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November 23, 2022

🥛How to survive Thanksgiving

GM. This is the Milk Road. The newsletter serving up daily plates of crypto news so good it leaves you asking for seconds. 

Here's what's on the table for Thanksgiving Eve. 

  • Your Milky Guide to Thanksgiving

  • Pick your crypto dream team

  • Milky Memes

A MILKY GUIDE TO AWKWARD THANKSGIVING CONVERSATIONS

They say you should avoid talking politics and religion with your family. 

With the way things went the past year, it may be time to add crypto to the list. 

If you brought up crypto last Thanksgiving, work in crypto, or have ever mentioned the word Doge, you sure as hell are going to have some explaining to do tomorrow. 

As soon as your Uncle Jimmy finishes that third scotch, you know he's giving you that smug smile and hitting you with the, "So, what's up with crypto?" 

Thankfully, the Milk Man is here to make sure you come out of these conversations alive. 

So here is our Milky Guide to Awkward Thanksgiving Conversations.

1/ What happened with FTX?

You know you’re going to hear about this one. 

Wunderkid billionaire. The face of crypto. Beloved by mainstream media. Respected by politicians. Vowed to donate all of his money to charity. 

Steals billions from everyday people. 

This one won’t be easy but we got your back. 

Let's start out with by deflecting some blame away from crypto and towards Samuel.

"This wasn’t a crypto thing. It was a greed and corruption thing.” 

It wasn’t crypto or the blockchain that failed us. It was a scam artist who used the allure of crypto to steal billions from ordinary people.

Next, we'll compare the FTX collapse to traditional financial markets.

“Let’s not pretend this hasn’t happened before.” 

Do you remember Bernie Madoff? The guy that Ponzi'd $65b worth of client funds? Compared to Madoff, FTX was chump change. 

The FTX shenanigans probably set the crypto space back a year or two, but if we all learn our lesson, there shouldn't be another FTX:

  • We will buy via regulated, onshore exchanges

  • We will immediately transfer our crypto to self-custody

  • We will stop losing our entire bag chasing yield on centralized exchanges

  • And if a CEO says they are involved in effective altruism… we will run for the hills

So yeah, Samuel is a POS who should probably definitely go to prison. 

But don’t put that on crypto. Put that on human nature and the lack of regulation. 

Remember, crypto is not a system built on trust, but a trustless system. The blockchain runs code. Humans run fraud.

2/ Won’t the government crack down on crypto? 

There are definitely people in the government who don't want to see crypto succeed. 

Last Friday, the President of the Minneapolis Fed, Neel Kashkar, said that the whole idea of cryptocurrency is “nonsense”.  Elizabeth Warren says crypto will ruin the economy. 

But there are also a lot of pro-crypto advocates.

Senators Lummis and Gillibrand introduced a crypto bill. And earlier this year the White House released a report recommending a framework for responsible digital asset innovation. 

The reality is, blockchains don’t care where you live. So whether or not the U.S. cracks down on crypto, things like decentralized blockchains, apps, and finance are definitely here to stay.

3/ So far the only crypto use cases I have heard about are for illegal activities

The "crypto is for criminals" talking point is old and outdated. 

Blockchains are public and transparent. That means anyone can see what's happening at any time. 

It's hard to hide illicit activities on the blockchain and people that do more often than not, get caught – just ask Razzlekhan. 

Here are a few real world use cases you can show Uncle Jimmy. 

There are dozens of other potential use cases you can tell your unc about: voting on the blockchain (they’ll love this one if they deny election results), real estate, ticketing, and more.

4/ What should I invest in?

There are a lot of promising projects out there. 

Alternative layer 1 blockchains like Solana and Avalanche, layer 2 Ethereum solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism, and decentralized applications like Uniswap.  

But since it’s early no one really knows what’s going to make it big vs. what’s going to flop. 

Just like the dotcom bubble, it’s hard to pick the winners. For every Amazon and eBay there were hundreds of Pet.coms. 

Even in today’s market, it’s hard to pick individual stock winners. So what do most people do? Index investing. 

People throw their money in securities that track the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and DOW Jones. You get exposure to the stock market without taking on the individual risk of each company. 

Ethereum and Bitcoin are the crypto equivalent to index investing. 

Ethereum gives you exposure to Ethereum layer 2 blockchains and applications like Uniswap. 

Bitcoin is the grandfather of crypto. It’s the oldest, biggest, and most held cryptocurrency. When Bitcoin is up, crypto is up. When Bitcoin is down, crypto is down. 

If someone wants to get into crypto, just keep it simple. Don’t invest a lot of money to start. Custody your own assets. Focus on learning and walk before you run.

FYI, this is not investment advice. 

5/ Is crypto safe? Every time I see crypto in the news it’s negative.  CEO steals millions or innocent person hacked for everything they own.

It’s true. We’re still in the wild west days of crypto. 

Anyone can create a token or launch an NFT project. The lack of regulation and opportunity does a great job of attracting digital solar panel salesmen from Florida and Russian developers who will pull the plug on your project faster than a trust fund baby pulls the plug on their dying father. 

The early days of the dotcom bubble and the stock market were also wrought with fraud. 

So, yes, there are a lot of crap out there. But don't let it ruin your view on crypto.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most major blockchains have never been hacked. Make sure you let Uncle Jimbo know that. 

5/ Isn’t crypto bad for the environment? 

Bitcoin uses a lot of energy, .55% of global energy production to be exact. 

That's a lot of electricity. But, it's not as bad as it sounds. 

In a White House executive report, they said bitcoin mining “can be good for the environment." Plus, some miners are using broken-down coal plants, or low-cost natural gas that would otherwise go unused. 

Ethereum used to be responsible for ~.5% of global energy production before transitioning from a proof of work blockchain to a proof of stake blockchain reduced energy consumption by 99%. 

6/ How do I learn about crypto? 

Keep it simple for 'ol Uncle Jimmy.

Send him to Milkroad.com and have him hit that subscribe button. We'll handle the rest.

But he'll have to wait until Monday for our next edition. The Milk Road is taking Thanksgiving and Black Friday off. 

PICK YOUR CRYPTO DREAM TEAM

Reply to this email with your lineup. 

The 3 best lineups will receive $100 Ethereum each. 

Choose wisely. 

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY AMBIRE WALLET

One of the best parts about being in crypto is that we speak our own language. 

GM. WAGMI. DYOR. WEN MOON. NFA. 

It's like a cult. 

Ambire Wallet made a game for crypto fanatics like you and me. It’s Cards Against Humanity meets Crypto. 

You can teach your friends about crypto or play with other crypto fanatics for a good laugh. 

Even Cobie loves it. 

But here’s the messed up part. You can’t buy the game. I know, WTF. 

Sadly, Ambire only gives it out to select people at conferences. But your boys at the Milk Road got an exception. 

Ambire will run occasional raffles on Twitter for a chance at a free game. But you have to follow them. 

So, follow Ambire today for a chance at a free game. 

MILKY MEMES 

That's a wrap for today. Stay thirsty & see ya tomorrow!

If you want more, be sure to follow our Twitter (@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 researchBut