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June 7, 2023

🥛Crypto is under attack… 🚨

Today's edition is brought to you by the daily newsletter that makes you smarter about everything crypto – all in under 5 minutes. Reach 265K+ readers now!

GM, this is Milk Road. We’re like that timeless classic song – always around when you need a pick-me-up and are ready to rock the crypto market.

Here’s what we got for ya today:

  • The SEC sues Coinbase 🥊

  • What’s next for crypto? 👀

  • Web3 Wednesday: the best jobs in crypto 📝

  • Louis Vuitton is launching a $42K+ NFT 🍪

Prices as of 7:30 AM ET

COINBASE GETS SUED BY THE SEC 🥊

Gary Gensler and the SEC army have been working overtime.

First it was Kraken. Yesterday there was a bombshell lawsuit against Binance. And today they are targeting Coinbase… again.

It’s a 101-page lawsuit, but say it with me “never let a Roader read more than 1 page”. So, we did all the reading for you.

Here’s what the SEC is saying:

  • Coinbase has been operating a non-registered securities exchange. Even though they aren’t willing to provide guidance on complying with regulation…

  • They have been acting as an unregistered broker. A broker helps investors buy and sell securities. So if the SEC thinks Coinbase is listing securities, then they also think that Coinbase is helping users buy and sell securities.

  • Coinbase is an unregistered clearing agency. Similar to brokers, clearing agents are involved in the process of exchanging securities. They make sure that deals happen on time and both parties stick to their end of the bargain.

  • They didn’t register the offer and sale of their staking program. After targeting Kraken’s staking service, it only makes sense that Coinbase would be next in line.

The crazy part? The SEC also claims that Coinbase has been breaking the rules since 2019.

But the SEC is the same entity that approved Coinbase to go public in 2021 when many of these “securities” were already tradeable.

And the U.S. government is no stranger to the platform. They’ve been using Coinbase to sell confiscated Bitcoin and will continue to throughout the year.

As if things couldn’t get worse, 10 state security regulators have formed a task force to support the SEC’s initiative.

These states issued a Show Cause Order saying that their local residents have been given staking rewards through an unregistered offering. Coinbase has 28 days to respond.

Here’s how the markets reacted:

  • Coinbase’s stock opened the trading day down ~20%, but slightly recovered to close down 12%

  • $BTC dipped slightly on the news release but bounced back to rally over 5% in the following hours

  • $ETH followed in Bitcoin’s footsteps, jumping ~4% in the hours after

Here are some of the responses from Twitter:

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WHAT’S NEXT FOR CRYPTO? 👀

What. A. F*cking. Week. (and it’s only Wednesday)

After everything that’s happened, everyone is probably wondering two things this morning:

  • Is it too early to put some liquor in my coffee? (it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right?)

  • What’s next for crypto?

Well, let’s talk about it.

First off, buckle up. This is only the beginning of the U.S. Crypto Regulation War.

Yes, it’s a war.

On one side: the U.S. government. (boo!)

On the other side: the crypto industry.

And just like any war, there’s always a secret operation like…Desert Storm. Cobra. Rolling Thunder.

In this war, the U.S. government is implementing Operation Chokepoint 2.0.

It’s a similar strategy the U.S. government used back in 2013 (in the original Operation Chokepoint) when it targeted businesses like online gambling, firearm sellers, etc.

The strategy: Launch investigations into these “bad” businesses, file tons of massive lawsuits, and target their banking partners until the bad businesses get choked out.

So far this year, we’ve seen:

  • The biggest crypto exchanges – Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, etc – get sued by the SEC, CFTC, or another agency from the alphabet soup.

  • Crypto’s three biggest banking partners – Silvergate, Signature, and SIlicon Valley Bank – get shut down or seized by the government. R.I.P to our fallen homies..

  • Paxos, the issuer for BUSD (3rd biggest stablecoin in the world), get sued and forced to stop issuing its stablecoin.

  • Tons of celebrities (and my childhood heroes) like Soulja Boy, Akon, Ne-Yo, and more get sued for promoting crypto projects.

We fully expect to see more moves like this in the near future.

How do we know? Because U.S. government officials are telling us to expect it. Literally.

Here’s what Gary Gensler (head of the SEC) said yesterday on CNBC:

Gary G: “Look, we don’t need more digital currency. We already have digital currency. It’s called the U.S. dollar. It’s called the euro. It’s called the yen. They’re all digital right now.”

On top of that, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is building an “anti-crypto army” and is looking to propose a bill that would effectively ban crypto in the U.S. gulp

So yeah, don’t be surprised if U.S. government officials start chasing crypto like it was the modern-day O.J Simpson.

With all that being said, there are a few options for what happens next:

Option A: Crypto gets banned in the U.S., and slowly dies off.

Option B: Crypto gets banned in the U.S., but thrives elsewhere.

Option C: Crypto doesn’t get banned in the U.S., but gets heavily regulated.

Who knows what the hell happens, but we do know one thing…

Crypto doesn’t need the U.S government’s approval to succeed. In fact, that’s the whole point of crypto.

It was built as an alternative financial system. One where a centralized government can’t control or censor it.

So now that a centralized government is attacking crypto and calling it bad, what are we gonna do..put our tail between our legs, call it quits, and cry like a Gerber baby??

F*ck no. Momma didn’t raise no punk.

Sure, maybe if it was 2008 crypto might struggle to survive this.

But it’s 2023, baby! And crypto is going strong.

  • People in Cyprus and Lebanon are using it as a solution to their own financial crisis’.

  • Countries – like El Salvador and Central Republic of African – are adopting it as legal tender.

  • Companies, governments, and retail investors around the world hold digital assets

Crypto is a lot like Pitbull – Mr. Worldwide.

So, don’t sweat it. Crypto has survived. And it will continue to survive.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

mic drop

– The Milk Man

WEB3 WEDNESDAY: THE BEST JOBS IN CRYPTO 📝

It’s Web3 Wednesday, Roaders! Let’s get straight to it.

Here’s the latest openings we’ve found:

P.S. – Are you trying to hire in Web3? Learn how to get your open jobs in front of 250K+ crypto enthusiasts here.

MILK & COOKIES 🍪

Louis Vuitton is dropping a new NFT collection, Via Treasure Trunks. Each NFT will cost ~$42K and holders will get access to upcoming Louis Vuitton products and immersive events.

Fractal launches a new web3 gaming studio FStudio. The goal? Enable video game developers to easily add crypto integrations into their games without having to code.

El Salvador secures $1B in commitments for a new BTC mining site. It will use solar and wind energy from El Salvador to power the mining operation. #Sustainability

Digital asset investment products saw outflows totalling $62M last week. That’s 7 straight weeks of outflows totalling $329M. Ouch.

Former owner of the Minnesota Vikings has been sentenced to 6+ years in prison for a crypto scam.

MILKY MEMES 🤣

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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.