GM. This is the Milk Road. The only newsletter that's so good you gotta have it.

Here's what we got today:

• The five trends we're watching

• Alameda owes Margaritaville

• Quick Bites

• Milky Memes

THE FIVE TRENDS WE'RE WATCHING

1/ Google searches for “self custody” have skyrocketed

No surprise here.

In the last month, people searched for self custody more than "How does Pete Davidson pull so hard?"

People were so interested in self custody in November, that it was searched more times than any month ever before.

And, who benefited the most from the increase?

Hardware wallets like Ledger and Trezor.

In November:

• Ledger had the highest sales week in their history

• Trezor sales rose 300% the week after FTX crumbled

It’s not a coincidence that the two largest spikes in “self custody” Google searches coincide with the collapses of Celsius/TerraLuna in May and FTX.

When people lose trust in institutions, they get hardware courage. Hardware courage means more people are in charge of their crypto. Which means…

Get ready for more “lost my crypto in the landfill” stories.

2/ ETH becomes Ultra-Ultrasound money

Since the Merge, 679 more ETH ($814k) has been burned than created.

This reminds me of that scene in the Dark Knight where the joker burns the mob bosses' money.

Except, this burn won't get you 10 years in prison and on the bad side of a mob boss that runs Gotham's underbelly.

What does this mean for Ethereum, the blockchain?

Plain and simple - the merge is working like it is supposed to. Even in a bear market, gas fees are high enough to create a deflationary asset.

Now, what does this mean for Ethereum, the currency?

The BAD? ETH is down 25% this month.

The “GOOD”? ETH isn’t down 30%.

I mean, seriously. The third largest exchange went bankrupt, the largest crypto lender has a bazooka sized hole in their balance sheet, and every exchange I use has liquidity problems.

More people have moved to stablecoins this month than any other month this year and yet, we’re still 20% higher than we were in June when Luna collapsed.

3/ Opensea is starting to lose market share

In the war of the NFT marketplaces, OpenSea has crushed its competition.

That is, up until recently:

You don't even have to squint to see that Opensea's market share is getting eaten by competitors.

It's early, but we're watching the NFT marketplace wars closer than the United States against Iran today.

4/ DEX volume is up 53% in November

November was the highest volume month for DEXs since May.

The top DEX right now?

Nope, definitely not him.

It's Uniswap.

Despite a 5 month slump and being in the dead of a bear market, they had their best month of the year with $63b in volume.

Everyone is talking about who is going to fill FTX’s hole in the market.

Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, or some other exchange we don't know about.

But maybe, the exchanges that will benefit the most from FTX's demise are decentralized exchanges.

A rising tide lifts all boats. The tide for DEXs is rising.

5/ Crypto assets saw outflows totaling $23m last week

Another slow week for crypto asset flows. Compared to last week, an extra $10m was pulled out of crypto - not great, but could be worse.

Ethereum saw minor outflows of $6m and Bitcoin's outflows totaled $10m. There were $15m in outflows from blockchain equities last week.

These aren't huge numbers, but they aren't a bullish signal either.

ALAMEDA TOP 5 PAYABLES

When companies go through bankruptcy hearings they are required to reveal their oustanding payables, aka we get to see their credit card statements.

Yesterday we learned the top 5 organizations on Alameda's credit card bill:

The best part of the list?

The $55k unpaid tab at Margaritaville.

I can picture the situation in my head.

Margaritaville waitress: Hey that’s going to be $55k.

Samuel: Oh no worries we’ll be back next week. I’ll pay you in $FTT just like before.

Margaritaville waitress: Hey, uhh… Mr. Bankman-Fried do you mind paying us now?

Samuel: You know I’m good for it. I’ll see you next week.

*The next day*

*Margaritaville waitress turns on TV* “Binance agrees to acquire FTX, but backs out of the deal after looking at financials. $FTT is down 70%.”

Everything about this FTX story makes me want to drink. Time for the Milk Man's morning Margarita.

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY BRAVE

If there’s one thing I hate in crypto it’s having multiple wallets for multiple chains.

Ethereum. New wallet.

Solana. New wallet.

You quickly go from 2Chainz → 2Walletz. And It’s a pain. But we found a solution to it all…

Brave Wallet - the only wallet you need to manage your crypto across more than 100 chains, including Ethereum, Solana, L2s, and more. All without downloading risky extensions.

It’s easy to set up and removes the headache of jumping between wallets and extensions. It’s packed with features like:

• Built-in token swaps

• Fiat on-ramps

• Support for hardware wallets like Ledger

• Live market data, NFT portfolio management, and much more

Brave has one mission: to make Web3 easier to navigate and use for its 55m+ users. And they’re doing just that.

Download Brave & never have another wallet headache again.

QUICK BITES

Multiple artists, including DrifterShoots and Vinnie Hagar, sell out debut NFTs on Instagram. DrifterShoots Instagram NFTs are currently selling for 1.7 ETH ($2,050).

Putin calls for an international blockchain-based payment system “independent of external interference.” The Kremlin is also planning the framework for a national crypto exchange.

Amazon has acquired the rights to an 8 part mini series about the downfall of FTX. Production to begin as early as March 2023.

Fidelity officially opens retail crypto trading accounts. Customers can only buy Bitcoin and Ethereum but there will be no trading fees.

Blockfi officially files for bankruptcy. They are also suing Samuel to seize his $575 million stake in Robinhood that he used as collateral to purhcase BlockFi.

Mastercard has filed 15 web3 trademark applications. The applications are for NFT backed media, payment processing in the Metaverse, marketplaces for NFTs, and E-commerce transactions in the Metaverse.

MILKY MEMES

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

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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.