GM. This is the Milk Road. The daily newsletter that's as informative as a TED Talk and as funny as Theo Von.

Here’s what we got for you today:

• Aptos, a new blockchain, crashes on the first day

• JPMorgan makes a new crypto hire

• Quick Bites

• Meme of the Day

APTOS, A NEW BLOCKCHAIN, CRASHES ON THE FIRST DAY

A new blockchain dropped this week - Aptos. If you didn't know, lemme tell you:

• They raised $400m from VCs like FTX Ventures, Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Jump Crypto, A16Z, Multicoin Capital, and more

• A $2b+ valuation in the private markets

• Created by Mo Shaik and Avery Ching who were part of the Facebook team that worked on Diem, the failed crypto stablecoin project

People in crypto were calling it the "Solana killer" and investors were calling it the best thing since sliced bread.

So how’d the launch go? Awful.

🚩Network performance crashed after launch. Aptos claimed it could process 100k transactions per second (TPS). However, the current TPS is ~4 transactions per second.

🚩Majority of the tokens are owned by the Aptos team. 51% of tokens were supposed to go to the “community”, but turns out 41% is owned by the Aptos Foundation & 10% is owned by Aptos Lab. I guess community = Aptos Team?

🚩 No community-run validators on the network. One developer called out how all 101 network validators were hand-picked by Aptos. Apparently, you had to sign an arbitration agreement in the Cayman Islands to be included in the validator set.

🚩Exchanges listed the Aptos coin without any details on the token. Users were able to buy the Aptos token, but no one knew the tokenomics (i.e the total supply, emissions schedule, etc)

🚩Aptos muted the Discord channel. Aptos users were all asking questions & demanding answers after the launch. Instead of answering, Aptos decided to mute people.

Aptos had more red flags than that one couple that fights 24/7. Everyone knows that one couple.

So how'd the Aptos token perform? The token price sunk like a brick in the ocean.

Within the first hour of being listed, the Aptos token tanked ~30%. It dropped as low as ~46% on the day.

Like we always say, where there's smoke, there's fire. And I don't think water can put this fire out for Aptos. They need some milk.

JP MORGAN MAKES A NEW CRYPTO HIRE

JPMorgan just made one of its biggest crypto hires yet - a new Director of Crypto Regulatory Policy.

His name is Aaron Iovine.

Pretty big hire. So I decided to check out Aaron’s LinkedIn...

Went to Amherst for undergrad. Cool.

On a few advisory boards. Nice.

Has experience in crypto regulation. Wow, impressive.

Wait a minute...

Turns out Aaron is a former executive at Celsius. The bankrupt crypto exchange.

The funny thing is last month Jamie Dimon (CEO of JPMorgan) called Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme. And now he's hired a former exec of a bankrupt company accused of actually running a Ponzi.

Just call me AI because this joke wrote itself.

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NEXO

There's no denying it, we're in a bear market and times are tough.

One thing that can get your enthusiasm back is finding a crypto company that does things right. Crab, bear, bull, or giraffe market, Nexo has a single-minded approach. Provide clients with a future-proof solution for their crypto.

At Nexo, you can buy and swap crypto with instant rewards, earn interest*, and borrow funds from 0%. On the recently launched Nexo Pro, you can trade 400+ pairs at the best possible prices.

A security-first model has protected Nexo’s clients through numerous significant events. Even if the tides get rough, you know Nexo will be there, working diligently for its 5 million users.

Sign up for an account on Nexo today.

*Nexo Earn Product is not available for citizens or residents of certain jurisdictions, including where restrictions may apply, such as the United States, Bulgaria, and Estonia.

QUICK BITES

The IRS has introduced a new category for digital assets. And of course, it's right before tax season...

FlipKart (an Indian e-commerce company) is launching a new metaverse called FlipVerse. Customers will be able to discover & shop new products in the metaverse.

Bicycle, the famous card brand, is releasing a new deck of cards featuring their Bored Ape. Bicycle is a 137-year-old brand and they're flexing a Bored Ape👀

Lemon(a Latin American exchange) has partnered with TravelX to allow customers to purchase airline tickets as NFTs.

Reddit users created have created ~3m crypto wallets since launching NFTs. NFTs went from zero to hero on Reddit.

MEME OF THE DAY

Bitcoin investors over the last 2 months… 😂😂

That's a wrap for today, ladies & gents. See ya tomorrow!

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

VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY

#ThrowbackThursday Vitalik pic for ya

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.