Big Short 2.0?
408: Burry Dumps Stocks, Crypto Remains Steady
Afternoon all.
Exciting week on the markets front and a good amount to cover before we all check out for the weekend.
So I will keep it succint.
Big Short 2.0?
This week, Michael Burry of Scion Asset Management, the man made infamous from his participation in the Big Short, made a dramatic shift in his portfolio. He dumped nearly all his stock holdings and doubled down on just one company—Estée Lauder—now holding 200,000 shares worth about $13 million.
At the same time, Burry took a major bearish stance. He bought around $98 million worth of put options on Nvidia, making it his largest position. He also placed large bets against several major Chinese tech firms, including Alibaba BABA 0.00%↑ , Baidu, JD.com, and PDD 0.00%↑ , with combined put positions topping $75 million.
The moves suggest he’s bracing for a pullback in both U.S. and Chinese tech—possibly tied to growing market froth and worsening geopolitical tensions. His lone long bet on Estée Lauder could be a turnaround play as the company tries to recover under new leadership.
Does burry know something or is he set to be wrong yet again?
Burry isn’t alone in shedding China exposure.
David Tepper's Appaloosa Management made several big moves recently, offloading large chunks of its positions in both U.S. and Chinese tech. The fund trimmed its stakes in names like Alibaba, JD.com, PDD, and Baidu—some by as much as 50%. He also cut back heavily on U.S. tech giants, reducing Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Oracle.
Appaloosa fully exited their positions in FedEx and Intel.
At the same time, Tepper ramped up exposure to a few key names: he initiated a large new position in Apple worth over $260 million, bought into Broadcom (shoutout Arb Letter), added to Meta and Alphabet, and significantly boosted his stake in defense contractor L3Harris.
The moves suggest a rotation away from overexposed tech and China plays, and toward high-quality U.S. names and defense exposure. Glad I have been easing into some defense plays — might need to add L3 now as well.
Markets News
Equities surged this week, with the S&P 500 climbing nearly 5% and closing in on record highs. Markets were boosted by signs of easing U.S.-China trade tensions, softer inflation data, and renewed hopes for Fed rate cuts at some point.
Still, rising consumer inflation expectations and the expiration of trillions in options contracts could bring fresh volatility in the days and weeks ahead of us.
Not adding anything on the equity front for now. I took out some UAL 0.00%↑ puts for end of summer expiration after some recent issues they’ve had that the CEO touched on in a handful of statements.
Galaxy is now listed on Nasdaq as $GLXY
44% of US consumers now expect higher unemployment within the next 12 months, the highest since 2020 (Kobeissi Letter)
The Federal Reserve is reportedly set to cut 10% of workforce over several years - impacting around 2,300 workers (MacroEdge)
Verizon VZ 0.00%↑is axing its DEI programs as it seeks FCC approval for $9.6B Frontier deal (NYPost)
Next week, likely going to do a post on unemployment and the jobs market as I am hearing anecdotally and seeing some data that suggests a deterioration is accelerating — one that Jerome Powell will no doubt need to take into consideration on any future policy decisions along with stubborn inflation.
UnitedHealth ($UNH) has dropped over 50% since mid-April, hitting a five-year low following a wave of bad news most notably a DOJ criminal probe into alleged Medicare fraud, the sudden exit of its replacement CEO, and rising medical costs that forced the company to pull its 2025 outlook. Shares have bounced slightly off the lows but remain far below last year’s highs, signaling continued investor concern. It is being reported there are some sizable insider buys taking place at these ranges.
For shits and giggles I added some $400 and $500 calls for expiration at the end of the summer.
Crypto
Crypto held firm this week after some serious gains with Bitcoin staying above $103K as rate cut hopes and institutional demand kept momentum alive. Ethereum led the charge, jumping over 40% this month following a successful upgrade that improved scalability and lowered fees.
Altcoins were more mixed, showing that investors are getting choosier as the market inches toward new highs and may not be fully convinced that alt season is a guarantee in 2025.
Basel Medical Group $BMGL announces plans to acquire $1 billion Bitcoin (WatcherGuru)
FTX is set to distribute over $5B in its second round of repayments on May 30th
$90 billion giant VanEck said on a recent interview ‘Sovereign demand’ is coming and a portion of international trade has been settled in BTC (WhaleInsider)
The TRON DAO has officially adopted chainlink powered data feeds as their primary oracle solution
Mike Novogratz said on a recent interview, and I agree, that were about to embark on the trip to the $130K/$150K region for Bitcoin.
Sentiment is highly bullish right now.
Trump’s Executive Director of Digital Assets, Bo Hines, recently said that crypto represents “the next generation of finance.” The comment signals a clear pro-crypto stance from the Trump camp and suggests a growing push to integrate digital assets more deeply into the future of the financial system.
I dropped the 2025 crypto guide yesterday covering latest institutional news, asset I am holding, ones I am closely watching, as well as a refresher on the importance of security moving forward.
Don’t let your gains be for nothing because you got careless.
Ultimate Crypto Guide 2025
Alright good afternoon kings. As you sit at your desk this afternoon, a storm is brewing. A financial opportunity we might get a handful of times in our lives is upon us.
I have partnered with Gemini for the year to get you guys your choice of a free chunk of either Bitcoin, Ethereum, or PEPE, when you open an account and trade. Gemini is my one choice for on exchange balance of crypto since 2017. Even if you already use others can’t hurt to have another account open to spread out your assets you keep online.
With the recent Coinbase hack making headlines, it’s a sharp reminder that if you don’t control your keys, you don’t control your crypto. Centralized platforms and infrastructure remain juicy targets for attackers—and no matter how big or secure they claim to be, vulnerabilities can and do get exploited. In times like this, self-custody isn’t just smart—it’s survival. Make sure you keep SOME of your crypto in cold storage.
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Global News
This week, former FBI Director James Comey sparked backlash after posting an image on Instagram of seashells arranged to read “8647.”
Many interpreted it as a veiled threat aimed at Donald Trump (wasn’t super subtle) —“86” being slang for “eliminate,” and “47” referring to Trump’s presidential number. Comey claimed it was just a shell formation from a beach walk and later deleted the post, saying he didn’t intend any violent message.
Really bro lmao?
The Secret Service and Homeland Security are now investigating according to Kash Patel. The post drew sharp condemnation from Trump allies, especially given two prior assassination attempts in 2024.
The incident has added fuel to concerns about how political figures and online platforms may be enabling or signaling violence—particularly from the activist fringe of the left. It ties directly into broader themes of radicalization, institutional decay, and rising political extremism—topics we've been sounding the alarm on in recent Arb Letter posts.
If it wasn’t alarmingly obvious by now the true extremists are the ones attempting to kill presidents, burn Tesla factories, and inject politicization into our federal agencies.
Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer (who was a part of the known FBI honey pot operation years ago) also has an image in which she has an 8645 trinket on her desk.
Trump’s been busy moving some size — he wrapped up a major Middle East tour this week, locking in nearly $2 trillion worth of trade and investment deals across the region. Highlights included a $600 billion strategic pact with Saudi Arabia, a $1.2 trillion agreement with Qatar featuring a massive Boeing BA 0.00%↑ purchase, and fresh commercial deals with the UAE alongside major AI investments.
He also lifted sanctions on Syria and pushed for further normalization via the Abraham Accords, while warning Iran to either re-enter nuclear talks or face renewed pressure. Get bent.
Absolute deal size.
That’s all I have for today guys - the meme coin and crypto channels in the Discord are popping off if you want to join.
See you guys next week — enjoy your weekend.
Andy
Gemini Crypto - Get Free Bitcoin
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Disclaimer - I am a former trader, enterprise sales rep, and current entrepreneur with a monkey brain. Nothing I say should be considered formal financial advice or life advice, these are my opinions - always do your own research and diligence before investing and ensure you have a good understanding of your personal risk tolerance.
Fundamental analysis aside I just don’t see people buying 200 la mer cream over the cheap shit Tik toking 19 year olds are pushing… burry could get his face ripped off on this
Caveat worth highlighting here (that I thought I had worked in) is that there’s obviously a delay in Burrys selling given this 13F was from Q1 - so he may or may not still have some of these positions - depending on when he filed the 13F these are moves that could have been made in March