going to grab you. They will catch you. Stealing is impossible. That's why we challenge the Snacker to try. Plus, business people can experience this tech on their business trips, which could be crucial for their scaling of this technology. Which could be our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Agass? The big question, own it or license it? Snackers, should Amazon build its own cashierless stores

or just license the technology for them? Those two stories we just talked about from last week, they present those two different potential futures for Amazon Go technology. Okay, so Jack, the red pill here, Amazon will build its own big network of brick and mortar go stores, just like they have in London branded Amazon Go. That would be costly. It would take a long time, and the profit margins wouldn't be that thick. Jack, let me serve you the blue pill here. Amazon just provides the cashierless tech instead to other brand stores. That would be much less costly. It would be quicker and potentially more profitable.

Amazon Bezos just takes like a percentage of sales, maybe just licenses the tech at a high monthly rate either or. This could be at Walgreens. It could be at CVS. It could be at Sweet Green. It could be anywhere you buy stuff and want to go quicker. Okay, so Jack and I were chatting over the weekend. We've got the answer.

We think it's option to A-GAS. Amazon Go as a service. And that would look kind of like Amazon Web Services, AWS does today. Not Amazon branded, but more scalable and more profitable. Option one, on the other hand, would look a little more like Amazon.com, e-commerce. Amazon branded, but less scalable and less profitable. Own it or license it?

Yeah, that's the question for Amazon go. Ding, ding, ding, license it. For our second story, Jack, I got another acronym for you. NFTs. NFTs are the Bitcoin of collectibles. It's time we had the talk. Yeah, it is, because NFTs are having a pre-mainstream moment. Okay, so this just hit, this hit a new level last week.

Jack, what went down last week? Okay, you know how Elon Musk has a baby whose name is like letters and symbols? It's really hard to do on a podcast. because I think you can only write it. Well, that baby's mom is an artist named Grimes, and she just sold $6.6 million worth of artwork, except this artwork was comprised of digital files, like on a computer. Okay, so that was interesting.

One's curious, two makes kind of a trend. Last week, also a clip of LeBron James sold for $200,000, a digital video clip of LeBron James. And then Christie's, a famous auction house, auctioned off a piece of virtual art, like a JPEC. That's what they did. You can view on your computer or an iPad. Okay, so for three of these things, Jack and I had to jump in snack style,

we noticed that this art digital situation goes all the way back to 2017. That's when a company called CryptoKitties sold a million dollars worth of digital cat images. Now, there is one theme that binds all these CryptoKitties to LeBron to Grimes together, and that is the acronym NFT. Non-fundgible token. It can be anything digital, but a collectible digital anything, because there's only one of them. This is actually kind of similar we were thinking to like a LeBron James physical rookie card that a card collector might have.

But the NFT is online and on a computer, not cardboard and in a box in your sock drawer. That's where that is. Now, if you're creating an NFT, here's how this is going to go down. The creator is going to register the image, the GIF or the video on the blockchain, which is like a whole different conversation. And the blockchain is going to record the price, the value, the owner history, the unique identification. It's like the DMV. The blockchain serves as the certificate of authenticity of this NFT, just like a card expert would give

to that LeBron James physical rookie card. Right, the blockchain says there's only one NFT of that LeBron dunk video. Okay, so after that process, then this NFT is available for anyone to buy on various NFT marketplaces or auction houses all online. And again, it's the same as a LeBron rookie card. Yep. The owner gives it to a dealer who authenticates it and then people can bid to buy it. So now we take a step back so your mind can heal after you've absorbed all that. And we know what you're thinking. Jack and I know what you're thinking. Why don't you just Google LeBron Dunking and watch it on YouTube?

Who would pay $200,000 for a digital version of that? Well, here's the key. Anyone can see a digital image. Not everyone can own that digital image. Jack, anyone can take the reservation. Not everyone can keep the reservation. These pretzels are making me Thursday. Now, if the LeBron rookie card analogy isn't suitable for you, think of an NFT maybe like a star

registration. Yeah, you can buy and name a star in the sky for your boyfriend or girlfriend or any friend, and any rando can look up and see that named star that you got. But just like an NFT, only your boyfriend can claim ownership of that star up in the sky. Or take the Mona Lisa, for example. There are plenty of Mona Lisa images out there if you Google them and anyone can visit the Louvre. But only one person can own. own the Mona Lisa. Or in this case, an entire country. It happens to be the Republic of France. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in non-fungible tokens? NFTs deserve your respect as an asset because of the founding principle of economics, which is scarcity. Yep,

the definition of economics. It's how society is going to divvy up scarce resources. Yeah, and supply and demand decides how that gets divvied out. So NFTs have value because there is only one for each image, each video, each jiff, they are scarce. Everyone can see stars up in the sky or the Mona Lisa painting, but the one original has value because it is scarce. Anyone can watch the LeBron James video, but it's one NFT has value because it is scarce. That is how the NBA Snackers has made $230 million already by being a first mover and selling NFTs of video clips. Each a unique and scarce image of their players. Snackers, maybe the next generation of collect. collectors will prefer digital collectibles, not physical ones.

Honestly, Jack, is that $200,000 LeBron James video crazier than the $200,000 LeBron James Pakeper rookie card in your sock drawer? The NFT has no storage costs except like a USB drive. There's no chance it can get damaged, and it's eternally traceable back to the blockchain, which anyone can see. NFTs not so crazy because of the fundamental of economics. For our third and final story, the NASDAQ just plummeted. into correction status. Jack, on Friday, correction. This stock market correction, though, is just

like skimming the foam off of a frothy latte. That's all it is. Jack, did you look at your portfolio more over the weekend? A lot of red, a lot of app vibrations. Woof. And a lot of pain. Snackers, at one point on Friday, the NASDAQ stock index was down 12% from the high they reached just on February 12th. It wasn't pretty. I almost had to defibrillate Jack over there. And since declining more than 10%. That means NASDAQ was officially in a correction. Oh, yeah. It was officially a correction. Friday afternoon, stocks rebounded, though. They jumped back up, but the NASDAQ is still down 9.7% from its high, Jack. To explain this, we got ourselves a wedding crasher situation. Jack, sack lunch. Remember when Vince Vaugh-Wan

get slammed down and touch football? Big tree fall hard. And would that make you love me more, dad? But who are these big trees, Jack? That. is the key question here. Who is dropping the hardest, Todd? It's the tech heavy NASDAQ index, Nick. I'm glad you asked because it had doubled from March when the pandemic was at its peak to just last month. And it's the stocks that were like at their highest a month ago that have fallen the hardest since then. Yes. Peloton. Oh yeah. My workout of choice is down 32% in less than a month. Zoom, which you've been zooming on, is down 24% also in less than a month. Other tech stocks that have been winning the past year, Zillow, Snap, Pinterest,

they're all down 20% in about a month. Jack, speaking of big trees, how about those big blooming spacks that have been sprouting up everywhere? Yes, all the spacks that have been soaring, battery spack this, electric flying taxi spec that. True. They got crushed last week more than other stocks. If it's down 10%, that is the unofficial definition of a correction.

And the NASDAQ, leaked out a 9.7% drop from its high on Friday. So those are the big trees that have fallen heart, the Redwoods, the sequoias. They were all sold down in the last month. The Charlie Brown Christmas trees, though. Yeah. The little ones that have been overlooked the past year? Adorable. They had the opposite last week. Jack, McDonald's, Home Depot, Exxon, basically all the companies, you can't unplug. How are they doing? Yeah, they're not tech stocks. They haven't been soaring in the past year, but their stocks all rose last week. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies? who have been corrected. Corrections are normal. They're no scarier than a barista wiping off

extra foam on a latte. Snackers, the market slightly, they've kind of looked like a cappuccino. The froth is setting new record high frothiness every single month. And a barista cleans an overflowing coffee mug. Looking at you, Williamsburg. Just like an investor can correct an overflowing market. Now, some investors, they're selling to take home their wins from the stocks whose prices have jumped. Others might think the stock market is overvalued. They think, the stocks have jumped too fast too quickly. Jack and I jumped in snacks. I whipped out the old whiteboard over here. We counted up 13 different corrections we've seen in the S&P 500 in just the last 10 years. That's 13 times that the S&P 500 fell 10% from a recent high. 13, just like the NASDAQ did last week.

It is a resetting. It is a cleanup. Jack, this is a napkin, wiping the drip off a venti latte. Now, we should say corrections can accelerate. Stocks can keep dropping further. and they could enter into the next negative territorial, a bear market or worse. But honestly, Jack, right now, economists are expecting like this big growth rebound in 2021, so that kind of seems unlikely kind of a thing. Snackers, corrections. They happen sometimes in the stock market like an overfrothed macchiato. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us to start the weekend? Amazon has expanded Go. It's cashierless store technology.

Should they build the empire of stores, or do they go a gas? Amazon Go as a service. For our second story, non-fungible tokens aren't mainstream, but they're definitely a thing. Yeah, respect the NFT because the NFT respects the fundamental of economics. For our third and final story, tech stocks entered an official 10% correction on Friday before rebounding a tad. Corrections are normal. The froth gets wiped off from time to time. You got to do it. You're going to spill. That's annoying.

Now, time for our snack fact of the day. This one sent in from Grace Oakey in Manhattan talking about Manhattan. Grace, pod's yours. Hey, snackers. A lot of us know about or have seen the iconic GM building in Manhattan, 767 Fifth Avenue, but many don't know about Cecilia Benatar, the woman behind it who made it all happen. Remembered by those she worked with for her sharp negotiation skills and her creative, audacious approach to dealmaking. She's the reason that building exists today, and she's also the reason why Chishman Spire, the Real Estate Giant, hired its first female senior executive back in the 60s, sparking momentum to bring more women

into the industry, and earning her the nickname of the toughest woman in real estate. Cecilia Benetar, Thank you for making that building because I have fond memories of visiting F.A.O. Schwartz right there in the southeast corner of Central Park. Bring it back. Piano. We need the piano. And the Apple store that's like underground under that cube, you know, also same building. Snackers, before we go, funny little resolution, Jack and I have for 2021. Get noticed by Apple Podcasts. That's the goal here. We want to be right there on the front page so everyone can discover us. But that depends on your five-star rating. Drop down. Give us some five-star rating. Drop down. Give us some five-stop.

stars. We would give you five stars back if we could. Yeah, we would love it. Have a fantastic day. Nick and I'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. If you know, you know. And before we go, just a quick shout out to the Fangirl Central Squad for being the best one yet. Incredible birthday greeting on Friday made my weekend. Unreal production quality. Dylan Jones, congrats on the one-year jobversary over in Newport, Wales, the UK. Congrats to Matilda for getting a new job in Chicago. And Crystal Whitlow, new job, Kansas City. And Zach Bulkholder is a proud new graphic designer in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Iman Lindsay just had the second baby girl in Detroit.

Happy birthday to Dayman Davila in Honolulu, Hawaii. And Alex Benavitas in Chicago. And Alex Dressler in Draper, Utah. And Seja Micahruju in San Diego, California. And John Alejandro in Dallas, Texas. And Samir Lal in Pennsylvania. Tony Wynn, happy birthday in Culver City. And Noah Raider, Westminster, Maryland have a birthday.

And Anika Shoka in Seattle, Washington. And Yuda Fujioka in Newta, Lomito, California. Chantel Johnson, happy birthday in Baltimore, Maryland. And to Cliff Worley in Oakland. And over in the top left of this country, happy birthday, Courtney Wright from Portland, Oregon.

Paden, Henry, Eloise, keep enjoying your stocks and your snacks in Bakersfield, California. And to anybody else celebrating, even the smallest thing, make it a T-Bah. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.

I own stock of Pelton and Amazon. Nick own stock of Zillow. The Robin Hood Snacks Podcast, just heard reflects the opinions of only the hosts who are associated persons of Robin Hood Financial LLC and does not reflect the views of Robin Hood Markets Inc or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a recommendation to buy or sell any security and is not an offer or sale of a security. The podcast is also not a research report and is not intended to serve as the basis of any

investment decision. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.