February 5, 2025

šŸ„› Thereā€™s a storm brewing in stablecoins ā›ˆļø

Today's edition is brought to you by Polytrade – the leading RWA marketplace that trades everything from commodities and credit to David Guettaā€™s music.Ā 

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GM. This is Milk Road ā€“ the ā€˜weather manā€™ of crypto newsletters.Ā 

(We let you know what to expect, ahead of time).

Hereā€™s what we got for you today:

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THEREā€™S A STORM BREWING IN STABLECOINS ā›ˆļø

We just read ARK Investā€™s ā€˜Big Ideas 2025ā€™ report, and had two big ā€˜Oh, damn! Ok.ā€™ moments in the processā€¦

First: we (the crypto community) still arenā€™t bullish enough on stablecoins.Ā 

Second: stablecoins are in the lead to become cryptoā€™s first global mass-market product.Ā 

(Not crypto AI, not gaming, not Hermione ā€“ stablecoins).

Alright, now ā€“ lettuce bring those same ā€˜Oh, damn! Ok.ā€™ moments straight to you ā€“ starting with: why weā€™re not bullish enough on stablecoinsā€¦

1/ Stablecoins overtook Mastercard and Visa in transaction value in 2024

Stablecoins processed an eye-watering $15.6 trillion in transaction value in 2024!

2/ Tether makes more net income per employee than any other leading financial firm

In just about any product category, the faster, more efficient, more profitable systems are most likely to win out over time.Ā 

And Tether (the company behind $USDT) is putting that on full display here, beating out Visa, Mastercard, and Warren Buffetā€™s Berkshire Hathaway in terms of total net income per employee.

3/ At $203B, the stablecoin supply represents ~0.97% of M2 money supply in the US

M2 = a measure of the money supply that includes cash, savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits.

Ok ā€“ so all of the above shows killer growth in stablecoins over the past 5 years ā€“ but how are they going to break out from being a ā€˜crypto-natives onlyā€™ product, and into the mass market?

Short answer: by decentralizing global demand for US dollars.

Long answer: The United States has a problem ā€“ and itā€™s one thatā€™s often missed by the average crypto investooor.

See, major economies around the world have been selling their $USD/$USD-equivalent holdings of late, and itā€™s a trend that could cause some major issues down the line.

ā€˜Cause if there isnā€™t consistent demand for US dollars from deep pocketed nation states, it could lose a worrying amount of its value.

The biggest/most obvious solution to this problem right now?Ā 

Decentralization of demand, through stablecoins.

Translation: instead of allowing a select few political figures to control the global demand for dollars, the US could export $USD to everyday people in need of stable currencies with low inflation.

And this market wouldnā€™t just be made up of countries with insane inflation rates like Venezuela or Argentina ā€“ but any country with higher inflation than the United States.

Right now, Tether ($USDT) and Circle ($USDC) are the 20th largest buyers of US Treasury Securities (which are kind of like yield-bearing forms of $USD).

By making access to US dollars fast, cheap, and permissionless for everyday people ā€“ Tether & Circle could soon be working their way higher up that list, and creating a source of global demand for US dollars that rivals even the larger nations.

ā€¦all thatā€™s needed is a little push from the US government.

And it looks like thatā€™s exactly whatā€™s about to happen (scroll down to learn how). šŸ‘‡

RWA MARKETPLACE

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There are too many of them, scattered across multiple chains, and no one knows where to even start looking.

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U.S. POLITICAL SUPPORT FOR CRYPTO REFUSES TO SLOW DOWN šŸƒā€ā™‚ļøā€

Q: How do you increase global demand for US dollars via stablecoins?

A: No idea! But you first start by creating/passing clear legislation within the US.

(And it looks like thatā€™s what weā€™re about to get).

Here are three pieces of bullish crypto news from the realm of US politics ā€“ including, but not limited to, the new momentum surrounding stablecoinsā€¦

1/ David Sacks (Americaā€™s ā€˜Crypto Czarā€™) announces plans for a new stablecoin bill

Yesterday, D Sacks (wait, nope. Yep, I hear it. My bad) announced a rough plan for Congress to move forward with digital asset legislation, starting with a strong focus on stablecoins, stating:

ā€œStablecoins have the potential to ensure American dollar dominance internationallyā€¦and in the process create potentially trillions of dollars of demand for US Treasuriesā€

Now, to the crypto community, this felt like a total nothing burger ā€“ many were expecting a clear piece of legislation, ready to pass through congress ā€“ and instead they essentially got this:

But once you take into account these changes will be forced to move at the speed of government, and this announcement comes barely two weeks into this new administrationā€¦

Itā€™s pretty freakinā€™ bullish!

2/ Banks will soon be able to go onchain! You thought 2024 was the year of institutional support? You ainā€™t seen nothinā€™ yetā€¦

3/ The Presidentā€™s son bull-posted about $ETH

We know, we know, ā€œTrump family bullish on cryptoā€ is hardly breaking news anymore ā€“ but letā€™s set some context real quickā€¦

Imagine if this was four months ago and coming from Hunter Biden. The Presidentā€™s son bull posting $ETH? The crypto community would have lost its freaking mind!

4/ The SEC is scaling back its crypto enforcement unitĀ Ā Ā 

The unit that was responsible for suppressing the US crypto industryā€™s growth from 2020-2024 is now being scaled back!

Hopefully there will still be some semblance of a team keeping checks and balances on bad actors ā€“ but for now, weā€™re chalking this up as positive forward movement.

Oh, and while weā€™re on the topic of the SEC ā€“ guess who just got a new email address?

Which begs the questionā€¦

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RETHINKING THE DOLLARā€™S STRENGTH W/ DAN TAPIERO

Yesterday, we sat down with the man, the myth ā€“ the legend with the big glasses: Dan Tapiero.

Dan is the Founder/CEO/CIO/Managing Partner 1RT Fund & 10T Holdings, and a macro portfolio manager of 20+ years (translation: he really knows his stuff!).

In this conversation we asked:

  • Should we be rethinking the dollarā€™s strength?

  • Is a $50T crypto market cap possible in the next decade?

  • Which crypto sectors are set to see exponential growth in that time?Ā 

Itā€™s a banger of an episode ā€“ you donā€™t want to miss it! šŸ‘‡

YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts

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BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD šŸŖ

Tracking funding rates = spotting pullbacks before they hit. Crypto pullbacks can get real uglyā€”thatā€™s why you should keep an eye on funding rates.

Bill Gates is bearish on crypto. Heā€™s one Milk Road subscription away to change his mind.

Sol Strategies just loaded up on more Solana. Nothing else to add except: buy the dip.

Ondo to bring US stocks, bonds and ETFs onchain. We donā€™t cover a lot of RWA stuff in the newsletter but seems like itā€™s time to shift our focus.

Weā€™re hiring a social media manager! Youā€™ll be the voice of Milk Road across X, Instagram, Youtube and maybe even more. Oh, and weā€™re a blast to work with.

Whereā€™s the best place to research crypto? Honestly, it really depends on what youā€™re looking for but hereā€™s the exhaustive list of where the Milk Man does his research. Youā€™re welcome.

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MILKY MEMES šŸ¤£

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ROADIE REVIEW OF THE DAY šŸ„›

VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY

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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.

Milk Road

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