GM. This is Milk Road, your personal crypto drive-thru window.

We got your daily news with a large side of memes comin’ right up.

Here’s what’s on the menu today:

• Coffeezilla vs. Logan Paul

• Wyre’s shutting down

• Mastercard CEO says he has big plans for crypto this year

• Milky Meme – “Investors be like…”

COFFEEZILLA VS. LOGAN PAUL

It’s 5 days into the new year.

And every day’s felt like an episode from the Real Housewives.

Yesterday’s episode? We’ll call it Celebs & NFTs.

Let’s see who flipped the tables this time…

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Choose your fighter:

• Logan Paul – Celeb YouTuber. WWE wrestler. And… *checks notes* … part actor (he made a Law & Order cameo)

• Coffeezilla – Government name: Stephen Findeisen. Crypto Scam Investigator. YouTuber by day. Blockchain Avenger by night.

What are they fighting over? Mr. Zilla’s 3-part video series alleging that the play-to-earn game Paul advertised, Cryptozoo, is a scam.

Here’s what Coffeezilla alleges:

1/ It’s a total rugpull

CryptoZoo was first launched in the fall of 2021.

And it still isn’t live yet.

Coffeezilla interviewed a bunch of investors who said they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from the project.

PLUS, Coffee alleged that Paul’s team (not him though) pumped up the price of the NFTs with online marketing early on.

Just to sell their own NFTs at the top to turn a big profit.

That, ladies & gents, is what we call a textbook pump and dump.

2/ CryptoZoo’s artwork was pulled from stock images

Paul has said that the game’s animals are handmade.

But turns out, they’re just a bunch of animal stock photos stitched together via code. 

**facepalm**

(I guess Paul thought this was Dinner for Shmucks.)

Tenor

3/ It’s run by ex-felons

Coffeezilla alleges that CryptoZoo is run by criminals/con artists. 

• Paul’s manager (Jeff Levin) 

• Crypto King (whose social accounts have mysteriously disappeared)

• Ex-dev Eddie Ibanez

• Ex-dev Zach Kelling

And… Paul confirmed it’s true – the team was partly made up of ex-cons. Kelling’s been arrested multiple times, and Ibanez is a con man.

**Narrator voice: “It was at this moment Paul knew, he f*cked up”**

But Paul said he had no idea. He pulled the “oopsie, it’s not my fault; that’s on the hiring team that I trusted” card.

So, now what? Paul said Wednesday that he’s definitely suing Coffeezilla.

• He said Coffeezilla’s video was misleading, illegal, and only for the clicks

• Paul claims Coffeezilla knows he’s innocent but was “twisting” facts and published the videos anyway

Never a dull day in crypto. 😅

TODAY’S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY DX SOFTWARE

Let’s play a game. I’m going to guess who you are. 

You probably work in business. 

You’re at least partially interested in crypto. 

And… you’ve thought about how crypto could help your business. 

The problem? You haven’t built a blockchain application before. So you don’t know what’s possible or how to build it. 

That is why we are introducing DX Software, a blockchain consulting and development firm. 

They started a coaching program called, Bit by Bit, Get your Brain Fit, that teaches business leaders how blockchain technology can create new sources of revenue, tap into new markets, and grow customer engagement.

After you decide on the crypto strategy for your business, DX Software will help you build the product (they’ve built token reward systems, NFTs, API integrations or decentralized apps for dozens of companies). 

Start using crypto to grow your business today.

WYRE IS SHUTTING DOWN

The Wyre is reportedly shutting down.

Now, first of all … this is not to be confused with The Wire (the HBO banger.)

*phew*

We’re talking about Wyre, the crypto payments company. And when we heard the news, we were just as shocked as Wee-Bey (ironically, from the Wire.)

Here’s what we know:

• Gioannis Giannaros (the CEO) sent an email to employees saying they were planning to liquidate the company & terminate services in Jan 2023

• Employees have said they haven’t received any word on a severance package. Many are speculating there won’t be one…

Why this is big: Wyre is a huge crypto infrastructure provider company that’s been around since 2013. 

It helped enable on-ramps and off-ramps for some big players like MetaMask and OpenSea and made buying crypto easier.

The craziest part is that just a few months ago, Wyre was on top of the world. 

It was a crypto unicorn and was about to get acquired for $1.5b (the largest non-SPAC deal at the time.)

Then… the deal fell through. And Wyre went from $0 → $1.5b → $0. 

(Started from the bottom now we… back?)

Down goes another crypto OG. The Milk Man is pouring his Yoo-hoo out for our fallen crypto soldier.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

MASTERCARD CEO, MICHAEL MIEBACH, ON 2023 PLANS:

JUDGE MARTIN GLENNS RULING ON THE CELSIUS BANKRUPTCY: 

**The Milk Road Translation: Celsius users most likely won’t get much money refunded since, in the eyes of the law, those assets (worth ~$4.2b) are owned by Celsius and are now the property of the Debtors. Sorry gang.

MILKY MEME

😂😂

reddit.com

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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VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY

When Vitalik doesn’t like your haircut so he avoids eye contact https://t.co/t73eILYosp

— Milk Road (@MilkRoadDaily)
Jan 5, 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.