Today’s edition is brought to you by PayPal - the PayPal stablecoin PYUSD is live on Solana.

GM. This is Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that's more exciting than waiting for your dial-up internet to finally connect.

Here’s what we got for you today:

• Is Ethena making history? 📖 

• What to watch for this week 📅

• ZKsync’s token goes live 🍪

• The Milk Road Show: Is the GameStop saga over? 🎙️ 

IS ETHENA MAKING HISTORY? 📖 

The crypto world is buzzing with excitement as Ethena makes headline news day after day.

But, what exactly is Ethena? 

Ethena is a DeFi protocol that’s been causing waves with its stablecoin (USDe). 

Here's the quick and dirty of how UDSe works:

1. Deposit: A user puts in $100.

2. Conversion: The money is converted into underlying collateral assets like $ETH or $stETH.

3. Leverage: These assets are then leveraged to open a short position on derivatives exchanges.

4. Mint: The user gets 100 USDe, a stablecoin backed by both a long and a short position to maintain the value of the $100

Boom. Simple, right? Now let's see why it’s staying sticky to the headlines.

Last Monday, we talked about institutions utilizing the cash and carry strategy which led to record shorts.

Ethena applies this strategy to an open protocol and it has led to massive growth, because who doesn’t want to trade like a hedgie?

Speaking of the hedgies in ETFs, let’s see how USDe stacks up in flows:

With ~$800M in cumulative inflows, $USDe was hot on the heels of the big dogs, outpacing Fidelity and approaching Blackrock's BTC inflows.

Ethena’s growth is nothing short of a blockbuster, that’s a long way to come since its February launch this year.

It became the fastest USD stablecoin asset to hit $3 billion in crypto history.

AND… rocketed to the #3 spot for protocol revenue. 

That only leaves it behind Tron and Ethereum, 2 massive chains! Wowza.

Despite its insane growth, critics point to funding rates (how Ethena earns fees) as risks, but we believe this isn't the case as the reserve fund is growing at a steady pace of $3M per week and sitting at $44.5M.

🥛The Milk Road Take: Ethena is bringing institutional-grade strategies to the everyday investor, leveling the playing field like never before through stablecoins.

So, what happens when USDe and other stables go further mainstream in traditional finance (TradFi)? The possibilities are endless.

According to our PRO team, the integration of these stablecoins into TradFi could revolutionize how investors view and use digital assets, making them a staple in diversified portfolios. 

Check out our latest report from Milk Road PRO to see how you can capitalize on the growing stablecoin market.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK 📅

Welcome to another exciting week in the crypto world! Here are the key events and trends that could shape the market dynamics this week:

1/ Macro events  📊

A series of important economic reports and events are on the agenda:

• May Retail Sales data - Tuesday: Provides insights into consumer spending trends, reflecting economic health.

• Stock Market Closed, Juneteenth - Wednesday: A day off for the stock market as the US observes Juneteenth.

• June Philly Fed Manufacturing Index - Thursday: Gauges manufacturing sector strength, signaling economic momentum.

• S&P US Manufacturing/Services PMI data - Friday: Offers a comprehensive view of the health of the US manufacturing and services sectors.

• May Existing Homes Sales data - Friday: Reflects the state of the housing market, influencing economic health assessments.

Why It Matters: These reports and events can be the kryptonite of the financial world—they give us a peek into everything from how much we're all splurging at Target to whether your neighbor is finally selling their house. 

They help us decode the Fed's next moves and brace ourselves for any market roller coasters. 

Hold on to your milk cartons, folks, it's going to be interesting! 

2/ Earnings Season 💣

As we near the close of Q2, let’s see what earnings reports from major companies can shake things up this week.

Some highlights:

• Today: Lennar

• Thursday: Kroger, Darden Restaurants, Smith & Wesson 

• Friday: Carmax

These earnings reports provide insights into corporate performance in certain sectors. 

This week, get ready for a mixed bag of earnings results that will show us if people have been stocking up on software, groceries, guns, or selling their cars. 

3/ Token unlocks 🔓

We'll see a whopping $119.48M worth of tokens unlock this week.

Some highlights include:

• ID: $39.34M (18.2% of circulating supply) unlocks on Tuesday.

• PIXEL: $18.02M (7.0% of circulating supply) unlocks on Thursday.

• MANTA: $8.00M (2.1% of circulating supply) unlocks on Friday.

Will we see a sell-off or a surge? Stay tuned. 👀

4/ Crypto watchlist for the week ahead 🔍

Key updates and launches to watch out for their ripple effect throughout crypto.

Details:

• $ZRO - LayerZero: Big announcement regarding its upcoming token on June 20.

• $ZK - ZKSync token: Goes live today, with 17.5% of its supply reserved for an airdrop.

• $SNX - Synthetix V3: Goes live on Arbitrum next week.

• $RPL - Rocket Pool's Houston upgrade: Introduces on-chain voting, going live on June 17.

• $ENA - Ethena: Announces tokenomics and staking update on June 17.

• $ARB - Arbitrum: $85M worth of ARB (3.2% of its circ. supply) unlocked yesterday.

These updates and launches are the secret sauce that can spice up the crypto market.

Whether you're holding bags or looking for the next moonshot, staying in the loop helps you ride the waves and dodge the dips. 

Keep your eyes peeled and your wallets ready, because this week might just shake things up!

BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

ZKsync token goes live with a $925 million market cap following airdrop. Talk about making an entrance! Trading volume hit nearly $99 million in hours. Keep your cookies and tokens safe, folks.

President Bukele proposes a Bitcoin bank for El Salvador. Just two weeks after starting his second term, Bukele has suggested a Bitcoin bank to offer investors broader financial services. The man loves Bitcoin more than I love Vitalik. Wowza! – DL News *

Crypto community criticizes Waka Flocka Flame's new celebcoin. Waka Flocka Flame's Solana-based memecoin didn't quite light up the charts. Critics called out its issues faster than I can eat a cookie. R.I.P. FLOCKA!

Gary Gensler could ‘literally cost Joe Biden the election’ — Mark Cuban. The billionaire thinks the SEC Chair might tank Biden's re-election hopes with his anti-crypto stance. If Biden loses, thank Gensler!

Doodles will migrate avatar creation 'Stoodio' to Ethereum Layer-2 Base. The transition, set to take place in mid-July, aims to leverage Base's cheaper and faster transactions compared to the Ethereum mainnet. Cheaper, faster, and hopefully just as sweet.

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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.