🥛 Base token: incoming (here’s why) 🤝
Today’s edition is brought to you by Alephium – a brand new Layer 1 (L1) that breaks the blockchain trilemma.
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GM. This is Milk Road, the Brita filter of crypto newsletters – we remove all the boring muck and grime, so you only get the best bits of crypto!
Here’s what we got for you today:
✍️ Base token: incoming (here’s why)
✍️ Something’s off w/ the corporate adoption of $BTC
🎙️ The Milk Road Show: Michael Howell's Liquidity Framework: Why Bitcoin Is Winning & Will Keep Winning
🍪 Crypto companies are returning to the U.S.!

WE’RE TWO THIRDS OF THE WAY TO GETTING A BASE TOKEN (HERE’S WHY) 🪙
We just got ONE STEP CLOSER to a Base token!
And it’s all thanks to Ethereum’s layer 2 centralization problem.
Hell yeah!
Now, can I please get a running chest bump?
No? Need a little more explanation before we do that?
Ok, lemme fill you in real quick:
This might come as a surprise, almost none of Ethereum’s L2s are as decentralized as we’d like them to be!
Seriously. All but three chains have their transactions sequenced by a central authority.
(Meaning transactions can be walked back/changed on the whim of that entity.)
Are these L2 operators likely to do that? Outside of a critical hack, no. They do that → they lose all trust.
But better to have decentralization and not need it, than need it and not have it…you know, just in case one of these centralized authorities decides to take all your money.
Good news is: Base just took one big step closer to becoming fully decentralized! 👇
And with that – we just got one step closer to a Base token – here’s why…
Vitalik has outlined 3 stages of L2 decentralization: Stage 0, Stage 1, and Stage 2.
Annoying naming convention? Yes. But it also means we’re two thirds of the way there!
Once we reach Stage 2, third parties will be able to sequence transactions on Base, while getting paid for doing so.
And that right there is why we’re most likely going to see a Base token: so third-party sequencers can get paid for their work.
‘Cause without a native Base token, certain issues arise…
Incentive Misalignment: Paying sequencers only in $ETH or stablecoins might not attract enough people. Other blockchains offer tokens, which feel more exciting/lucrative.
Governance Complexity: Without a token, Base’s voting system for decisions like sequencer roles could be slow and complicated. A token would make voting simple.
Community Expectations: Crypto Twitter loves an airdrop! So Base risks losing attention without one. Launching a token could keep fans excited.
Which means there’s a good chance that:
Stage 2 decentralization for Base = a Base token for us all to ape into!
Hell yeah! Now, can I please get a running chest bump??
BUILT TO LAST. DESIGNED TO SCALE.
You’ve probably heard of the blockchain trilemma.
It basically says that blockchains can only achieve 2 out of these 3: security, scalability and decentralisation.
Well, guess what? We’ve found a Layer 1 that breaks the blockchain trilemma. 👀
The name is Alephium and it achieves all three:
Scales like an L2 network (through sharding)
Secures like Bitcoin (via sustainable Proof-of-Work (PoW))
Decentralized like Ethereum (with a robust network of nodes)
It’s rock solid infrastructure made for DeFi, RWAs and real adoption.
Low fees, high throughput, zero compromises.

SOMETHING’S OFF WITH THE CORPORATE ADOPTION OF $BTC 🤨
It looks like global corporate adoption of $BTC is BOOMING!
We’re not talking about $BTC ETFs – but corporations that hold Bitcoin as a treasury asset.
Check out this chart! 👇
746,302 $BTC (around $70B) in corporate treasuries is a pretty insane number once you consider that all 12 US Bitcoin ETFs hold 1.21M $BTC combined.
(We had no idea corporations had made that much ground!)
Now…wanna hear something even crazier?
See that big blue bar that’s taking up ~75% of the latest count in global corporate $BTC holdings?
That’s ALL Strategy ($MSTR)!
553,555 $BTC in their coffers (with new purchases being made damn near every week). 🤯
So lemme finish this thing the same way I started it:
It looks like global corporate adoption of $BTC is BOOMING!
…but in reality, it’s mostly just Saylor stacking sats.
(Let’s hope he doesn’t get out over his skis)

WE JUST SPOKE W/ THE MACRO GOAT 🐐
Yeah. That’s right.
We just sat down, live, with none other than ya boy Michael Howell, from CrossBorder Capital!
If you don’t know who that is – that’s ok – he’s famous to a very small niche of geeks (like our PRO team). But in those circles he’s a freakin’ GOD!
Why? ‘Cause he knows his stuff like no one else.
Here’s what we talked about on today’s episode of The Milk Road Show:
Why the Fed's current stance is “madness”
Why gold and $BTC will outperform long term
Why you shouldn't ignore rising systemic risk in collateral markets
Plus a whooole lot more! Click below to watch now. 👇
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts

BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪
We just dropped an article about crypto-backed loans vs. traditional loans. It explains why crypto-backed loans (offered by platforms like Ledn) might be the better choice.*
The SEC drops its investigation into $PYUSD. To be quite frank, we didn’t know there was an open investigation against $PYUSD (there were way too many going around).
Crypto companies are returning to the U.S.! As the U.S. warms up to crypto, platforms like Nexo who previously exited the country are now making a comeback.
SEC delays decision on $DOGE and $XRP ETFs. Seems like we have to wait till mid-June for some clarity from the SEC.
What do stock trading, sports betting, and crypto baskets have in common? They’re all available on Crypto.com.**
*this is sponsored content.
**this is partner content.

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