Today’s edition is brought to you by PayPal - who is charting a new course in the digital landscape with the launch of PYUSD, a stablecoin designed for payments.
Explore the new PayPal USD stablecoin!
GM. This is Milk Road, your morning crypto chuckle. Because a day without laughter is a day wasted.
Here’s what we got for you today:
- WOW! WTF happened yesterday 🧐
- 1 big thing to watch: ETH/BTC 📊
- Would you rather have… $500K now or $5M in 10 years? 👀
- Say hello to crypto’s new blockchain 🍪
Prices as of 8:00 AM ET. Click here for our Fear & Greed Index
WOW! WTF HAPPENED YESTERDAY 🧐
Yesterday had us saying one thing: “WOW.”
Seriously. I felt like Owen Wilson for the day…
(Side note: Here’s a compilation of Owen Wilson saying “wow” 100+ times throughout his movies. Yes, someone counted. And yes, it has 8M+ views).
Anyway, back to yesterday’s sh*tshow. Here’s the play-by-play:
- 4:11 PM - The U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) tweeted that it approved Bitcoin ETFs.
- 4:26 PM - Gary Gensler (head of the SEC) tweeted out that the SEC’s account was compromised and the SEC had NOT approved any ETFs.
- 4:38 PM - The SEC regained access to Twitter again and confirmed there were NO ETF approvals.
- 4:39 PM - Streets started flooding with the tears of 1,000 crying crypto investors.
It was a wild 30 minutes and BTC jumped from $46K → $48K → $45K.
So, how’d this happen? According to Twitter’s investigation, “an unidentified individual obtained control over a phone number associated with the SEC account through a third party.”
To make things worse, the account did not have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled.
That’s right. One of the most powerful regulators in the world has a security system that looks like this…
… you can’t make this sh*t up.
Here’s how Crypto Twitter reacted to everything that happened:
So, what’s next for the Bitcoin ETFs? There’s good news and bad news…
Bad news: There’s still no official ETF approval.
Good news: Many experts (like Eric Balchunas) still believe the Bitcoin ETFs will get approved later today.
It’s also important to note that before all this chaos happened yesterday…
- Valkyrie’s co-founder said he was confident their ETF would get approved today, and trading would start on Thursday.
- VanEck’s CEO told CNBC in an interview that he believed his firm’s ETF would start trading tomorrow.
Don’t hold your breath… but all signs still point to Bitcoin ETFs getting greenlit.
THE NEXT STEP IN MODERNIZING PAYMENTS
Volatility can make crypto payments unpredictable. While stablecoins help address this concern, not all issuers are the same.
Well, in the world of payments, there are few names more well-known than PayPal.
PayPal partnered with Paxos to become a pioneer in blockchain-based payments, launching the PYUSD stablecoin.
Here’s what you need to know:
- PYUSD leverages blockchain to bring users faster and more accessible payments than traditional methods.
- PayPal educated the public on their Web3 roadmap and the future of crypto payments through an exciting Open Letter.
- Available today, you can send crypto to your US PayPal account, convert it to PYUSD, and use PYUSD to checkout at millions of online stores.
Explore the new PayPal USD stablecoin!
1 BIG THING TO WATCH: ETH/BTC 📊
Every investor should be tracking one thing… trading pairs.
TLDR - i t’s a good way to compare how assets perform relative to each other.
One of the most popular trading pairs is ETH/BTC. And it’s been getting a lot of attention recently...
Why? Earlier this week, It hit its lowest point since April 2021.
In other words - if crypto were a prison yard, ETH would be Bitcoin’s B*tch.
Well, check it out. Something interesting happened yesterday… afterthe fake ETF approvable went viral, ETH/BTC started pumping.
Why this matters: Although the tweet was fake, the market’s initial reaction to it probably wasn’t.
And some think “the market showed its hand” yesterday:
- BTC pumped right after the news, but then quickly dumped (even before the SEC confirmed the tweet was fake).
- Investors started rotating money from BTC → ETH.
With Ethereum’s upcoming network upgrades and a potential ETF coming later this year, everyone should keep a close eye on ETH/BTC.
WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE…$500K NOW OR $5M IN 10 YEARS 👀
We saw a viral Twitter poll earlier this week and got curious about what you would pick…
Would you rather have...
Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.
Click on your answer above and tell us why! We’ll share the results and best answers tomorrow.
BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪
Fox and Polygon are teaming up to create a new blockchain called Verify. The goal: authenticate digital media content ranging from articles to images.
MicroStrategy nears $3B in BTC profit. The company’s total holdings were purchased for $5.9B at an average price of $31,409. Not too shabby for a software company.
The 40-day correlation between Bitcoin and NASDAQ has hit zero. BTC and NDX are breaking up like couples that just met for the first time on the show Love Is Blind.
Gary Gensler’s “compromised” Bitcoin ETF tweet was inscribed onto the Bitcoin blockchain. It has been immortalized, forever.
BitPay now allows customers to pay for goods and bills with BNB, Chainlink, and other tokens. BitPay customers can use crypto to buy stuff at places like Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and AMC Theatres and make car/mortgage payments.
MILKY MEMES 🤣
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ROADER REVIEW OF THE DAY
VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY
When a fake SEC tweet reveals the market's hand and shows it's ETHs time to shine
— Milk Road Images (@MilkRoadImages)2:19 PM • Jan 10, 2024
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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.
