🥛 CPI results are in. Markets react... 👀

GM. This is Milk Road. Like an enchilada, we’re the whole thing when it comes to crypto.

Here’s what we’re serving up today:

• CPI numbers are here 🔢
• Graphs of the Day: BTC shrimps & $57M inflows 📈
• The Anti-Crypto Association: Hall of Fame 📵

Today's edition is brought to you by Consensus 2023, Web3’s longest-running and most influential event.

Lords & ladies, the results are in.

The latest U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) came out yesterday. And I was dreading it like my SAT score…

The results? Inflation rose 0.1% and the CPI is down to 5%. (the lowest it’s been since May 2021) 

So, how did the markets react? 

• ETH: +6.42%
• BTC: +0.25%
• NASDAQ: -0.85%
• S&P500: -0.41%

If I had to describe it one picture: 

Price movement aside, this is still good news. A low inflation metric means the Fed could stop raising interest rates.

Lower interest rates = better for risky assets like crypto

I guess we’ll wait and see. For now, I’m just happy the price of eggs dropped 11% and I don’t need to take out a bank loan for my groceries anymore.

We’re back with every crypto investor’s favorite pictures: memes graphs. 

Now, If you’re like me, you hate ‘em. Throwback to middle school when I started the Anti-Graph Club after they taught us parabolas.

But graphs have important clues about what’s going on in the space. Here are the 3 most important ones you need to know about:

1/ Bitcoin shrimps accumulated 35K BTC in the last 30 days

In crypto, investors are referred to as whales, fish, crabs, and shrimps. That’s right, we’re all named after the Long John Silvers menu.

Shrimps are wallets holding less than 1 BTC (~$30k).

Well, they’ve bought up ~$1B worth of BTC in the last month. 

Shrimps now hold a collective 1.3M BTC (~$38.8B). That’s over 6% of the total supply. #TinyButMighty

So what? More small retail investors are buying BTC. It might have something to do with distrust in the central bank and people seeing the appeal of digital assets.

This will also help Bitcoin stay decentralized. The more the token supply is distributed amongst whales, shrimps, & everything in between, the better. 

2/ Crypto VC activity is the lowest it’s been in 2 years

In Q1 2022, VCs invested $13B into Web3 companies. 

In Q1 2023, VCs invested $2.4B. An 80% drop. 

Why the dip? Over the last year, the biggest crypto players (Luna, FTX, etc.) collapsed, traditional banks have failed, & interest rates have increased. 

Investors have lost money and gained trust issues. No one has been safe.

VCs love their Patagonia vests, but even those can’t protect ‘em from the Crypto Winter.

But on the plus side: there were more deals in Q1 2023 (439) than there were in Q4 2022 (366.) Comeback szn coming?

3/ There was $57M in inflows last week

The latest Weekly Crypto Asset Flow Report just dropped.

The results? $57M in weekly inflows. 

So what? There’s now a net inflow year-to-date. AKA - funds have bought more crypto than they’ve sold. Can I get a whoop whoop?!

Here are a few more highlights from the report:

• 98% of all inflows were Bitcoin. Investors poured a whopping $56M into BTC, which means they still look at it as a safer option than other digital assets.
• The U.S. led the way with $27M of inflows. That’s a good sign, given all the regulatory threats. 
• Ethereum saw $0.6M in inflows. Looks like crypto funds weren’t too nervous about the Shapella upgrade.

Is that you, light at the end of the tunnel?

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Crypto has gained millions of fans. But it’s also gained millions of haters. 

From regulators to politicians to my Aunt Mary - crypto has more haters than the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The biggest hater? Warren Buffet. And the Oracle of Omaha is back again with some new hate…

This time, Warren Buffet called Bitcoin a gambling token. *gasp* I know, I know. Those are fighting words…but this isn’t the first time Buffet has been vocal about crypto.

• In April 2018, he called it “rat poison”. Bitcoin is up over 350% since.
• In May 2022, he said he wouldn’t “pay $25 for all of the Bitcoin in the world”. At the time, BTC had a ~$650B market cap and was worth 6x Buffet's net worth. He couldn’t buy all the BTC even if he wanted to.

Buffet hates crypto like my grandpa hates GPS - he still uses an old paper map & compass to find his way around. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. 

But it got us thinking about other famous/rich people that have spoken out against crypto. Let’s jump into the time machine and look at some others. 

We present to you, the Anti Crypto Association (ACA) hall of fame:

1/ Charlie Munger

Who is he? A legendary investor and the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. He’s worked with Buffet since 1978. If Buffet is Batman, Munger is Robin. 

What has he said?

• “It’s just ridiculous that anybody would buy this stuff...it's massively stupid.”
• “It’s worthless, it’s no good, it’s crazy, it does nothing but harm and it’s anti-social”
• “Disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization”

You can say a lot of things about crypto, but anti-social? I guess ol’ Charlie has never tuned into Discord or Crypto Twitter before. 

2/ Jim Cramer

Who is he? The notorious host of Mad Money on CNBC. In recent years, he has been better known for his never-ending list of bad calls. There’s even an Inverse Cramer ETF.

What has he said?

• Last December, Jim urged investors that “it’s not too late to sell”. Bitcoin is up 76% since then...
• He doubled down in January saying “Good chance AGAIN to get out of crypto.” BTC jumped from 16k to 20k the next day.

Safe to say his credibility has been down only.

3/ Elizabeth Warren

Who is she? A well-known U.S. Senator, and the fearless leader of the anti-crypto army.

Here’s her crypto resume:

• Followed up the FTX collapse with an article warning crypto would end in “crippling losses”. Since this was published, BTC has almost doubled.
• Proposed the “Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act”, which essentially aimed to make crypto, “not-crypto”. However, it would do little to prevent the next FTX.
• Is focusing her re-election campaign on the power of her anti-crypto army.

Live look at Elizabeth’s war on crypto:

4/ Jamie Dimon:

Who is he? A wildly successful businessman. He currently serves as the Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase. 

So what does the big boss of banking have to say about crypto?

• In 2017, Jamie called Bitcoin a fraud and later doubled down, predicting it could be “shut down by the government.” Two years later, JP Morgan became the first U.S. bank to launch its own cryptocurrency.
• He took things further saying he would “fire any of his traders if they were dumb enough to buy Bitcoin.” Not long after, Jamie started to discuss the potential that blockchain technology brings. And in 2021, his investment clients got direct access to invest in crypto funds.

Jamie kind of sounds like the parent that creates a swear jar for his kids, but ends up filling the thing himself. Or throws the whole thing out entirely.

That's a wrap for today. Meet us on Twitter to talk all about it. It’s kinda like a family BBQ but better - no screaming kids, awkward photos, or drunk uncles telling weird stories (@MilkRoadDaily)

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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.