TRUMP MEDIA GROUP PLANS TO RAISE $3BN TO SPEND ON CRYPTOCURRENCIES SUCH AS BITCOIN: FT

*Trump's TMTG aims to raise $2bn in fresh equity and another $1bn via a convertible bond, TMTG’s strategy with the capital raise is similar to that of MicroStrategy.

*TMTG said in a statement that “apparently the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources”

*The secondary share raise will be carried out on at-the-market terms, meaning shares are expected to be sold near their price at the close of trading on Friday. TMTG shares closed Friday at $25.72, or a market value of nearly $6bn.

*TRUMP MEDIA ANNOUNCES $2.5B BITCOIN TREASURY DEAL

*TRUMP MEDIA TO ISSUE $1.5B COMMON STOCK, $1B CONVERTIBLE NOTES

TELEGRAM SET TO RAISE $1.5 BILLION IN BOND ISSUE AS SOON AS WEDNESDAY, SOURCES SAY — WSJ

INVESTORS EXPECTED TO INCLUDE BLACKROCK, MUBADALA AND CITADEL

*Telegram is set to price the five-year bond at a 9% yield, the people said. It plans to use the proceeds to buy back remaining debt from bonds it issued in 2021, which are due to mature next March. The company previously bought back roughly $400 million of those bonds with cash.

*For 2025, Telegram is projecting a profit of more than $700 million on revenue of $2 billion

GAMESTOP PURCHASED 4,710 BITCOIN: BBG

Telegram and Musk's xAI have agreed to a 1-year partnership to distribute Grok AI to Telegram users and integrate it into its apps.

*Telegram will receive $300M in cash and equity from xAI, plus 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram.

VP JD VANCE SPEAKING AT BITCOIN 2025 CONFERENCE: LIVE

*BLACKROCK SAID TO PLAN TO BUY 10% OF CIRCLE INTERNET IPO SHARES: BBG

*Circle and some existing investors are looking to raise up to $624 million by offering 24 million shares priced between $24 and $26 apiece.
*Shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker $CRCL

*BlackRock manages a government money market fund on Circle’s behalf that holds 90% of the reserves backing its USDC stablecoin

*TRUMP MEDIA GROUP STOCK $DJT DOWN 24% AFTER BITCOIN TREASURY ANNOUNCEMENT

*GAMESTOP SHARES DOWN 12% AFTER BITCOIN PURCHASE ANNOUNCEMENT

NVIDIA EARNINGS:

NVIDIA 1Q ADJ EPS 96C, EST. 93C

NVIDIA 1Q ADJ GROSS MARGIN 71.3%, EST. 71%

NVIDIA 1Q REV. $44.1B, EST. $43.29B

NVIDIA 1Q DATA CENTER REVENUE $39.1B, EST. $39.22B

NVIDIA: WAS UNABLE TO SHIP AN ADDED $2.5B OF H20 REVENUE IN 1Q

NVIDIA: 2Q OUTLOOK REFLECTS A LOSS IN H20 REVENUE OF ~$8.0B

NVIDIA SEES 2Q REVENUE $45B PLUS OR MINUS 2%, EST. $45.5B

NVIDIA SEES 2Q ADJ GROSS MARGIN 71.5% TO 72.5%, EST. 71.7%

WSJ: NVIDIA'S BUSINESS STILL BOOMING, EVEN WITH THE COMPANY EFFECTIVELY SHUT OUT OF CHINA

*JENSEN, NVIDIA CEO SAYS H20 BAN ENDED CHINA HOPPER BUSINESS, FORCING MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR WRITE-OFF; $50B CHINA MARKET NOW EFFECTIVELY CLOSED TO U.S. INDUSTRY.

*NVIDIA CEO: U.S. ASSUMPTION CHINA CANNOT MAKE AI CHIPS IS 'CLEARLY WRONG'; EXPORT CONTROLS RISK DRIVING HALF OF WORLD'S AI TALENT TO RIVALS, WEAKENING U.S. STACK LEADERSHIP.

*NVIDIA CEO WARNS U.S. AI CHIP POLICY FLAWED, CHINA HAS 'ENORMOUS MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY' AND ITS AI MOVES ON REGARDLESS OF U.S. CHIPS.

Jensen: 🥶

The question is not whether China will have AI. It already does. The question is whether one of the world's largest AI markets will run on American platforms. Shielding Chinese chipmakers from US competition only strengthens them abroad. Weakens America's position. Export restrictions have spurred China's innovation and scale. The AI race is not just about chips. It's about which stack the world runs on.

Major News ICYMI:

*Trump has suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies, including those related to jet engines, semiconductors and certain chemicals and machinery. The move is a response to China’s recent restrictions on exports of critical minerals to the United States: NYT

*Trump erupted on a reporter for asking him about "TACO," a new term flying around Wall Street that stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out." Trump was furious when the reporter asked about the term, said he considered it one of the nastiest questions imaginable

"Don't ever say what you said. That's a nasty question."

and insisted that he was no chicken: NYT

*U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday the United States will start "aggressively" revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields: RTRS

*A U.S. Court of International Trade blocked the tariffs the Trump administration imposed under the IEEPA but it does not affect sectoral tariffs. The ruling gives the administration 10 days to halt tariff collection. The Trump administration has already filed an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which could then be appealed again to the Supreme Court.

*Goldman Sachs says Tariffs Blocked by Court is Nothingburger: Zerohedge

*Goldman: Trump administration can impose an across-the-board tariff and country-specific tariffs under other legal authorities (e.g., Sec. 122 and Sec. 301) this ruling represents a setback for the administration's tariff plans and increases uncertainty but might not change the final outcome for most major US trading partners.

*The administration could quickly replace the 10% across-the-board tariff with a similar tariff of up to 15% under Sec. 122. Those tariffs would last for only up to 150 days, after which the law requires Congressional action to extend.

*Sec. 232 tariffs, which President Trump has already used for steel, aluminum, and autos, could be broadened to cover other sectors. We already expect additional sectoral tariffs (pharmaceuticals, semiconductors/electronics, etc) and uncertainty regarding the IEEPA-based tariffs could lead the White House to put more emphasis on sectoral tariffs, where there is much less legal uncertainty: GS

*In conclusion, the bulk of Trump's tariffs - which clearly are now targeting just a handful of trading partners such as China, EU and Japan - can and most likely will stay, even if SCOTUS does not void the trade court ruling on appeal: GS

WHITE HOUSE ADVISER HASSETT: TRUMP ADMIN HAS DIFFERENT OPTIONS ON TARIFFS; TARIFF RULING WILL NOT AFFECT ONGOING TRADE DEALS

*NAVARRO ON TRADE COURT RULING: NOTHING HAS REALLY CHANGED; TRUMP ADMIN HAS A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS ON TRADE; NOT SURPRISED BY TRADE COURT RULING

US APPEALS COURT REINSTATES TRUMP TARIFFS DURING APPEAL

APPEALS COURT TEMPORARILY HALTS RULING AGAINST TRUMP TARIFFS

APPEALS COURT ALLOWS TRUMP TARIFFS TO STAY IN EFFECT FOR NOW

*TRUMP: CHINA VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US ON TARIFFS

*US APRIL CORE PCE PRICE INDEX RISES 2.5% Y/Y; EST. +2.5%
*US APRIL PCE PRICE INDEX RISES 2.1% Y/Y; EST. +2.2%
*US APRIL CORE PCE PRICE INDEX RISES 0.1% M/M; EST. +0.1%
*US APRIL PCE PRICE INDEX RISES 0.1% M/M; EST. +0.1%

ANDURIL'S PALMER LUCKEY TO INVEST IN STEALTHY STABLECOIN STARTUP: AXIOS

*Atticus, a stealthy stablecoin banking startup, is in advanced talks to raise new funding at a valuation of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

*TRUMP ON CHINA VIOLATED DEAL: I'LL SPEAK TO XI, HOPEFULLY XI AND I WILL WORK IT OUT

The Week Ahead: infinityhedge

Mon/2:
*Saylor expected to announce another BTC purchase
*Fed Chair Powell Speaks at 1:00 p.m
*10-Year JGB Auction

Tue/3: Taco Tuesday?
*U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI

Wed/4:
*U.S. April trade balance
*Circle IPO is expected to be priced

Thu/5: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims

Fri/6: U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls (May)

TBA/Whole Week:
*Trump to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping; China has been slow in approving export licenses for rare earth minerals as US Warns That Using Huawei AI Chip ‘Anywhere’ Breaks Its Rules; then US announced it Planned Wider China Tech Sanctions With Subsidiary Crackdown so China accused the US of violating their recent trade deal and dimming the prospect of an immediate leadership call.
*Ukraine and Russia to Meet for Second Round of Talks as Attacks Escalate
*FTX repayments starting with over $5B in cash and stablecoins to be sent to creditors within this week via BitGo and Kraken.

*More about the week Ahead and What Happened last week:
https://open.substack.com/pub/infinityhedge/p/the-7-days-ae0

*TRUMP SIGNED ORDER RAISING STEEL, ALUMINUM TARIFFS TO 50%

MEXICO TO ANNOUNCE MEASURES NEXT WEEK FOLLOWING U.S. STEEL AND ALUMINUM TARIFF INCREASE IF THERE IS NO AGREEMENT AND IT WON'T BE 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE'

TRUMP: ELON AND I HAD A GREAT RELATIONSHIP. I DON’T KNOW IF WE WILL ANYMORE.

TRUMP: I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED IN ELON, I HELPED HIM A LOT

He hasn't said bad about me personally but I'm sure that'll be next. But I'm very disappointed in Elon