GM. This is the Milk Road, the daily newsletter that gives you all the best & latest crypto news.
It’s 100% guaranteed to be fresh. You might as well call us the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Here’s what we got for ya today:
- How crypto is solving a crisis in Lebanon
- NFTs 🤝 Apple Store: the good & the bad
- Quick bites
- Meme of the Day
HOW CRYPTO IS SOLVING A CRISIS IN LEBANON
Let’s play a game.
A game of “What if.” And no, it’s not the version you wanted to play with your middle school crush.
You ready? What would you do if….
Your bank put a limit on how much money you could withdraw? Or even worse, didn't let you take out any money at all?
Most people would go full-on Christian Bale mode. And not the Batman Christian Bale. The American Psycho Christian Bale.
The reality is it’d be a shitty situation and there isn’t much you could do.
Unfortunately, it isn’t a what-if scenario for people in Lebanon. It’s a reality. And has been for years now…
- Lebanon is suffering one of the worst economic collapses since the 19th century
- Due to inflation the local Lebanese pound has lost 90%+ of its value in the last 3 years
- Since 2019, banks have had discretionary capital control (aka they can limit how much people withdraw & ultimately decide who can withdraw)
It’s insane. It's the textbook definition of "corrupt government". Things are so bad the World Bank released a 134-page report titled Lebanon Public Finance Review: Ponzi Finance?
Spoiler alert: the answer is yes, it is a Ponzi scheme.
And now citizens are taking things into their own hands.
You might’ve seen this viral video of a man that took over a bank in Beirut with an assault rifle so he could get access to his savings in order to pay for his father’s surgery.
Since then, there have been 7 more hold-ups across the country. With 5 of them happening on the same day.
The response from the banks? Shut everything down. And that’s how it’s been for the last week. No banks have been open and people can’t access any money. (Today will be the first day they reopen)
But here’s the key thing to remember: these aren’t your regular bank heists. These people aren’t stealing other people's money. They just want access to their own money.
And each of them had a specific reason they needed it (i.e a family member was sick). After they got the money, they turned themselves in.
That’s how far Lebanese people need to go to get their OWN money. And it’s made everyone completely reconsider their trust in the government and the banks.
It sounds like a f*cking horror movie.
And many Lebanese citizens have been turning to crypto for help over the last year, according to a Reuters report.
- A lot of people are buying into crypto - politicians, celebrities, average people, security officers, etc
- They’re buying stablecoins (like USDT) that hold value better than the Lebanese pound
- People are also mining crypto for income. Lebanon has some of the cheapest electricity in the world so people are using diesel generators to mine (even $10/day is more than the minimum wage)
The Milk Road's Take: A lot of people are asking the million dollar question… What’s the killer use case for crypto?
This is it. Crypto was built for this reason. As an alternative to the corrupt, centralized systems that govern many places in the world.
There’s a reason that people in Argentina, Lebanon, Nigeria, and other places around the world are turning to crypto as an answer.
Inflation is at an all-time high for many local currencies. The U.S’ 8% is peanuts compared to Lebanon (90%+), Argentina (~80%), & Turkey (80%).
And now 33% of Latin Americans use stablecoins for everyday purchases. Why? To hedge against the inflation of their own currencies.
Crypto is their solution.
And the reality is that if you say crypto has no use case, you’re lucky. Because neither you nor anyone you know, is facing such a corrupt system.
TODAYS EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PANINI
I’ll never forget opening my first pack of sports cards. They were my “first love”.
But there was a problem... I couldn’t stop bending the edges and spilling my Capri-Sun on it.
So I was hyped when I heard Panini was getting into NFTs. And they just released some new packs last week.
Introducing the 2021-22 Panini NFT Donruss Optic Football Packs. Each pack cost $10 and contains a mix of different tiered cards.
And to make it all more interesting, Panini has Set Challenges that can win you an additional NFT - like a Patrick Mahomes or a Tom Brady.
- Base Rated Rookie – Trevor Lawrence – Users that have the full Base set in their accounts 30 days after the program launches will receive the Trevor Lawrence Donruss Optic Base Rated Rookie NFT
- Base Aqua Parallel – Patrick Mahomes – Users that have the full Aqua Parallel set in their accounts 30 days after the program launches will receive the Patrick Mahomes Donruss Optic Base Aqua NFT
- Base Red – Tom Brady - Users that have the full Red Parallel set in their accounts 30 days after the program launches will receive the Tom Brady Base Red NFT
Oh, baby! I can’t wait to get my hands on that Patrick Mahomes card…
Interested? Click here to join in on the fun!
NFTS ARE COMING TO THE APPLE STORE: THE GOOD AND THE BAD
It’s official. Apple is letting developers sell NFTs as in-app purchases.
Before this decision, apps were breaking Apple's rules by storing or displaying NFTs. Now, developers can sell NFTs.
But there are two catches: Apple’s taking a 30% commission cut and transactions must be in USD - no crypto allowed.
There are two ways people are reacting to this. Here's what the CEO of Epic Games (Fornite's Creator) is saying:
Now Apple is killing all NFT app businesses it can’t tax, crushing another nascent technology that could rival its grotesquely overpriced in-app payment service. Apple must be stopped.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic)6:25 PM • Sep 23, 2022
BAD MOVE: 30%?! 🤬
Apple is gonna kill small NFT businesses. Not every company will be able to afford that cut.
Web3 was built to avoid the problems of Web2 - closed systems, high commission fees, and corporate censorship.
The other side of the argument comes from Gabriel Leydon (founder of Digidaigaku)
Apple has decided to let developers sell NFTs inside of games/apps. Everyone is focusing on apple wanting its 30% cut of each transaction without realizing this could put an ETH wallet in every single mobile game onboarding 1B+ players!
— Gabriel Leydon (FREE,OWN) (@gabrielleydon)10:00 PM • Sep 23, 2022
GOOD MOVE: Wow! 👍Millions of people are gonna have access to NFTs
Gabe's point here is you can still give away NFTs for free and let users sell them on secondary marketplaces.
This way you can onboard millions of users, give value and avoid the 30% tax.
BITE SIZED TREATS
HIRING ALERT: Disney is looking to hire a Web3 lawyer. The corporate attorney will work on transactions involving things like NFTs, blockchains, metaverse, and De-Fi. Better Call Saul!
Epic Games is partnering with Hadean (a metaverse developer company) to build metaverse capabilities into Epics’ Unreal Engine. Epic Games continues to bet big on the future of the metaverse
DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, has launched a crypto trading platform for wealthy clients.
DARPA is partnering with Inca Digital Federal, a gov’t contractor, on a new project to better understand & visualize how digital assets can affect national security. Crypto🤝U.S Department of Defense.
Iris Energy, a bitcoin mining company, has signed a $100m equity purchase deal with B.Riley, an investment bank. This is B.Riley’s 2nd big deal - they made the same deal earlier this year with Core Scientific. Banks might not like BTC directly, but they sure like the miners.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
We saw this all weekend long and couldn’t believe our eyes at the responses. These people are called “exit liquidity.”
Reply to this email with your answer to prove that the Milk Roaders are not only funnier & better looking than those people, but also smarter.
MEME OF THE DAY
That's a wrap for today. Stay thirsty & see ya tomorrow!
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A ROADERS REVIEW
VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY
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.
