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GM! This is Milk Road, where we’re serving crypto news faster than Jerome Powell printing money (circa 2020). So sit back, relax, and enjoy the liquidity!

Here’s what we got for you today:

• ✍️ Crypto’s quadrillion dollar opportunity 

• ✍️ 3 bullish takeaways from Jerome Powell’s speech today...

• 🎙️ The Milk Road Show: Why This Crypto Cycle Won't Be the Same & Will There Be an Altcoin Season?

• 🍪 Babylon has officially launched its Bitcoin staking service

CRYPTO’S QUADRILLION DOLLAR OPPORTUNITY 💰

“We did a combined $9.8T of transaction volume in 2023”
– Ethereum Ecosystem, $TRON, $SOL, and $BNB

“Solid start guys. But we did, what, like – $23.8T last year?”
– Visa & Mastercard

“Aaaw, that’s cute. I did $1.08 QUADRILLION.”
– Fedwire (the network banks use for wire transfers)

No, we didn’t just make that word up – a quadrillion is 1000 trillions – and boy does it put the road ahead of us into perspective.

Here’s a visual aid to really drive the point home:

Why does this graphic only go up to $1T? Our guess is that duplicating that many digital objects would’ve melted the creator’s graphics card. 🫠

Now, while this chip-liquifying gap in yearly transaction volume may seem daunting – it’s actually a great thing! 

Cause the bigger the Total Addressable Market (TAM), the more room a new technology has to grow.

So what’s needed in order for crypto to take a piece of this quadrillion dollar pie?

There are a bunch of variables, but the two big foundational pieces are:

Time (enough for people to adopt it) + innovation (enough for it to compete).

The beautiful part of all of this particular story is, the vast majority of core innovation needed for crypto to compete with/eat into Fedwire’s quadrillion dollars of yearly volume, has already happened!

The median Fedwire transfer fee ranges from $15-$45 (depending on its destination), with transfer times of 1-2 business days.

(Plus: Depending on the size of your transfer, rocking out to your bank’s customer service wait-line music may be required to complete the transaction).

Meanwhile, on the cooler side of the pillow…

Crypto networks transact in seconds, cost fractions of a cent (regardless of transfer amount), and allow anyone to access a wide range of global currency equivalents permissionlessly.

(This is a combination of features that even Visa & Mastercard wouldn’t be able to compete with).

So, to recap – crypto has:

1. An easier user experience (even in its current clunky state)

2. A massive Total Addressable Market to eat into

3. A huge lead on cost and speed

Fedwire might want to watch its back over the next decade… 👀 

3 BULLISH TAKEAWAYS FROM JEROME POWELL’S SPEECH TODAY... 🫨

Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve, is the Taylor Swift of the financial world.

(Up-bup-bup, hear us out!).

Every time he speaks publicly, finance geeks around the world will comb through his words – line by line – looking for hidden meaning.

Hell, some folks take trades based on the color of his tie (not a joke, unfortunately). 👔

In case you have a life and missed it: Jerome spoke at the Jackson Hole symposium (aka: summer camp, for suits) just a few hours ago. 

Good news is – we listened to the whole thing, so you don’t have to!

Here are the three biggest statements from J. Powell’s speech:

• “The upside risks to inflation have diminished, and the downside risks to employment have increased.”

• “We do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions”

• “The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data…”

* Pastes into Google Translate *

Result:

“There’s less risk of inflation overheating the market, and increased risk of unemployment cooling the market a little more than we’d like. 

So we’re thinking it might be time to cut rates (how many and by what percentage? We’re not sure — we’ll take it as it comes).”

These are some of the most definitive statements we’ve gotten from Powell (re: rate cuts), since COVID – adding further weight to a seemingly inevitable September rate cut. ✂️

Here’s why this is great news for crypto:

As we covered last Friday, crypto prices aren’t really moving, even though active addresses and transaction volumes are at all-time highs across crypto. 

These factors make a great foundation for asset appreciation! The markets just need an injection of fresh cash to set things in motion…

Rate cuts are a great catalyst for this.

Lowered rates = lower loan/credit repayments = more money in everyone's pockets / incentive for folks to take out loans and spend on things including (but not limited to) crypto  💸

The takeaway: The potential for ‘number go up’ just increased.

(If that ain’t a great way to start your weekend – we don’t know what is!).

COULD $BTC DOMINANCE PUT ALTCOIN SZN ON PAUSE? ⏸️

Welcome to the Milk Man’s Contrarian Corner, where we cover thinking that counters & shifts our own!

Yesterday we got all riled up about the potential for an Altcoin Season.

…but what if it never comes – what if this cycle is different?

On The Milk Road Show this morning, Jay spoke to Mando (of MANDO Minutes fame) where they discussed the possibility of Bitcoin dominance remaining strong throughout the bull market, softening the potential for a tried-n-true Altcoin Season. 🤔

All of that, PLUS:

• $BTC’s performance relative to the stock market 🧭 

• Understanding current market uncertainty and how to position your portfolio 🤷‍♂️

• Why the DeFi sector is positioned to outperform for the rest of this cycle 🔮

It’s a banger – don’t miss it! 👇

YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts

BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

Kelp DAO is a liquid restaking protocol that gives users a way to participate in EigenLayer restaking while maintaining liquidity of their assets. Check out our full review!

Babylon has officially launched its Bitcoin staking service, allowing users to stake Bitcoin for rewards. The initiative signifies an effort to merge traditional cryptocurrency holdings with the growing DeFi ecosystem.

El Salvador continues its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation, adding 162 BTC to its holdings through daily purchases. President Nayib Bukele's strategy aims to solidify the country's economic future around Bitcoin, despite the volatility of the market. The country's Bitcoin reserves now total 5,851 $BTC, valued at approximately $356.4M​.

The Tron DAO Reserve has removed nearly $750M worth of Bitcoin backing from Justin Sun’s USDD stablecoin. Now, the algorithmic stablecoin is primarily backed by Tron’s native token TRX, raising concerns about its decentralization and transparency.

Sony Group, in collaboration with Startale Labs, is developing an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain called Soneium. This blockchain focuses on scalability and user-friendliness, aiming for mainstream adoption across industries like entertainment, gaming, and finance.

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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.