📺 Roku’s TV revolution

…and Winklevii-flavored crypto beef [Disclosures](   Pre-dongle era (Lambert/Getty Images)   Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 33,270 (+0.40%) S&P 500 3,853 (+0.75%) Nasdaq 10,459 (+0.69%) Bitcoin $16,824 (+0.96%) Dow Jones 33,270 (+0.40%) S&P 500 3,853 (+0.75%) Nasdaq 10,459 (+0.69%) Bitcoin $16,824 (+0.96%) Hey Snackers, In case you needed another list of things to leave in 2022: “GOAT” [topped]( the Banished Words List for the new year. Runners-up included “inflection point” and, of course, “quiet quitting.” Stocks rose yesterday but fizzled after the Fed’s latest minutes reaffirmed the central bank’s plan to [keep hiking]( rates. US job openings hit a stronger-than-expected 10.5M in November. Next up, investors have eyes on tomorrow’s December jobs report. Dongle Dongle icon Roku unveils its own TVs as streamers vie to make television streaming-first The dongle has company… Ding-dong: it’s a TV. Streaming staple [Roku]( is launching its own line of television sets. Refresher: Roku’s software-connected dongles are a cheaper alternative to Apple TV’s sleek black controllers. A third of America’s televisions run Roku software. But now it’s doubling down with its own small-screen hardware. - Flat stream: Roku aims to launch its TV lineup this spring, and it’s not skimping on options. Think: 11 models ranging from 24 to 75 inches, with prices starting at $119 all the way up to $999. - Fire competition: Fire Stick rival [Amazon]( began selling its Fire-branded 4K TVs in 2021 to Amazon-ify your streaming experience. Picture: telling Alexa to stream Amazon Prime on a Fire TV. - Roku stock jumped 4% yesterday but is down 81% over the past year. It has struggled with an ad downturn and shrinking profit margins. FYI: Roku makes most of its $$ from ads on The Roku Channel and other channels. Laptop < flat screen… Streaming accounted for only a fourth of America’s TV viewing time in mid-’21. Read: most Americans were streaming from their laptops or phones, not TV sets. Things have changed: in July streamers got more TV view time than cable networks for the first time. As cord-cutting continues, 87% of US households had a streaming sub last year. THE TAKEAWAY Streamers could replace channels… Companies like Roku and Apple are trying to make TV a streaming-first experience vs. a cable-first experience. Roku’s CEO said that its new TVs “are designed to be streaming first.” Instead of surfing channels, the goal is to have users toggling between streamers on Roku’s interface. TVs aren’t likely to go the way of cable; instead, they could play a key role in a future where consumers switch between [Netflix]( [Disney+]( [Apple TV+]( and other services — changing streamers instead of channels. Drama Gemini's Winklevoss issues a $900M deadline as contagion drama becomes dirty laundry Social net worth… The president of US crypto exchange Gemini, Cameron Winklevoss (refresher: sued Mark Zuckerberg over [FB]( origins), has new public beef. On Monday, Winklevoss accused Barry Silbert, the CEO of crypto conglomerate DCG, of "unconscionable" behavior. Winklevoss says that DCG's crypto-lending subsidiary, Genesis, won't return $900M that belongs to his Gemini customers. He gave Silbert a Sunday deadline to commit to making his customers whole. - Salad days: Earlier this year, Gemini customers could authorize the exchange to lend out their crypto to earn interest potentially as high as 8%. Gemini lent that crypto to Genesis, which lent it out again. - Pallid haze: After FTX's collapse in November, Genesis paused loan redemptions (aka repayments), leaving Gemini customers' money in limbo. Crypto lending meets contagion… Crypto is a highly leveraged industry (think: using borrowed assets to make trades). So when big players implode, contagion can spread. Genesis isn't the only crypto lender to freeze up during crypto winter. In June, Celsius paused redemptions on customer loans with advertised yields up to 18% — and filed for bankruptcy a month later. And in August, Singapore-based lender Hodlnaut froze customer withdrawals. THE TAKEAWAY Crypto stopped being polite… and started getting real. Crypto winter and subsequent contagion could deal final blows to the industry's WAGMI ("we're all gonna make it") ethos. Now, at the very real risk of not making it, it's every firm — and customer class-action lawsuit — for itself. Winklevoss' public calling out of Silbert "for the final time" is what happens when the crypto tide goes out and everyone scrambles for a boat. What else we're Snackin' - [Click]( [Meta]( was fined $414M by EU regulators over 2018 complaints that it illegally forced users to accept targeted ads. The crackdown could spark costly changes to Meta’s ad biz in the EU, one of its biggest markets. - [Rev]( [GM]( reclaimed its title as the US’s top-selling automaker last year, beating former leader [Toyota](. Meanwhile, [Ford's]( F-Series trucks defended their 40+ year streak as America's best-sellers. - [Stormy]( Enterprise cloud titan [Salesforce]( plans to cut 10% of staff as it tries to slash costs in preparation for an economic slowdown. FYI: tech layoffs are happening faster than at any time during the pandemic. - [Coinpays]( [Coinbase]( agreed to pay $100M after NY regulators said it didn't do enough to prevent money laundering. Meanwhile, Binance is reportedly under investigation for its compliance with anti-money-laundering regs. - [Shaky]( Home prices grew at their slowest rate in two years in November, and are 2.5% below their spring break. As high mortgage rates drag on demand, prices are expected to cool further this year. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day Elon Musk is the first person to lose $200B in wealth [Read more]( Thursday - Jobless claims - Earnings expected from Walgreens, Conagra, and Lamb Weston Authors of this Snacks own: shares of Amazon, GM, and Roku ID: 2663830 Robinhood Snacks newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robinhood Financial LLC (Member [SIPC]( and do not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. They are for informational purposes only, and are not a recommendation of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any security, digital asset (cryptocurrency, etc) in any account. They are also not research reports and are not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. Any third-party information provided therein does not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. All investments involve risk including the loss of principal and past performance does not guarantee future results. [Robinhood Terms and Conditions]( • [Disclosure Library]( • [Our Editorial Principles]( • [Contact Us]( • [FAQ]( [Manage Your Subscription Preferences](