OPSFI

Senior-led financial advisory. Ex-Big-4 team, boutique precision. M&A · Financial Due Diligence · CFOs · Accountants · Funds · AI Implementation · Audit Teams

[OPSFI @OpsFi_DAS]

@GregTomaselli @Workout_DAO @jerrysam Gaining those steps to maintain the April Challenge, we are rooting for you!

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

Third April Challenge (3/15) completed with
@Workout_DAO this weekend😃

Reached 30 flights of stairs in 48 hours.

As the last week was intense (mountain climb, calorie goals), I took it easier (So I thought) & did weighted stretches afterwards. Mobility is so important!

[OPSFI @OpsFi_DAS]

@GregTomaselli @Workout_DAO @jerrysam Great initiative happening here with WorkoutDAO, hope you achieve all your goals for April!

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

Second April Challenge (2/15) completed with @Workout_DAO

Reached my 1,000 active calories goal over 48 hours and had to do a bigger portion on on day 2 with over 700 calories - raised intensity!

Shoutout @jerrysam - pushed me (1 hour intense HIIT session to reach it 💪)

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

@xAI has acquired @X in an all-stock transaction. The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt).

Since its founding two years ago, xAI has rapidly become one of the leading AI labs in the world, building models and data centers at unprecedented speed and scale.

X is the digital town square where more than 600M active users go to find the real-time source of ground truth and, in the last two years, has been transformed into one of the most efficient companies in the world, positioning it to deliver scalable future growth.

xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach. The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge. This will allow us to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress.

I would like to recognize the hardcore dedication of everyone at xAI and X that has brought us to this point. This is just the beginning.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

Real performance is all about incentives!

@LitheumOfficial will unleash on-chain productivity like never before!

Design is an element where most projects miss major opportunities.

Execution is the power play!

Lets go Bigchain!

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

SO WHAT IF IT ALREADY EXISTS???

Build it cheaper, operationally leaner & solve the problem better 🚀

You can charge less & steal market share with a smart GTM!

Just ⛔️ pick competitors with high switching costs!

Don’t worry about their size, harder to change!

User wins🏆

[OPSFI @OpsFi_DAS]

@GregTomaselli Finding the best ROI on each building decision is key! Managing runway is the best way to build a strong business, with a kick ass sales campaign. Forget the noise and think critically!

[Michael Nadeau | The DeFi Report @JustDeauIt]

Is anyone safe using DeFi?

A user on @Uniswap v3 was just sandwiched attacked out of $216k while simply trying to swap $221k USDC to USDT.

Mind you, this was a pool that had over $35m of USDC and USDT it.

This is insane.

How did it happen?

An MEV bot front-ran the tx by swapping all the USDC liquidity out.

After the transaction executed, they put back the liquidity.

The attacker tipped a block builder (bobTheBuilder) $200k and profited $8k from this transaction.

-----

A few ways to try to avoid this:

1. Reduce slippage tolerance on transactions

2. Don't use Uniswap. Use cowswap or another aggregator - which can provide better execution + prevent this malicious MEV

3. Use a custom RPC that doesn't expose your transactions publicly

-----

What is Uniswap's responsibility here?

We can't live in a world where a user executes a simple swap of $221k in a liquid stablecoin pool and gets rugged.

----

P.S. data team @the_defi_report is cooking. Going deep on MEV to share the economics of various chains from the ground up.

Might not be pretty.

If you want to stay on top of all the insights we're sharing, you can sign up below 👇

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

It keeps getting better: @rumblevideo buys 188 Bitcoin worth $17.1 million. Here is why 👇

Being a listed company, this is a great move from their part and it brings up the importance of holding Bitcoin in your treasury.

While this is roughly just under 10% of their existing cash stockpile, for a loss making company this is a very smart way to leverage treasury.

If Bitcoin runs, it will bridge their loss to profit divide and buy them time to become organically profitable.

If Bitcoin drops another 50%, it hardly effects their company in the short term and they can hold out while markets improve.

The 3 main benefits are:

⭐️ Maintaining purchasing power with their peers, as others are now putting in 5-10% of their treasury. And guess what, YouTube is not.

⭐️ Gaining a new segment of customers, as Bitcoiners and crypto industry leaders may be tempted to join the Rumble Revolution instead of YouTube, supporting BTC Hodlers!

⭐️ Gain retailer stock market investor attention, and perhaps attract more demand for the stock, with investors knowing there is a Bitcoin backing with future potential returns attached.

Smart move, you have to give the Rumble board and @chrispavlovski credit!!! They are controlling the narrative!

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

You know what it means that all these SEC lawsuits are ending against Crypto companies, like @Ripple right?

It means that instead of holding treasury for legal fees & fines,

The companies that have been fighting the SEC cases like Coinbase and Ripple and the other tier 1 / 2 crypto companies that have been saving / preparing litigation,

NOW CAN FOCUS ON BUILDING PRODUCTS AND INVEST IN THE INDUSTRY WITH THAT MONEY!!!

Its all coming together people, have some faith!

Oh and, now builders can build without thinking they will end up in trouble... Just saying.

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

Had some good discussions representing @LitheumOfficial on this spaces 👇

Take a listen!

https://t.co/93VnFEM9OE

[Nate Holiday @nateholiday]

Everything is data

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

The Stock Market is a mess, crypto is a bloodbath, but why? And how will a strong price recovery happen? ✅👇

It is absolutely clear that the U.S. is in the process of an economic transition (the White House is absolute on this), where they want to become more self sufficient, balance the budget, reduce debt, reduce inflation and increase internal production / productivity to generate long term wealth.

This is contrary to generating temporary wealth by printing money while the world is forced to accept it (with the USD being the reserve currency).

For better or worse, they are changing things...

The fastest way to force (i) U.S. companies to invest locally (especially with their record levels of cash on their balance sheets) that have been offshoring production, and (ii) foreign companies producing offshore that are selling to U.S. customers, is to simply push harsh tariffs and then offer them a soft landing, with easier regulations / laws for them to produce in the U.S. (like lower taxes, fast tracking production licenses, etc).

This will create uncertainty and chaos for risk assets. The theory is it will force capital to flee to U.S. Treasuries and bonds, which reduces the interest rates with much higher demand.

The White House have said they are aiming for a minimum 1.5% rate drop.

Seems they are trying to force the FOMC's hand. The $7 Trillion in debt that the U.S. will refinance in 6 months will be cheaper if the rates drop. Households with property mortgages and car repayments will feel significant relief, bringing inflation down for average Americans.

The long term effects of U.S. production increases will be intensely felt by the average American, with more jobs in play and more money circulating in the local economy.

This is clearly the plan, and I don't think its changing any time soon whether it works or not, whether we like it or not.

What does this mean for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and others? What about the stock market?

So for us all out there in capital markets, buckle up, it is likely going to be a real bumpy ride.

But if you believe in something, don't be fooled by the short term (6-12 months) noise, rather double down in the tough times, and the good times will be so much better! Pick stocks and crypto that provide real value. Use this as an opportunity to sharpen your selection skills.

There is so much coming for crypto, and the strategic reserves are not event the best thing for me (I love it though).

Once the Stablecoin bill is passed in Congress, the real fun begins. Banks, payment platforms, point of sale systems (retail, coffee shops, restaurants, malls, e-commerce, etc) and the public will adopt it like sugar, and real use cases on blockchains will explode!

This will drive usage across the world, like never seen before, especially in regions with currency instability. I have seen this already start in Africa and parts of Asia.

The best part, the demand that reserve backed stablecoins will drive for USD (as each USDC stablecoin is represented by a USD kept in custody, with most of it invested in U.S. treasuries), will bring down interest rates.

If they actually pull this off, this is a win-win flywheel that will push crypto and stock prices to new heights, like never seen before. As the higher the adoption of stablecoins, the lower the interest rates, which push risk asset prices up.

There is always risk, so best we all get better at risk management, my two cents after seeing what is going on.

Stay safe out there!

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

Some people saying AI Agents are dead as a startup idea😳

Nope, not even close. Literally talking about them now at Data & Chill event here in Denver.

AI agents will unlock so much productivity it’s too hard not to invest in them and use them.

We have a long way to go before they will be great, but we will build the infrastructure to leverage them really fast! DApps will pop up everywhere.

Blockchains are the perfect home for them to transact with money, increasing our productivity immensely. @LitheumOfficial is building a specific consensus mechanism to handle the 10T AI Agents.

Agentic AI is very much alive! Don’t be fooled, not everything is a one and done hype word!

ElizaOS is proving phenomenal! @WAYE_ai built an amazing platform to launch agents.

Stay on the lookout cause it’s about to heat up!

[BITCHCOIN @_bitchcoin]

Much wow! Go read @mrlightspeed98’s fantastic article about Bitchcoin and our mission to double the size of our industry by onboarding women. 💃💃💃

Launching soon!

https://t.co/le7GfEF0z7

[OPSFI @OpsFi_DAS]

@GregTomaselli We certainly love solving #3 and #4 for founders!

We definitely push founders to do #1 and #2 well.

We are proud of our portfolio companies and clients across the board.

The right crypto and tech projects are going to do so well over the next two decades.

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

You have to build a business worthy to sell for cash if you want to make it great!

This is regardless of whether you want to sell it or not one day. Its a method of building with solid growth, layered with robust risk management.

I have learnt these things the hard way, and I have sat at every end of the negotiation table, it is always the same.

M&A is hard, but there are 5 critical things that make it way easier 👇

#1 🏆 - A clear and strong business model and MOAT is the most important.

People need to understand (i) how you make money and (ii) how you protect that money making machine.

Simpler and stronger, the better!

#2 🏆 - The leaner your cost base is, the more valuable your company.

Of course this is within reason, you cannot strangle growth.

Unnecessary fat in the business wastes value and you miss out on reinvesting in growth. It also takes effort and time to find and reduce the unnecessary fat, so you lose out on the purchase price big time!

#3 🏆 - Clean, timely and well presented historic financials and management reports are incredibly valuable.

This builds trust with potential buyers, and allows you to govern, grow and pivot effectively.

#4 🏆 - A robust and logical financial model with attractive but realistic projections is essential.

You have to truly understand the drivers of value in your business, and have clear levers to accelerate them.

To successfully build a financial model worth its salt, you need to master this!

Without a solid model, buyers can take advantage of your great unknowns, because you don't understand your value or your potential.

#5 🏆 - You have to have a company vision that all your staff truly buy into themselves.

Only hire true believers that want to make the same impact! Soldiers are more valuable than mercenaries, as they just keep jumping to the highest bidder.

Impact of these 5 factors:

Confidence in the above factors ensures you have the upper hand when you meet potential investors.

Its a game of strength and weakness. And hey, if you don't want to sell, then at least you are building a solid and growing business!

The things you have to avoid like the plague 👇

🚫 Customer concentration risk; and

🚫 Key man risk - whether its you as a founder or anyone on your team.

These two things give buyers all the power.

Deal mechanisms to watch out for 👇

💰 Cash deals are truly the best!

💰 Seller financing or requirements to stay on for x number of years post acquisition with payouts dependent on performance is soul crushing and stressful.

💰 Share swaps are the most risky mechanisms hands down, and you have no control of the outcome of all your hard work! One bad move from their executives and your payout becomes worthless.

Let me know if you have anything to add, questions or if you have experienced some of this?

I am always looking to partner with high potential founders to build valuable businesses, as well as curious investors to accelerate the value of these businesses.

[Greg Tomaselli @GregTomaselli]

Reasons why its hard to launch a token on Solana right now 👇

I love Solana, its a lot of fun & the user experience of their products are awesome.

I hope this changes soon, BUT I will say there is so much FUD right now, making it hard to launch a token on Solana for now.

📉 Liquidity Moves Too Quickly

Liquidity seems to spike & vanish rapidly, destabilizing your token’s market. Its hard to compete for liquidity when there are like 30k + tokens launched everyday.

📉 Network Overload Risk

High activity could choke transaction processing, harming user experience when the network is down!

Despite fixes, congestion during peak usage remains a concern.

📉 Bot Exploitation

Automated trading could manipulate your token’s launch, reducing fairness. Prevalent with low transaction costs. We see so much of this!

📉 Negative Perception

Current meme coin scandals & centralization critiques might taint your project by association. Think of $LIBRA scandal this weekend!

📉 Scalability Doubts

As the price of $SOL rises due to an increase in project launches and user onboarding, so does the transaction fees!

This is a major long term concern if we are moving 10T AI agents on chain!

💭 What are your thoughts? Would you launch on Solana right now?

CT seems to think that Ethereum is still quite slow to rise to the occasion?