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Today’s Menu

• Disney Just Bet $1 Billion on OpenAIV

• Corporate Bitcoin Treasuries Face First Real Stress Test

Markets

TODAY IN AI

Disney Just Bet $1 Billion on OpenAI

Disney announced a three-year licensing deal with OpenAI, giving Sora users access to over 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars alongside a $1 billion equity investment into the AI leader.

Fans will be able to use Disney-owned IP like Mickey Mouse, Darth Vader, and the Avengers in video generations, with select creations streaming on Disney+. Disney is also deploying OpenAI's APIs across products and rolling out ChatGPT internally as part of a broader enterprise push.

The deal specifically excludes talent likenesses and voices, sidestepping the more complex IP battles still playing out across Hollywood. Disney also sent a cease-and-desist to Google on the same day, accusing the OpenAI rival of generating unauthorized Disney content at massive scale.

CEO Bob Iger made waves last month when he said AI was coming to Disney+, but this is a bigger move than anyone imagined. For OpenAI, the deal gives them a unique leg up on utilizing popular IPs without legal trouble and leads to even more aggressive enforcement against rival generators as they protect that advantage.

When Disney bets $1 billion on OpenAI and locks exclusive character rights, that's not just partnership. That's weaponizing IP against competitors while monetizing AI-generated content directly.

TODAY IN CRYPTO

Corporate Bitcoin Treasuries Face First Real Stress Test

Most corporate Bitcoin treasuries are now sitting on losses. A new report from BitcoinTreasuries.net found that 65% of the 100 companies tracked bought Bitcoin above $90,000, leaving the majority underwater as BTC hovers in the low-$90Ks.

This is the first real stress test of the corporate treasury playbook since it went mainstream earlier this year. And the cracks are starting to show.

Five companies sold Bitcoin in November, including miner Hut 8 and treasury firm Sequans, which dumped roughly one-third of its holdings. Combined, they offloaded 1,900 BTC as prices collapsed toward $81,000.

On a net basis, corporates still added 10,750 BTC last month. But here's the problem: 72% of that came from Strategy alone. Michael Saylor bought another 9,000 BTC in November while nearly everyone else either paused or sold.

Only 28 companies disclosed a Bitcoin purchase in November, down from 164 that have bought since January. That includes around 60 first-time buyers who announced a purchase earlier this year but have gone silent since.

The balance sheets tell a brutal story. Companies like Trump Media and Figma bought Bitcoin around $120,000. Tesla and Block, by contrast, have cost bases below $30,000. The gap between early movers and late entrants has never been wider.

With substantial mark-to-market pressure hitting boards and risk committees, the report warns that strained balance sheets could force a rethink for many treasury firms.

This doesn't point to widespread distress yet. But it does expose the downside of chasing elevated prices and banking on long-term upside to validate those decisions.

The fourth quarter is on pace to add roughly 40,000 BTC to corporate balance sheets, the weakest quarter since Q3 2024 and well below the summer buying frenzy that defined the first half of this year.

Risk committees are confronting what happens when conviction meets a 30% drawdown. And for most of them, the answer isn't buy more. It's wait and see.

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Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Damon James