Gm. This is the Milk Road, the sugar pie to your honey bunch.

You know that [we] love youuuuuu.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Binance & the Crypto Avengers

• A feline felony

• Hermès wins lawsuit vs. MetaBirkins NFTs

• Alcohol and jewelry are coming to a metaverse near you

OKAY CRYPTO NOW LET'S GET IN FORMATION

Trust in crypto is currently lower than a shawty in apple bottom jeans.

Binance wants to flip the script and rebuild the public’s faith in crypto by assembling a consortium of crypto exchanges, blockchain companies, and other players, Coindesk reported.

And the driving factor behind the formation, you ask? Why, SBF’s abuse of power and the contagion that FTX’s implosion caused, of course. It’s like microwaving fish in the break room, the stink just *won’t* go away.

Here are the group’s goals:

• Proactively working with regulators around the globe

• Proving the industry knows how to combat crime

• Calling out shortcomings and bad behavior in the industry

And it won’t be helmed by Binance or CZ; instead it’ll “run in as decentralized a manner as you possibly can”.

We don’t know who else will be apart of the #Squad, but apparently others have already given their John Hancock’s.

Coinbase? Kraken? That you? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY METAMASK LEARN

MetaMask Learn is an educational and entertaining platform designed to immerse you in the world of web3— what it is, why it matters, and how to get started. You will learn core concepts in fresh and engaging lessons from the world’s leading self-custodial wallet. 

MetaMask Learn is for you if: 

• You’ve been interested in web3 but just don’t know where to start 

• You’ve bought some crypto on an exchange but don’t know what to do with it 

• You still don’t understand web3 principles because they’ve been too jargon-heavy

• You want to know what the fuss about web3 really is 

• You just want to keep up with your friends who babble about this new digital era and its possibilities

The list could go on. But at its core, Learn is designed for anyone who wants to take the leap to explore uncharted waters.

At a self-moderated pace, you can jump into any and all lessons that interest you, interact with features in the simulation, and experience those satisfying “ah-ha” moments when you finally grasp important concepts.

As you may have heard, crypto wasn’t created to make you rich, it was created to set you free. And we like to think freedom is fun.

A FELINE FELONY

Everyone knows the rules: if the Prince of Nigeria hits you up, you better “run Forest run” your ass the other way. Well, now there’s a new scam you need to watch out for, and it includes… kittens

A Hong Kong fashion executive who thought she was adopting a kitten from Thailand lost $764,000 in an international crypto scam. Meowch!

The 58-year-old victim got in touch with the scammers on WhatsApp and was told that adopting the kitten would be free. All she had to do was pay for shipping and insurance...in Bitcoin.

When the fishy feline never showed up, the woman was told it had died in transit, but she could claim on the insurance. All she had to do was pay more money as an “administration fee”. 

Yeah, you know how this goes. 

In total the woman sent 40 payments worth nearly 3/4 of a mil to the unidentified scammer. No arrests have been made. And as far as we know, no kittens were harmed in the process.

CryptoKitties are far cheaper, friends.

HERMES WINS; METABIRKINS NFT ARTIST LOSES

The verdict is IN: Die Hard is, indeed, a Christmas movie. 

Jk, the jury reached a decision in Hermès’ lawsuit against NFT artist Mason Rothschild.

And the winner is Hermès. The jury ordered Rothschild to cough up $133,000 in damages to the ritzy fashion house. 

Quick recap: Hermès sued Rothschild a year ago alleging that his NFTs, which were based off of the company’s famous Birkin bags, 1) confused customers who thought the digital art was associated with the designer and 2) that they diluted the Hermès brand.

The whole enchilada was expected to set a precedent about how intellectual property laws apply to the virtual world and how much creators can base their work off other brands’ products. And now it has.

**Bangs gavel**

TRADEMARK THURSDAY

BHB is heating up. Nah, that isn’t the newest AI crypto token everyone is talking about… it’s those Billable Hours Baby. 

And it was another big week for the whales of BHB: trademark lawyers. They teamed up with some of the biggest names to help them secure new web3 trademarks. 

Here are some of the coolest ones:

• Sam's Club filed trademarks that cover NFTs, blockchain software, cryptocurrencies, and brokerage & financial services

• Nationwide filed trademarks that cover metaverse insurance and metaverse investment services. Nationwide is on your side, even in the metaverse.

• Kay, Jared, and Zales all filed trademarks that cover NFTs, virtual jewelry, and virtual stores to try on the virtual jewelry. Every [virtual] kiss begins with K.

• Marshawn Lynch filed trademarks that cover NFTs and other digital collectibles. Beast Mode 🤝NFTs

• Jameson filed trademarks for virtual alcoholic drinks, an NFT trading platform, and virtual bars + restaurants.

What a time to be alive a lawyer.

MILKY MEMES

🤣🤣

HAVE YOU HEARD OF COMPOSER? 

How did Citadel return 31.8% last year when the S&P collapsed 20%?

Here’s a hint, it has nothing to do with financial wizards they keep in an old castle. It’s all about quant-driven investing.

Now, Composer is putting the power of quant in the hands of regular investors with their game-changing super-app. Pick an investment strategy, backtest it with their no-code tools, and explore what it can do for your portfolio.

Discover why over $1 trillion is managed by quant funds with Composer today.

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.