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GM. This is Milk Road, serving crypto realness with zero calories and double the flavor.

Here’s what we got for you today:

• ✍️ Global crypto ownership

• ✍️ Liquidation events: The crypto cleaner 

• ✍️ COTD: Weekly crypto fund flows

• 🎙️ The Milk Road Show: Top 5 Blockchains in 2024 by the Numbers w/ Kyle Reidhead

• 🍪 Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum's future

GLOBAL CRYPTO OWNERSHIP 🌎

Crypto’s like a global fiesta, with every continent bringing its own spicy twist to the blockchain bash.

From South America’s booming markets to North America’s tech-savvy hubs, everyone’s hopping on the crypto express. 🚂

Today, we’re taking a world tour of digital assets to see how crypto is reshaping economies and personal finances, sparking a global movement that’s changing how we think about money.

Let's begin…

The big picture 🖼️

First off, who’s leading the pack in crypto ownership? Drumroll, please... it’s Asia with 326M crypto owners! 

They’re crushing it, with 4.5x more owners than North America (2nd place).

And don’t sleep on South America – they’re the fastest growing continent, exploding by 116% from 2023 to 2024. 🚀

Crypto kings by continent 👑

As other continents hustle to catch up to Asia, let’s check out the top crypto coins by search volume. 

Feast your eyes on this chart from CoinMarketCap, the crypto world’s most visited hangout spot.

• Bitcoin: The OG is the big winner, showing up on every continent. 🏆

• Notcoin: Surprise, surprise! The Telegram-based game is #1 in Africa and a solid #2 in both Asia and Europe. 😯

• Hamsterwifhat and Pickle Rick: Who would have thought these two Solana meme coins would make it this big? 🤣

Diving deeper: Top crypto countries 🕵️

Zooming in, let’s uncover the juiciest tidbits from the top 30 countries with the highest crypto ownership rates (aka the percentage of the population that owns crypto):

• Top Three: UAE, Singapore, and Turkey are leading the charge. ​​⭐

• Asia Domination: 7 out of the top 10 countries are reppin’ Asia – no surprise there. 🐉

• North America: The US is holding strong at #8, while Canada is chilling at #19. 🗽

The inflation connection 🌐

These facts might seem scattered, but there’s a method to the madness. 

Countries with sky-high inflation rates are diving into crypto like it's their last lifeboat. 🤯

• Turkey: Rocking a 60% inflation rate, Turkey boasts a 19.3% crypto ownership rate, snagging the #3 spot.

• Argentina: With a jaw-dropping 250% inflation rate, Argentina heats up at #4 with 18.9% adoption.

• Venezuela: Battling 100% inflation, Venezuela lands at #17 with a 10.3% adoption rate.

The data doesn’t lie: Three of the top four countries with sky-high inflation are also top dogs in crypto adoption. 

Chainalysis reports that ~4% of Turkey’s GDP is going into stablecoins to dodge their local currency’s wild rollercoaster ride.

With their native currencies sinking, these folks are turning to crypto as their last hope. 🛟

🥛 Milk Road Take: Crypto adoption is skyrocketing globally, whether it's for investment purposes or as a hedge against inflation. 

Wealthier nations are choosing Bitcoin for investments, while stablecoins are the go-to for holding and transferring money in less affluent countries.

This is so notable, we are even seeing this dual narrative play out in real time…

With the top four countries for crypto ownership split between the UAE and Singapore on one side, and Argentina and Turkey on the other. ☯️

The future? We believe stablecoins will continue to be the gateway for crypto adoption, especially with free transactions on the horizon. 

Coinbase is already implementing this and Justin Sun, the founder of Tron Network, is planning to do the same… 

Expect this to turbo-boost adoption in developing countries and ultimately benefit the entire crypto space.

LIQUIDATION EVENTS: THE CRYPTO CLEANSER 🧼

Liquidation events in the crypto world are kinda like a case of food poisoning – painful, but sometimes, might be exactly what you need to get rid of the bad stuff and feel better afterward.

Well that post pullback pain had the Milk Man wondering…

Where does the price typically go after these Bitcoin stress tests – does it bounce back, or does it crash and burn? 🤔

SO here’s a comparison of $BTC after 10 big liquidation events in the past 4 years:

So what are the post liquidation takeaways?

• Bull Markets = Resilience: $BTC not only survives but thrives post-liquidation in bull markets, proving its ability to rebound strongly.

• Bear Markets = Sluggish: Liquidations in bear markets generally lead to more prolonged recovery periods.

• Early Bull Market Bonanza: Liquidations during the early stages of a bull market could be prime buying opportunities, akin to catching a wave right before it breaks.

• Patience Pays Off: Historical data suggests that playing the long game and buying after significant liquidations, especially in bull markets, can be a solid strategy.

🥛 Milk Road Take: The crypto market is like the wild west – volatile and unpredictable. 

But IF history is any guide, buying into $BTC after major liquidation events, especially in bull markets, could be a golden opportunity.

Remember, the market loves to transfer wealth from the impatient to the patient.

So, stay calm, enjoy the feeling of a market detox and HODL on.

P.S. The Milk Man’s TradFi buddies like the saying “past performance is not indicative of future results”. So, even though this chart is super bullish, it’s crypto, and anything can happen

CHART OF THE DAY: WEEKLY CRYPTO FUND FLOWS 📊

Hold onto your crypto bags, folks! Last week’s inflows of $441M were HUGE. 🤗

It’s like finding a treasure chest buried in your backyard, just as you were about to give up on metal detecting…

That’s the first positive week of inflows in a while! 👏 

Let’s get into the numbers:

Here’s the scoop:

Bitcoin ($BTC) is back in style with $398M in inflows. AND here’s a twist: Bitcoin's share of total inflows dropped to 90% as investors spread some love to altcoins.

Ethereum ($ETH) also made a comeback with $10M in inflows, although it’s still the only ETP in the red YTD.

Solana ($SOL) was juiced with $16M in inflows, bringing its YTD total to $57M.

Regional dominance: The U.S. led with $384M in inflows. It’s like America saw a Fourth of July ETF sale on Bitcoin and went all in. 

Across the globe: Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Canada joined with $32M, $24M, and $12M inflows respectively. Germany, however, saw $23M in outflows. Someone send them a care package, stat!

There you have it! The recent price dip looks like it was just the appetizer for a feast of buying opportunities.

Bitcoin's inflows are strong, and the love for altcoins is growing. Buckle up!

BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

Starknet token staking proposed to hit mainnet. Pending community approval, Starknet's staking feature will include a 21-day time-lock period for fund withdrawals. Targeted to launch by the end of 2024, you might finally get to stake those tokens.

Elliptic exposes Huione Guarantee. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has exposed a $11B crypto scam centered around Huione Guarantee. From fake crypto sites to money laundering, these guys were busier than Santa on Christmas Eve.

Mobile game ‘For The Win’ will launch on Solana. Jungle's new first-person shooter is gearing up for action. With 100,000 alpha downloads in South America, this game promises to reward your epic skills.

Vitalik Buterin on Ethereum's future: Strengths, weaknesses, and improvements. He gave a keynote at EthCC, praising Ethereum's global community but admitted solo staking is tough. He suggests simplifying the protocol and boosting security to keep the blockchain robust.

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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.