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GM. This is Milk Road, we drop hits like your favorite CD mixtape. Bangers only.
Here’s what we got for you today:
- Countdown to the Bitcoin Halving ⏰
- Bitcoin Ordinals are on fire 🔥
- Why the on-chain predictions market will have a big month 👀
- Buying crypto just got easier 🍪
Prices as of 8:00 AM ET. Click here for our Fear & Greed Index
COUNTDOWN TO THE BITCOIN HALVING ⏰
Crypto’s next big event is right around the corner… The Bitcoin Halving.
It happens roughly every 4 years and always shakes up the crypto world.
The next one is expected to happen in April. And for some of you, this might be your first Bitcoin Halving event...
You might have questions. You might be scared. You might’ve just peed yourself a little.
Don’t worry, we got you. We don’t want you to end up looking as lost as Tom Hanks when he finally got back to civilization in Cast Away.
That’s why we’re gonna talk about the Bitcoin Halving today. We’ll cover the big stuff here but if you want to nerd out some more, check out our deep dive.
OK, so what is it?
- The Bitcoin Halving is when mining rewards get cut in half.
- In 2009, you used to get 50 BTC for mining 1 block. Then it got cut to 25 BTC. Then 12.5 BTC.
- Right now, the reward is 6.25 BTC. After the Halving, it’ll be reduced to 3.125 BTC.
- This will keep happening until all 21M BTC have been mined (expected sometime in 2140).
Why does the Bitcoin Halving matter? It slows down inflation from the new BTC being mined.
You see, at current prices, the original issuance of 50 BTC would add ~$2.1M of new supply to circulation every 10 minutes.
This would significantly devalue BTC. And it’s why the Halving is such a big deal.
So, what should you expect? There have been 3 Halvings so far - each one has led to a crypto rally.
Just check out the prices 90 days before, during, and after the big event:
There are 2 trends to highlight:
1/ The big rally usually comes after the Halving. BTC’s price has hit a new all-time high in each instance.
2/ The rally before the Halving has gotten smaller and smaller over the years. This is likely due to miners selling their BTC and securing profits before their rewards get cut in half.
(Btw, a few analysts say the pre-halving sell-off is already happening).
So, now for the question on everyone’s mind… what will Bitcoin’s price be after the Halving?
We don’t usually do ‘The Price Is Right’ but, f*ck it, let’s play.
Milk Road Prediction: BTC will hit $100,000, 3 months after the next Halving. (check out our logic here)
YOUR PATH TO WEB3 INNOVATION
Are you ready to transform from a Web3 dreamer to a Web3 innovator?
Of course, you are — and The Bahamut Foundation is here to help.
The Bahamut Foundation continues to invite applications for its Bahamut Grants program.
The program includes a 10 million $FTN fund for individuals, businesses, organizations, and researchers.
Want your share?
Bahamut is seeking innovative projects within these four categories:
- Bridges: Building connections between different blockchain systems for improved interoperability.
- Multi-Signature Wallets: Strengthening transaction security in the crypto space.
- DEXs (Decentralized Exchanges): Enabling direct trading between users without central intermediaries.
- RNG Oracles: Implementing random number generation to ensure fairness and transparency.
Apply now and join the forward-thinking community of Bahamut's Web3 innovators!
BITCOIN ORDINALS ARE ON FIRE 🔥
Bitcoin Ordinals have been on fire lately.
In simple terms, Ordinals = NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Well, check it out. 3 Bitcoin Ordinals projects just entered the Top 13 NFT projects by market cap.
The craziest part? The top Ordinals project, RSIC METAPROTOCOL, was an airdrop given to Ordinals users for free 2 weeks ago.
Now, it’s the 7th most valuable NFT collection in crypto.
WHY THE ON-CHAIN PREDICTION MARKET WILL HAVE A BIG MONTH 👀
The on-chain betting market has been booming.
Just look at Polymarket. Its daily volume went from looking like a skyline in Mississippi to the New York City skyline.
Source: Dune Analytics (@rchen8)
On top of that, Polymarket hit $50M in monthly volume for the first time ever in January.
We expect it could have an even bigger month in February. Here’s why:
1/ The Super Bowl is coming up.
I have a friend who bets $15,000 on the Super Bowl every year. (We don’t call him ‘Degen Dan’ for no reason).
The twist? He doesn’t bet on the game itself. He bets on everything else.
I’m talking about the weirdest sh*t you can think of:
- What the coin toss will land on - heads or tails.
- How long the national anthem will last (this one usually comes down to how long the final note is held).
- What color the Super Bowl Gatorade will be.
This year, he says he’s using Polymarket.
2/ It’s U.S. presidential election season.
Fun fact: people in the U.S. have been able to bet on the presidential election since 1993.
It started as a project from the University of Iowa and eventually led to the creation of other betting companies like PredictIt.
(Btw, it’s estimated PredictIt saw $150M+ in volume ahead of the 2020 election).
With the U.S. presidential election coming up later this year, we wouldn’t be surprised if hundreds of millions of dollars flow back into the predictions market again - including on-chain solutions.
HELP THE MILK MAN DELIVER 🥛
We are hiring a part-time writer to help us amp up the calcium for all things Milk Road.
We're looking for writers passionate about crypto and with plenty of experience in the space.
If this sounds like you, what are you waiting for? Fill out the form here.
BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪
Bakkt is an institutional provider of crypto services including custody, trading, and onramps. Spun out of ICE, the parent organization of the New York Stock Exchange, Bakkt offers solutions for large businesses and institutions looking to provide crypto services to their customers. Read our Bakkt review here!
Robinhood is teaming up with MetaMask to make crypto purchases easier. MetaMask users will be able to purchase crypto through Robinhood’s order engine. They’ll gain exposure to each other’s users while users gain an easier integration between the apps.
Ripple is preparing to make a big push in the U.S. market. Currently, 90% of Ripple’s payment systems are outside the U.S.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF is now in the top 5 ETFs by inflows this year. The wild part? It’s been live for less than 3 weeks.
DLT Finance and Neutral are partnering up to create a new blockchain-based platform for carbon credits in Germany. It will be the first regulated trading platform for tokenized environmental assets.
MicroStrategy bought another $37.5M worth of BTC. The software company now owns 190,000 BTC, worth $8.2B. #CantStopWontStop
Hong Kong’s Chamber of Commerce has proposed to launch a new stablecoin. It will be backed by the Chinese yuan.
MILKY MEMES 🤣
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ROADER REVIEW OF THE DAY
VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY
"We walk the same path, but got on different shoes Live in the same building, but we got different views"
— Milk Road Images (@MilkRoadImages)4:33 PM • Feb 7, 2024
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.
