September 12, 2024

🥛 Bitcoin is coming to Base: Coinbase unveils $cbBTC 🎁

Today's edition is brought to you by Uphold – your all-in-one platform to buy, sell, exchange, and store 300+ digital assets. 

Exclusive to US users: Earn up to 5% APY1 on idle USD!

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GM. This is Milk Road, where your daily crypto fix is smoother than a river stone draped in velvet.

Here’s what we got for you today:

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COINBASE LAUNCHES IT’S OWN WRAPPED BITCOIN TOKEN 🎁

This is Bitcoin:

This is wrapped Bitcoin:

Same base product. Way more options.

Coinbase just launched its own version of wrapped Bitcoin ($cbBTC), which essentially allows users to hold Bitcoin on the Ethereum L1 and Base.

This means holders can now use $cbBTC to take out loans, earn yield, take leverage and trade on decentralized exchanges in ways that aren’t possible on the Bitcoin network.

(All while maintaining exposure to Bitcoin’s price appreciation).

…ok, but BitGo Inc, Kyber Network, and Ren joined forces ages ago to create their own wrapped Bitcoin ($wBTC) on Ethereum – so how does Coinbase’s offering differ?

Coinbase brings the heat in two areas: Trust and Ease-Of-Use.

1/ Trust

When you ‘wrap’ $BTC, you’re essentially just sending it to a Bitcoin wallet controlled by someone else, that then mints $wBTC on Ethereum and sends it to your Ethereum wallet. 

When you want to swap back into $BTC, you send your $wBTC to a specific Ethereum address, which then releases your funds on the Bitcoin network.

…but you have to trust that your $BTC is still going to be there. 🤝

Same thing goes for Coinbase’s $cbBTC – the difference is, Coinbase is the most trusted Bitcoin custodian in the world. 

It holds 10% of the total Bitcoin supply (on behalf of others)!

…meanwhile, $wBTC is currently on shaky grounds, re: trust.

Maker (now Sky) is considering selling off its $wBTC after a change behind the scenes at BitGo Inc. threatened to split custody of everyone’s underlying $BTC across global jurisdictions – presenting “an elevated level of risk.”

(Yikes!).

2/ Ease of use

This one’s a doozy!

Coinbase users can now send $BTC to an Ethereum or Base address within the Coinbase app – and it’ll just magically show up as $cbBTC in their Ethereum wallet.

That means users won’t need to: 

Find the $cbBTC bridging widget → input their desired Ethereum address → send their $BTC to the bridging address → wait for the $cbBTC to show up in their Ethereum wallet.

Coinbase will do all of that heavy lifting in the background.

Here’s why all of this is important:

When you want someone to adopt a new behavior, you want to make the change as smooth as possible, while calming any fears that may act as roadblocks.

The more trust and simplicity that is brought to the process of trading Bitcoin within the Ethereum ecosystem, the higher the likelihood people will adopt it. 🚀 

…and the more of Bitcoin’s $1.14T market cap finds its way to Ethereum, the more revenues can be generated/fed back into the Ethereum ecosystem.

It’s a beautiful thing! 🥲

SAY GOODBYE TO CHAOS!

Why juggle multiple platforms when you can do it all in one place? 

  • Trade 300+ assets, including $BTC, $ETH, & $SOL 🤝

  • Get early access to new tokens before everyone else 🎫

  • Automate your buys for effortless dollar-cost averaging 🤖

  • Secure your $BTC with Vault, Uphold’s “Assisted” Self-Custody solution 🔒

But wait—there’s more!

Got USD? Earn up to 5% APY1 with the USD Interest Account2—exclusive to US users and FDIC-insured3. 💰

Elevate your crypto game (and life) with Uphold!

*Disclaimer

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GLOBAL LIQUIDITY BREAKOUT 🚨

This is it…

This is the moment we’ve been waiting for: liquidity (aka: fresh cash) is re-entering the system.

The downward trend in global liquidity is reversing and looks like it could be about to run to the upside – bringing crypto markets along with it.

Now, if you’re a PRO subscriber, you’ll know this isn’t true ☝️

Liquidity is not just-now breaking out…it broke out months ago!

So why isn’t this chart showing it? 

Well, central banks have sneaky ways of funneling money into the economy that are intentionally hard to track – to the extent that most global liquidity charts are months behind.

The reason we’re showing you this broken chart is because it’s the one that most people use.

Which means a whooole bunch of investors may be about to make big trade decisions based on this perceived breakout (potentially pumping the markets as a result).

Are these decisions being made off the back of up-to-date information? No.

Do we care? Also no.

Let’s light this candle! 🔥

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HOW TO PUT YOUR ASSETS TO WORK 💰

“How do I stake my $ETH/ $SOL?” — that’s the most asked question in the Milk Road PRO community.

Our members’ wish is our command — so we have a big announcement! 🚨

We’ve revamped the Milk Road PRO Portfolio to show you how and where we put every asset to work – staking, restaking, lending, airdrop farming, all the goodies.

Here’s a quick sneak peek 👀

The Milk Road PRO Portfolio is all about showing you how we structure what we think is the ideal crypto portfolio.

The aim? To help you build a lasting portfolio that maximizes rewards while minimizing risks.

Now, we're kicking it up a notch by showing you how your assets can generate passive income in different ways—some safer, others more lucrative.

If you're playing the long game, you've got to put your assets to work—otherwise, you're leaving money on the table.

📣 Heads up: This Saturday, we’re releasing a PRO report breaking down our yield strategies and how we put our assets to work.

As a non-PRO member, you can't access the portfolio or Saturday’s report—but you can upgrade your subscription to unlock full access right now.

Alright, now let’s get into the Milk Road PRO Portfolio performance & changes over the last week. ⤵️

Portfolio performance 📉

The Milk Road PRO Portfolio saw a slight decrease over the past 7 days. Our portfolio value is at $81.1K, down 1.2% since last week.

The past 7 days have been quite volatile, with markets hitting new lows, only to quickly rebound, erasing losses and even gaining a few points above levels from a week ago. 💪

Based on last week’s macro data, we’re likely to see a single rate cut next week. 

While markets were hoping for two cuts (a total reduction of 50bps), this outcome has also eased recession fears. 😱

Overall, nothing significant happened this past week, and now all eyes are on the upcoming FED meeting at the end of next week.

Portfolio changes 👀

The Milk Road PRO Portfolio is available for Milk Road PRO members only.

GO PRO AND UNLOCK:

  • Full access to the Milk Road PRO Portfolio. 👆

  • NEW: Our yield strategies (report coming your way this Saturday) 👀

  • Our weekly reports that help you invest successfully in crypto. 💰

  • Full access to our weekly bull market peak indicators. 📊

  • Full access to the Milk Road PRO community. 🫂

  • 50% off Milk Road's NEW crypto investing masterclass 📚️ 

PRO REVIEW OF THE WEEK

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BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

Ark Invest bought $8.4M in Coinbase shares following a crypto market slump due to a U.S. presidential debate, snapping up 53,708 shares. Most went to their flagship Innovation ETF, positioning Coinbase as a major holding​.

Grayscale launched a new XRP fund, aimed at giving accredited investors exposure to XRP. The fund's launch followed Ripple’s recent legal victory over the SEC, and speculation is rising about a possible $XRP ETF​.

eToro settled with the SEC for $1.5M, agreeing to scale back its U.S. crypto offerings. By March 2025, U.S. users must sell unsupported tokens, though global operations remain largely unaffected​.

A judge ruled that the CFTC overstepped in blocking Kalshi’s election contracts. The court found no unlawful gaming involved, overturning the CFTC’s decision​.

Join forces with the Milk Man! We’re looking for a Twitter Specialist + Content Creator who can mix crypto knowledge with top-notch tweets. Think you’re the one? Apply today and let’s get this show on the road!

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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.