GM. This is Milk Road. It's a new year, so we've got some new changes...*drumroll*...

Just kidding. New Year. Same Milk Road.

We're still bringing the best from crypto. All in less than 5 minutes.

Here's what we got for you today:

• Blockchain Use Case: Beamer, Benz, or Bentley

• OG Bitcoiner gets hacked for $3m+

• Chart of the Day: NFT Royalties in 2022

• Milky Meme

BMW WILL USE THE BLOCKCHAIN FOR DAILY OPERATIONS AND NEW LOYALTY PROGRAM

“What’s the use case?”

These are the 4 deadliest words in crypto. It'll have any investor sweating & hyperventilating like they just finished up one of those old P90X DVDs.

Well today, you’re in luck. Cause we’re gonna be talking about a cool new use case for the blockchain…

BMW is partnering up with BNB blockchain and Coinweb (a cross-chain computation platform).

The goal? To make daily operations more efficient by eliminating complex paperwork and developing a new loyalty program - all using blockchain tech.

It’s gonna be split into 2 phases:

PHASE 1: BMW will integrate blockchain tech to help automate time-consuming manual processes and streamline their financing services. Say goodbye to all that paperwork.

PHASE 2: Coinweb will help BMW create a new customer loyalty program using blockchain-based rewards to incentivize customers to buy more stuff from BMW (products or services).

The BNB blockchain will be used to settle all transactions on-chain.

And it isn’t an auto manufacturer’s first rodeo on the blockchain either.

• Alfa Romero uses blockchain-based tokens to keep track of a car’s whole life cycle. Their new car, the Tonale SUV, is linked to an NFT that keeps records & data on the car

• Mercedes-Benz uses the blockchain to trace carbon emissions in the cobalt supply chain

• Bentley uses the Polygon chain to drop their first NFTs - each coming with exclusive perks & benefits

So the next time someone asks you what the blockchain is used for, just remember this banger…

"Beamer, Benz, or Bentley

Beamer, Benz, or Bentley

Beamer, Benz, or Bentley"

OG BITCOINER GETS HACKED FOR $3M+

1 day.

That’s how long it took for the first crypto hack of the year to happen. New Year. Same Sh*t.

Well, time to reset the counter...

How much was stolen? 216 BTC (worth ~$3.6m).

Who was the victim? Luke Dashjr - an early Bitcoin developer.

Luke's hack has been making the rounds for a few reasons...

• Luke doesn't use any centralized exchanges. He has self-custody of his assets

• Luke uses something called a PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) key. This is an additional layer of security when storing the keys to your crypto wallets

In a nutshell - Luke isn't your average crypto trader, he takes security seriously. So, if Luke isn't safe, no one is.

How did Luke get hacked? No one knows exactly how it happened. Some are pointing to a malware attack he fell victim to back in November.

Others think Luke is just using this to cut down his tax bill. It sure is a convenient way to say, “look the hacker ate my tax returns, can’t pay my taxes now.”

Who knows.

So, what should you do? Go get yourself some antivirus software, avoid downloading random files on websites you don’t know, OR….

Just unplug your computer. Throw it into a lake. Never leave your house again.

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY INSIDETRACKER

Imagine you need to put gas in your car.

You pull up to go to the gas station and ask the attendant to put $30 on 5. You walk to the pump and pick the gas for your car…

Diesel? Premium? Regular? You have no idea.

We do the same thing with our bodies every day. We have no idea what exercises and food work well for our specific genetics.

InsideTracker is here to make sure we understand our specific bodies and treat it the right way. Here’s how it works.

You run a blood test. The test reveals your true biological age and gives you recommendations on food, supplements, workouts, and other lifestyle choices.

A U.S. army veteran claims InsideTracker helped him rehabilitate from a roadside bomb in Iraq

Go to InsideTracker today and find out what’s going on inside your body so you can get healthy today

CHART OF THE DAY: NFT ROYALTIES IN 2022

There are 3 major debates going around right now…

1/ Is a hot dog a sandwich?

2/ Who closes the door after the bus driver gets out?

3/ Should NFT collections get royalties on sales?

But this is a crypto newsletter, so for now we’ll just focus on that last one.

You see... over the last few months, we’ve seen a lot of NFT marketplaces move to “no royalty fees” or “opt-in royalty fee” policies.

And it started the Great Debate in NFTland - should there be royalty fees on NFTs?

Royalty fees = more money for creators.

No royalty fees = more money for traders.

Just how much money are we talking about? Well, let's take a look at how much the Top 20 collections made off royalties in 2022…

In total, these NFT collections made $340m last year just off of royalty fees.

• Yuga Labs made ~$110m from all of their collections

• Big brands like Nike & Adidas have turned to NFT royalties as an additional source of revenue (Note: Nike owns CloneX & RTFKT collections)

It'll be interesting to see how the royalty fee debate plays out in 2023.

The Milk Man's Prediction: As more marketplaces move to no royalties, these numbers will significantly die down.

We’re using data powered by Definitive to track it all.

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 research.