GM. This is the Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that is NOT boring.

Because being boring is a choice. And we chose No.

It's Friday, let's boogie:

• Blackrock partners with Coinbase to bring big $$$ to crypto

• Funding Friday

• Instagram rolls out NFT support globally

• CC0 explained in less than 45 seconds

• Meme of the day

BLACKROCK PARTNERS WITH COINBASE TO BRING BIG $$ TO CRYPTO

• BlackRock has $10 TRILLION in assets under management

• They just teamed up with Coinbase

• This makes it easier for their big institutional clients to buy crypto

Big win for crypto. Makes it easier for big money to flow in

Big win for Coinbase. Stock is up ~57% this week.

Big win for companies with solid names using words like “rock” & “base”. MilkRockBase.

FUNDING FRIDAY

Each Friday, we give you a rundown of Web3 companies that got funded.

This week we saw ~$200M get invested into crypto companies. Here’s who got the money:

DebtDAO got $3.6M to build a marketplace for crypto-native credit.

Galoy got $4M for their open-source crypto banking platform. It’s run on the Bitcoin Lightning Network

Gym Class got $8M for their VR basketball game.

Capsid got $3M to build an NFT protocol that lets holders issue Non-Fungible Rights for their NFTs.

Cookie3 got $2.5M to build an on-chain behavioral analytics platform. The Google Analytics of Web3.

Barca Studios got $100M to build a blockchain-based fan engagement and rewards platform. They’re teaming up with Socios to make it happen.

If you wanna check out the full database of companies that have raised money in 2022, we got 'em for you right here.

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INSTAGRAM ROLLS OUT NFT FEATURES GLOBALLY

• Instagram is expanding their NFT feature to 100 new countries

• You can connect your wallet (eg. Metamask) to Instagram

• Then post NFTs you own (it will show you're the owner)

• Weird flex, but OK

• It'll be available in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Americas

• Here’s what it looks like:

The Milk Man’s Take: This is a key step for NFTs.

People who collect art want to show it off in their houses.

People who collect NFTs want to show them off in their digital homes (Instagram, Twitter etc.).

CC0 EXPLAINED IN LESS THAN 45 SECONDS

Here’s a phrase you’ll hear about, but may not know what it really means…

It stands for Creative Commons Zero. Or in plain speak - zero copyright.

So if you buy an NFT with CC0, that means you have NO copyright on your IP, which means anyone can use the image/name freely.

Is that bad? Is it good?

...why in the world would anyone want to do this? The whole point of NFTs is that I’m supposed to own the IP, right?

Sure, you can look at it that way. But have you ever tried to build and market a brand from scratch? It’s pretty f*cking hard.

CC0 changes this. It lets other people do the building and marketing for you.

Nouns have been a great example of this. They’re the King of CC0’s.

People have made tons of derivative projects and even made merch using the Nouns IP.

We could put the Nouns glasses on our MilkMan, put the design on a shirt, and sell it. And there would be no licensing issues!

Nouns would do no work and still get thousands of new eyeballs on their IP. That’s the idea behind going CC0.

Here are some of the top NFT projects and their license status:

It’s a radical idea. Similar to “open source” software, or “duets” on TikTok. When you make IP open, you let anyone remix it and spread it for you.

And Moonbirds, the 10th most popular NFT collection, just announced they're moving to a CC0 license. 

But there’s one problem…. the holders had no say in this move. They just went from having full ownership of the IP to having none in the blink of an eye. Oof.

Some of ‘em aren’t too happy either…

MEME OF THE DAY

Volume goes 100 to 0 real quick 😂😂

We talk about building all the time, but what are the builders actually making and spending their time on?

We’re going to Buildspace’s demo day this weekend to see what’s up — it’s one of the biggest web3 showcases ever, with nearly ~125 presenters and ~2,000 RSVPs.

Drop by (it's free) and if you find us there we’ll send you a Papa John's pepperoni pizza.

Sign up for free here!

That's a wrap for this week ladies & gents. Stay thirsty & see ya next week!

If you want more, we'll be posting all day on our Twitter! (@MilkRoadDaily)

VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY

Got Ether?

A ROADERS REVIEW

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.