GM. This is the Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that gives you the daily scoop of news. And yes, there are sprinkles on top.
Happy September 1st, let's get into the good stuff:
- Michael Saylor gets sued for tax fraud
- Ticketmaster partners with Dapper Labs to launch NFTs tied to tickets
- Quick bites
- Meme of the Day
MICHAEL SAYLOR GETS SUED FOR TAX FRAUD
Michael Saylor is known for making big headlines. But as of late, they haven't been the good kind.
Just a few weeks ago he stepped down as CEO of MicroStrategy after 30+ years.
Now he’s getting sued for tax fraud. The Attorney General tweeted it out yesterday. Not to be confused with the 1-800-General.
The lawsuit is 16-pages long, but don't worry, we did the reading so you wouldn’t have to. Here are the highlights:
- Saylor has lived in D.C since 2005 but has never paid any income taxes
- It’s estimated he’s avoided paying ~$25m in taxes
- He reported he was living in Florida on his tax documents in order to get lower income tax rates
- MicroStrategy is also being sued for “conspiring to help evade taxes”. In order to avoid taxes, MicroStrategy’s CFO allegedly agreed to reduce Saylors salary to $1
So, how'd Saylor get caught? Telling his friends and talking about it in interviews. He literally said he’d pretend to "lose his bitcoin in a boating accident" if the government asked.
Oh, and his Facebook posts. That’s right - the Attorney General & his crew went as far back as 10+ years to get the dirt on Saylor. Gee, I hope they don’t check my posts from then…
Saylor on his tax documents: “I live in Miami, Florida."
Saylor on Facebook: “Gazing wistfully at my future home”.... [in D.C]
You can’t make this shit up.
TICKETMASTER WILL BE OFFERING NFTs TIED TO TICKETS
NFT tickets - A lot of people think this could be the next killer user case for the blockchain. Well, we might find out soon enough...
Ticketmaster is teaming up with Dapper Labs to let event organizers issue NFTs tied to tickets. Here's what you need to know:
- Ticketmaster has built a new wallet & marketplace
- Event organizers can give drop NFTs tied to tickets. They will mainly be used as collectibles and "proof of attendance" for future rewards
- NFTs are on the Flow blockchain
- Users can view & trade their NFTs on the marketplace
- The feature has been tested out for the last 6 months and has minted more than 5 million NFTs
Ticketmaster sells ~500m tickets a year, so this could be big. But we aren't totally convinced yet...
1/ These NFTs are mainly collectibles, so you'll still need an actual ticket.
It would've been one thing if people needed to use their new wallets and NFTs to get into the event. But it doesn't look like that's the case right now.
2/ Ticketmaster is notoriously known for its fees. Are NFTs just gonna be another one?
We'll have to wait and see.
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QUICK BITES
Unstoppable Domains partners with Skiff to launch Skiff Mail, an encrypted email service. Users will be able to send & receive end-to-end encrypted messages.
Vitalik is releasing a new book this month - Proof-of-Stake. You’re damn right we’re ordering it.
A16Z drops “Can't Be Evil” NFT licenses for projects to use to minimize confusion around IP rights.
Helium is voting on a proposal to move over to the Solana blockchain. Looks like Helium might ditch its own blockchain to improve scalability.
MEME OF THE DAY
That's a wrap for today, ladies & gents. See ya tomorrow!
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VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY
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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.
