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- š„ Bye FTX, Hello GTX
š„ Bye FTX, Hello GTX
PLUS: Lowes is using blockchain tech to fight theft
GM. This is the Milk Road, the daily newsletter that makes you a fresh sandwich filled with the best from crypto each day.
And we even cut the crust off for you, just the way you like.
Hereās what weāre serving today:
Thereās a new crypto exchange in town
How Lowes is using the blockchain to fight retail theft
Polygon is getting hard forked
McDonalds is celebrating the Lunar New Year in the metaverse
NEW CRYPTO EXCHANGE COMING SOON
For the last 10 weeks eternity, FTX has consumed all the headlines. Itās been FTX thisā¦. FTX thatā¦.
But yesterday, we finally got a breath of fresh air. And thatās because a new exchange was the talk of the [crypto] town. Itās calledā¦.*drumroll*....
GTX
GTX is a new exchange that lets customers from bankrupt crypto firms (i.e Voyager, Celsius, FTX, Mt. Gox, etc.) trade their bankruptcy claims.
It looks something like this:
You put your money on FTX ā> They lose all of it and give you a bankruptcy claim (aka an IOU) ā> GTX comes along and lets you monetize that IOU by selling it to others that expect the claim could be worth more in the future (when the bankruptcy is done).
Basically, it gives people the option to monetize their bankruptcy claim before their hair turns grey.
So, why did Crypto Twitter go wild? Because the GTX founders have led previous crypto companies to bankruptcy.
No, seriously. You might even recognize āemā¦
Thatās right. The founders of 3AC are teaming up with the founders of CoinFlex. And although the slide looks good, we all know thereās some key info missing. So, the Milk Man fixed it up for usā¦
So, the same founders that led a billion dollar crypto company to bankruptcy are now looking to raise $25m to build a new exchange that tradesā¦ *wait for it*... crypto bankruptcy claims.
Looks like Su Zhu & Kyle Davies have been watching too much Fast & Furious lately.
Crypto Twitter had some things to say about the new crypto exchange too. Hereās the best:
it's 2023, yup you can now post your stolen FTX assets as collateral, here at GTX
it's 2025, yup you can now post your stolen GTX assets as collateral, here at HTX
it's 2027, yup you can now post your stolen HTX assets as collateral, here at ITX
it's 2029, yup you can now post
ā notsofast (@notsofast)
2:40 PM ā¢ Jan 16, 2023
men will literally scam an industry, take a Twitter detox, and then attempt to raise a $25m round instead of going to therapy
ā Aubrey Strobel (@aubreystrobel)
3:23 PM ā¢ Jan 16, 2023
GTX - arsonists returning to the scene of the crime, hawking buckets of water to their victims
ā nic carter (@nic__carter)
4:17 PM ā¢ Jan 16, 2023
Never a dull moment in cryptolandā¦
TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY ROOFSTOCK
Most people buy crypto to invest. They want to see their money go from $1,000 to $5,000.
They want to go from crashing at their parentās place to buying the house at the end of the cul-de-sac.
The truth is crypto wasnāt made to get people rich. Crypto was made as an alternative to our current financial system. However, it still hasnāt touched one of the largest parts of the financial systemā¦ real estate.
Right now buying a home has more hoops to jump through than the Westminster Dog Show.
But a company that has done $5b in transactions since 2015 is changing how we buy homes.
The company is called Roofstock On-Chain and they are making it easy to buy Real Estate on the blockchain.
Roofstock says on-chain real estate makes sense if you:
Have money in crypto and are looking for a safe place to invest it
Want to get an on-chain mortgage using your tokenized home as collateral
Want everything in one central place without 100 message-long email chains of documents
Learn how you can buy or sell your next home on the blockchain with Roofstock.
HOW LOWES IS USING THE BLOCKCHAIN TO COMBAT RETAIL THEFT
The blockchain has a lot of use cases. Weāve covered:
Cancer research
Selling homes
Pooping (wait, nopeā¦ still canāt poop on the blockchain)
And today, we have a new use case for youā¦ Lowes is using the blockchain to fight retail theft. Thatās right, the Disneyland for 45-year-old men is the latest retail store to experiment with the blockchain.
Lowes is implementing a proof-of-concept called Project Unlock. It uses a combination of RFID chips, IoT sensors, and blockchain technology. [WARNING: Legend has it if you say all 3 in front of mirror, a Venture Capitalist from Silicon Valley will appear]
Hereās how Project Unlock works:
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips are inserted into power tools
Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are used to activate those RFID chips at the point of purchase. Activating the RFID chip is like turning the āonā button. (i.e if a power tool is stolen, it wonāt turn on)
All transactions are recorded on the Ethereum network. This provides a transparent, tamper-proof record of every purchase and helps retailers account for all stolen items
Every physical product has a corresponding NFT. The NFT will receive a status change once its purchased, which helps identify if items were sold by Lowes or stolen
Why do we care? Because retail theft is huge (losses from stolen goods increased to $94.5 billion in 2021).
Lowes is trying to bring that number down using a combo of RFID chips that wonāt power up a tool if itās stolen and blockchain tech for a transparent, tamper-proof record of all transactions.
The blockchain can now add fighting crime to its resume.
MILK AND COOKIES
Upgrade Alert: Polygon is going through a hard fork today. The goal of the network upgrade is to reduce gas fee spikes, add more security and improve overall network performance.
Revenge! 800 victims will receive over $17m for their losses in the Bitconnect ponzi scheme. In 2016, the founders of Bitconnect fraudulently marketed BitConnectās initial coin offering and digital currency exchange as a lucrative investment. Last Thursday, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled in favor of the victims.
Ronald McDonald x Metaverse: McDonaldās is partnering with artist, Karen X Cheng, to create a Metaverse experience for the Chinese New Year.
A first for Congress: US Congress creates first congressional subcommittee for digital assets. The goal is to create a regulatory legal framework for digital assets, make America a leader in innovation, and protect consumers and investors. Better late than never.
Watch out! New crypto attack: MetaMask warned of a new scam called, āAddress Poisoning.ā A scammer creates a wallet address similar to your friendās address and sends you crypto from the new wallet, so the next time you send crypto to your friend you may accidentally send it to the scammerās wallet address. Triple-check those addresses!
Tea of the day: Former FTX U.S President, Brett Harrison, shares details from his experience at FTX. He says he left FTX, because of disputes over management practices with Samuel. Oh, and heās raising $25m for a new company.
MILKY MEME
š¤£š¤£
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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A ROADERS REVIEW
VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY
When your friend is telling you why they put all their money in FTX
ā Milk Road (@MilkRoadDaily)
1:24 PM ā¢ Jan 17, 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.
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