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GM. This is Milk Road, the daily newsletter that serves crypto scoops colder than your ex's heart.
Here’s what we got for you today:
- What crypto adoption around the world looks like… 🌎
- Major League Baseball (MLB) hits the metaverse ⚾️
- Milk Road Court: a drug dealer, $1.5M in BTC, and the government ⚖️
- The U.S. Federal Reserve pauses interest rates 👀
Prices as of 9 AM ET. Click here for our Fear & Greed Index
WHAT CRYPTO ADOPTION AROUND THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE… 🌎
I fell down the Internet rabbit hole last night…
It all started because I was curious about one thing: where is crypto being adopted the most?
Well check it out, this is the 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index.
What it does: combines on-chain and real-world data to figure out which countries are leading in crypto adoption.
Why it’s cool: instead of just focusing on raw transaction volume (which can sway data toward wealthier countries), it measures the rate at which average, everyday people are adopting crypto.
Here are some of the top takeaways:
- India is #1 in crypto adoption. This is pretty surprising considering India charges a 30% tax on crypto gains.
- Nigeria is #2. The country has seen a 9% year-over-year growth in crypto transactions (the 3rd biggest yearly growth in the world).
- 6 of the top 10 countries adopting crypto are located in the Central & Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) region.
- CSAO regions account for 20% of all global crypto adoption.
- Ukraine is the only European country ranked in the top 10.
And then, there’s Greenland.
It has as much crypto adoption as it does “green land” - 0.
The biggest takeaway: most of the countries on the list have been plagued with devaluing fiat currencies, high interest rates, and corrupt governments.
In other words, crypto is being adopted where crypto is needed most.
TAKE BACK YOUR PRIVACY
I’m not gonna sugarcoat it for you, this bear market has been brutal. It’s been week after week of carnage and rollercoaster news.
The metrics that haven't cooled off? Hacks and data leaks. That’s what we call adding insult to injury over here at Milk Road.
Well, Incogni has stepped in to help crypto users protect their sensitive data and regain their privacy.
Incogni removes your personal info from all data brokers types and reverse lookup sites like Intelius, safeguarding your privacy. And the benefits add up:
- Reduce spam emails, robocalls and your data being sold to scammers
- Minimize targeted ads, such as raising insurance rates based on demographics
- Prevent ID theft and data leaks
And since privacy is paramount in the the world of crypto, we partnered up with Incogni to score our Roaders a sweet deal.
Use code "milk55" for 55% off protecting your personal data!
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HITS THE METAVERSE ⚾️
Yesterday was a big day for the metaverse.
Major League Baseball (MLB) hosted its first virtual game.
- The Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Angels game (played in real life, in a real stadium, in Florida) wasfully recreated in the metaverse - in real-time.
- It used MLB’s Gameday 3D tech to showcase renderings of the baseball game. (i.e. player movements, equipment, etc)
- Fans could select the angles they want to watch, and could also talk to other online fans through spatial audio as their avatars interact in the digital environment.
- The game’s traditional broadcast was streamed on a digital video board inside the virtual ballpark that fans could watch.
Here’s a peek at what it looked like:
Cool idea? Yeah. It’s an interesting, new way for fans to watch sports and interact with each other online.
Is it gonna make baseball any less boring? Nah, probably not. (I’d rather watch a tree photosynthesize itself)
But it’ll be interesting to see if other sports end up doing something similar!
MILK ROAD COURT: THE $1.5M MISTAKE ⚖️
Welcome back to Milk Road Crypto Court - where we talk about the craziest crypto cases.
And since it’s Throwback Thursday (the day we reminisce on Lunchables and Uncrustables), we decided to see if we could find a milky case from the court archives.
We found one.
It includes…$1.5M in Bitcoin, a drug dealer, and the Swedish government.
Here’s the backstory:
- In 2019, the Swedish government convicted a man for selling drugs online and illegally earning 36 BTC (worth ~$130K at the time).
- The court agreed to a settlement of $130K, seized the Bitcoin, and jailed the drug dealer.
All pretty standard stuff… guy does bad thing → guy gets caught → guy loses everything and goes to jail.
But fast forward 2 years, and this is where things get interesting…
The drug dealer was released from prison.
The Swedish authorities decided it was (finally) time to liquidate the seized BTC to pay the settlement.
That’s when they realized….Bitcoin was worth more than before. A LOT more.
The problem: the settlement everyone agreed upon was valued in USD, at $130K.
And since the price of Bitcoin had skyrocketed, $130K was equal to ~3 BTC.
Uh-oh spaghetti-o.
The result: the Swedish government was legally obliged to return the remaining 33 BTC (worth ~$1.5M) to the drug dealer.
Crazy, I know. He pulled a “Get Out Of Jail, Free (and Rich)” card…
- Spent 2 years in a Swedish prison. (which I hear is like staying at the Four Seasons)
- Made $1.5M in the process .
Remember, kids: Don’t deal drugs, deal Bitcoin.
BITE-SIZED COOKIES 🍪
The U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to pause interest rates. The good news: no hike this month. The bad news: Jerome Powell hinted there could be another hike to end the year.
Mt.Gox has delayed the deadline for repayments another year, to October 31, 2024. Mt. Gox customers have been waiting since 2014 to get money back from the defunct exchange - looks like they’ll have to wait another year.
PayPal rolled out its stablecoin (PYUSD) for payments and transfers on Venmo. The new feature is only available for select users but will be rolled out to everyone in the next few weeks.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee advanced a bill that would ban the Fed from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The bill still has a long way to go before getting fully approved, but it’s a small W for now.
Grayscale applied for a new Ethereum futures ETF. According to the filing, the fund would only deal in futures vs. transacting with ETH directly.
MILKY MEMES 🤣
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ROADER REVIEW OF THE DAY
VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY
Calves of steel and the voice of an angel
— Milk Road Images (@MilkRoadImages)2:46 PM • Sep 21, 2023
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.
