Freight startups' opportunity in the crisis

The case of too much oil and too little diesel in the world. With travel significantly reduced, the refining margin at some refiners has turned negative. However, the collapse in gasoline and jet fuel demand makes it difficult to produce enough diesel when inventories for unwanted fuels limit storage capacity.

A projected shortage in diesel might be the catalyst for wider adoption of freight and trucking logistic startups that introduce more price transparency and competition in the freight market.

The smart freight/marketplace sector has seen significant funding activities in the past few years. Last year alone, the industry has seen 39 deals totaling ~$3bn in value. Read more on the leaders in the pack and the market development here. 

Startups are still filing for S-1s and going public. Those with strong financials and stable recurring revenues might be in a good position to take advantage of the shortfall in the primary market. One such startup is beefing up its executive team and operations to prepare for the IPO debut.

Libra's new white paper 2.0 scaled-back ambition and included more compliance measures. It outlines the inclusion of single-currency stablecoins as opposed to global basket previously envisaged, which has been criticized for its potential to interfere with monetary sovereignty/policy. Single currency linked stablecoins help simplify the design and can be implemented as a smart contract backed by their own reserves in local currency. The paper also provides details on Libra Reserve – 80% held in ST Govt. Secs, 20% held in cash with overnight sweeps into MMF's. Libra also hopes to directly integrate Central Bank Digital Currencies into its ecosystem in due course, eliminating the need to manage the Libra Reserve. Read more.