๐ฅ Lessons from an 8-figure crypto bet ๐
GM. This is Milk Road. Weโre the Keanu Reeves of crypto newsletters; action-packed and relatable with a track record of being awesome.
Hereโs what weโve got for you today:
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TBT: The $22M Luna bet
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Wtf is MEV?
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Graph of the Day: BTC 2020 crash
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Epic Games is launching more crypto games on its marketplace

Today's edition is brought to you by First Batch ID, the future of decentralized identity.
TBT: THE $22M LUNA BET
Itโs that time of the weekโฆ Throwback Thursday.
The day we reminisce on the simpler times, when our biggest worry was what AIM โaway messageโ to use. (My go-to: Real gโs move in silence like lasagna.)
Todayโs TBTโฆ The $22M Luna bet. Hereโs the story in three parts:
Part 1: The Call Out. It all began when Sensei Algod (a well-known crypto trader) started talking sh*t about Luna.
Algod called it โthe Ponzi of this bull runโ and said it was only a matter of time before it collapsed. He was so confident that he challenged anyone that wanted to make a $1M bet on it. #shotsfired
Part 2: The Clap Back. 90 minutes later, Do Kwon (the founder of Luna) responded on Twitter: โCool. Iโm inโ. And followed up with his own jabโฆ
@AlgodTrading @CryptoHarry_ @ZeMariaMacedo Would prefer to ask whatever your net worth is and bet 90%
But maybe this is what that is already
— Do Kwon ๐ (@stablekwon)
Mar 13, 2022
If this was a high school cafeteria, this is when everyone would start chanting โFIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!โ
PART 3: The Bet(s). After some back-and-forth trash talk, Do Kwon and Algod finalized the termsโฆ
If the price of LUNA is over $88 (according to CoinGecko) on March 14, 2023, Do Kwon wins. If it's under, Sensei Algod wins.
Ladies & gents, we have ourselves a bet. But thatโs when Gigantic Rebirth (another crypto whale) entered the ringโฆ. *queue WWE music*
Interested in same bet for 10 million dollars [considered offering 50 million, but escrow becomes tricky]
Would donate half to charity
Expect price to pump short term, but in 1 year, supremely confident the current narrative is lost
@stablekwon https://t.co/2SJAvZh4Yp
— GCR (@GiganticRebirth)
Mar 14, 2022
Well, that escalated quickly. GCR came in with that BWE – big wallet energy. And it suddenly went from a single $1M bet โ multiple bets totaling $20M+.
A few minutes later, Do Kwon agreed to GCRs bet and everyone sent their money to Cobie – the middleman who created an escrow account to keep the funds safe.
GCR, Do and Algod have all deposited to the Cobie Luna bet escrow address
May the best degen win https://t.co/lhGbnHOomZ
— Cobie (@cobie)
Mar 15, 2022
Just like that, $22M in the pot. Locked and loaded.
Now hereโs the thing: at the time, everyone thought Algod and GCR were crazy. Luna was a multi-billion dollar empire, all the โsmartโ VCs were backing it and calling it the best thing since sliced bread. Hell, we even thought they were crazy.
Here were our famous last words:

Yeah, we f*cked up. We rode with Do Kwon into a damn tsunami.
Fast forward to today: the $40B+ empire collapsed, 1 LUNA token = $0.0001243, Do Kwon is a wanted fugitive, and the words โterra,โ โluna,โ and โDo Kwonโ are all banned in my household.
But where there are mistakes, there are lessons. Here are our 3 big takeaways from this:
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Do your own research. There was a lot of hype around Luna, but there were plenty of people calling out the flaws before it collapsed. Always DYOR and think for yourself.
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Donโt just follow the big names. Using โWell, BigName invested in it so itโs safeโ to validate an investment is one of the worst things you can do in crypto.
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There is no โsmart moneyโ. Jump Capital, Galaxy Digital, etc. – they all got burned. Turns out โsmart moneyโ is just as dumb as me.
Oh, and f*ck Do Kwon. *mic drop*

PERSONALIZE YOUR FEED WITH A.I
I love the internet because every piece of content is on the tip of my fingers.
One minute Iโm reading a thread about a new blockchain protocol and the next minute Iโm watching a TikTok about Warren Buffet.
But, sometimes, thereโs too much content.
I donโt want to read another lame news article or watch a video on interior design.
I want to learn about crypto and investing.
Our friends at First Batch are making sure I only get the content that matters to me.
First Batch ID (FID) is a decentralized identity that gives you control over your online experience. First Batch uses an AI training model to curate a content feed tailored specifically to YOUR interests.
Hereโs how it works:
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Connect your socials to First Batch
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First Batch collects your interests
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Builds your FirstBatch ID (FID), a decentralized identity that gives you control over your online experience.
First Batch doesnโt keep your data and runs a decentralized network to ensure data validity, prevent data leaks, and achieve autonomy.
Soon, youโll be able to use your FID to personalize your favorite DApps, including Decentralized Socials, NFT Marketplaces, and more.
Want to take a peek? Hereโs Gravitate – FirstBatchโs feed curator that utilizes AI to serve you the most relevant content imaginable while still preserving your privacy.

CRYPTO'S $1B GET-RICH-QUICK TRICK
Ethereum-based MEV rewards just hit a record daily high of 7,691 ETH ($12.6M) after SBV collapsed and USDC depegged.
Soโฆ wtf is MEV? Well lucky for you, Professor Milk Manโs got your back.
Welcome to MEV Intro: 101. Class is in sessionโฆ

MEV = maximal extractable value. It's a trick people (validators/trading firms/retail investors) use to make profits off of pending transactions before they're confirmed on the blockchain.
Think of it like this: robbing a bank is hard. There's lots of security, and you have to break into a vault.
A better way (according to the movies) is attacking when the money is in transit in one of those armored trucks. It's still hard, but there will be a short window when the truck is parked & is wide open. The money is almost in the bank, but not yet.
This is kinda like a pending transaction in crypto. It's during this period of time when someone can execute MEV attacks to make BIG profits. And with the help of bots, theyโve gotten filthy rich doing itโฆ
The MEV market is estimated to have made over $1B in profits over the last 2 years.
There are three main ways people extract MEV:
1/ Arbitrage Trading
They buy a token on one exchange and sell it at a higher price on another. MEV bots can quickly spot and take advantage of the discrepancies between the two markets.
The upside: it gives traders a truer, fairer price. Token prices vary across exchanges like Uniswap & dYdX. This closes the gap amongst them all.
The downside: it makes you vulnerable to getting front-run by the bots.
2/ Front-running
This is when bots steal your chance to have your transaction confirmed. They spot big transactions and duplicate them with a higher gas fee. Those higher fees mean validators are more likely to confirm their transaction first.
Itโs like when your mom pays the rollercoaster line guy $20 to let you cut the line.

3/ Sandwich Attacks
These are the sketchiest. Beware.
Itโs when a MEV attacker sandwiches a victimโs trade with two others: a buy order for the token with extra gas fees, then a sell order placed right after the victimโs.
This artificially raises the tokenโs price. The victim ends up paying a higher price, meaning the MEV attacker profits from the price difference.
So letโs say someone buys $500 worth of ETH. A MEV bot sees the placed order in the mempool (list of pending transactions,) and places an order worth the same amount of ETH plus maximum gas fees to front-run them.
Only the victim ends up paying more because the botโs buy order raised the price. Then when the bot sells right after the victimโs, it pockets that change. Well played, bot
So why are MEV rewards at an ATH? Because everyone and their mother have been withdrawing USDC. They all got spooked when Circle said it had $3.3B in reserves in Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed.
More people cashing out = more transactions = more opportunities for MEV rewards
At least thereโs someone making the most of a bank run. MEV earners out here making lemonade out of dead-bank lemons.

GRAPH OF THE DAY: THE 2020 BITCOIN CRASH
The year was 2020. Shakira & J. Lo had just owned the Super Bowl. Everyone was watching Tiger King.
And then COVID-19 hit. It caused a financial panic that sent Bitcoin crashing down 50% in just ~1 day, from $8,000 to ~$3,700.ย The Milk Man still has nightmaresโฆ*shudder*
#Bitcoin 9-13 March 2020 plummeted due to covid (yellow circle).
Will history rhyme again and could the collapse of #SVB (Silicon Valley bank) have a ripple effect across other banks and tech stocks/companies? https://t.co/DkhoD9rMqg
— Crypto Guy (@Crypto_Guy360)
Mar 12, 2023
So what? BTC fell hard that month. And it did again in May 2021 (~53% drop) and then gradually in 2022 (thanks, inflation + interest rates.) But the OG crypto is still kicking; itโs sitting at ~$25,000 today.
So if we can get through all that, everythingโs gonna turn out just fine. #hodl

BITE-SIZED COOKIES
The DOJ was already investigating Signature over poor leadership before it shut down, NYโs regulator said. The government has been fielding criticism for shuttering another crypto bank without good reason.
Fortnite creator Epic Games said it has 20 crypto-enabled games in the pipeline to add to its online marketplace. It currently has five.
Sesame Street is launching its first NFT collection based on the iconic characters behind the beloved show. There will be 5,555 pieces priced at $60 each dropping on March 19.

MILKY MEME
๐คฃ๐คฃ


That's a wrap for today. Meet us on Twitter to talk all about it. Itโs kinda like a family BBQ but better – no screaming kids, awkward photos, or drunk uncles telling weird storiesย (@MilkRoadDaily)
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VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY
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— Milk Road (@MilkRoadDaily)
Mar 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.