Today’s edition is brought to you by Everstake – a trusted validator utilized by 625K users across over 70 blockchain networks.

Stake with as little as 0.1 ETH!

---

GM. This is Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that tries to make you laugh so you can skip that ab workout later today. #LaughsForAbs

Here’s what we got today:

• Ferrari’s, Taylor Swift, and Crypto 👀

• One step closer to a Bitcoin ETF? 🤑

• $400K to turn off Solana 📴

• MetaMask gets kicked off the Apple Store 🍪

---

FERRARI’S, TAYLOR SWIFT, AND CRYPTO 👀

Millions of people around the world own crypto. But there’s still one big problem…

You can’t really use it to buy anything. 

I tried using it to pay for rent last month… and almost got evicted.

I tried using it to pay for groceries…. and the cashier pushed that secret button under the register.

30 seconds later, 6 cops showed up yelling at me to put my hands in the air.

Well, check it out. Times are changing.

And there are 2 things you can buy with crypto now:

1/Ferrari – the luxury car marker now accepts crypto payments (BTC, ETH, and USDC) for its sports cars in the U.S.

It also plans to expand its offering to Europe following requests from wealthy customers.

2/ Taylor Swift tickets – people can now use crypto (BTC, ETH, DOGE, etc) to buy tickets to the new movie, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour”.

P.S. – our local Taylor Swift expert (aka my wife) tells me the movie is just 40 of her songs playing for like 3 hours straight…

It’s a concert. In a movie theatre. And already did $100M – just in presales. 

The Taylor Swift Effect is real, ladies & gents.

Why this matters: The list of things you can buy with crypto might be tiny, but it’s mighty. And it’s been growing…

• Shopify now allows its customers to use USDC

• Gucci and Balenciaga started accepting crypto payments last year

• Many are speculating Twitter (yes, we still call it Twitter) will integrate crypto payments in the future too

Now Ferrari’s and Taylor Swift’s movie tickets can be added to the list.

And while most people still can’t use crypto to pay for rent, groceries, or other essentials (yet)…

We’re slowly, but surely, getting there.

STAKE ETH IN ONLY THREE CLICKS

We talk a lot about the benefits of staking over here at Milk Road.

The problem? Staking can be intimidating and complex.

But it doesn’t have to be.

Everstake’s making staking easy for any crypto holder. Whether you’re a crypto OG, or you just bought your first Ether.

Here’s how Everstake stands out as a staking provider:

• Their solution is fully non-custodial, meaning users retain full control of their digital assets while staking

• Users can stake with as little as 0.1ETH and benefit from auto-compounding of their staking rewards

• Stakers currently receive ~7% APR on their staked ETH, among the highest in the industry

• Their staking service is backed by audits from some of the best: ChainSecurity and Ackee

And they have a proven track record of near 100% uptime and $1.4B of staked assets on their platform.

Stake today with as little as 0.1 ETH!

ONE STEP CLOSER TO A BITCOIN ETF? 🧐

Crypto’s rumor mill has been buzzing non-stop about one thing…

Bitcoin ETFs. Here’s why:

1/ On Friday, multiple news sources reported that the SEC wasn’t planning to appeal the court’s decision in its lawsuit against Grayscale. 

Just as a quick refresher…

• Grayscale has tried to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF for a while now.

• The SEC has denied all its applications.

• Grayscale sued the SEC, arguing that the regulating agency didn’t have a legitimate reason to deny them.

• Judges ruled in favor of Grayscale in August.

With reports that the SEC won’t appeal the decision, many are speculating that a spot Bitcoin ETF approval could be coming soon.

And then…

2/ Reports came out that the first spot Bitcoin ETF had been approved this morning.

Great news, right?

Prices started pumping and crypto investors started chanting WGMI.

The problem: the reports turned out to be fake…

… sigh… and it’s only Monday morning.

There are 2 lessons…

Lesson #1: Crypto is one big game of telephone. Don’t get caught on the wrong end of it.

Lesson #2: Crypto news can lead to very fast hype cycles, but it’s like eating dinner at a gas station…fast pumps lead to fast dumps.

Stay safe out there, Roaders.

$400K TO TURN OFF SOLANA 📴

Solana is one of the most popular blockchains in crypto.

• 230K+ daily active wallets

• 110+ protocols built on the blockchain

• $310M+ in TVL on DeFi protocols

• SOL (its native token) has a $9.1B market cap

Well, there’s a $400K reward for anyone who can “turn it off”…

Now, here’s the thing: Solana has a long history of turning off…for free. 

• Last year, the network had 7+ outages

• It went down again earlier this year in February

• Some of the outages lasted several hours

Solana goes out of service more often than your local McFlurry machine.

Which is why it’s been meme’d…

It’s been renamed…. 

Solana Network → Solana Notwork.

It’s been rebranded…

But now, it’s trying to prove itself. Once and for all.

Side note: $400K?! What is this, a reward for ants?! 

We’re talking about a vulnerability that would shut the whole blockchain down… affecting hundreds of thousands of users and hundreds of millions of dollars on the network…

… and the reward is mid-six figures?

Solana, ya cheap bastard.

BITE-SIZED COOKIES 🍪

Marinade has been establishing itself as a market leader in staking on SOL. Equipped with native and liquid staking, the ability to unstake instantly, and a recently launched Earn initiative. Check out our review of their platform!

MetaMask was temporarily removed from the Apple Store over the weekend. Many thought Apple gave the crypto wallet app the boot, but turns out it was removed due to “an internal operational error” on MetaMask’s end. Oopsies. 

Tether’s CEO stepped down over the weekend. Paolo Ardoino (the former CTO) will now become the Head Honcho.

CoinList launched a multi-chain staking fund for U.S. investors. U.S. accredited investors can earn returns from the staking of several digital assets including Ethereum and Near.

LayerZero launched a new tool called Gas Station. The new “gas abstraction” tool will help facilitate cross-chain NFT swaps between Ethereum and Polygon.

MILKY MEMES 🤣

HIT THE INBOX OF 250K+ CRYPTO INVESTORS

Advertise with Milk Road to get your brand in front of the Who’s Who of crypto. The Roaders are high-income crypto investors who are always looking for their next interesting product or tool. Get in touch today.

ROADER REVIEW OF THE DAY

VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY

— Milk Road Images (@MilkRoadImages)
Oct 16, 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.