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GM. This is Milk Road, where the only thing to fear is missing out on today's edition.

Here’s what we’re serving up:

• Say hello to tokenized gold 👀

• How to take on crypto responsibly 🔒

• AC Milan is tokenizing its field ⚽️

• A billionaire answers why he’s still bullish on NFTs 🤔

• Crypto founders get arrested 🍪

SAY HELLO TO TOKENIZED GOLD 👀

HSBC is one of the largest banks in the world. In fact, it has more total assets (~$3T) than any other European bank. #bigballer

Well, HSBC just made a big move… it’s tokenizing gold.

• HSBC is tokenizing some of the physical gold held in its London vault

• The physical gold will stay in the vault, but HSBC will create a digital twin using distributed ledger technology (DLT)

• Institutional clients will be able to trade the assets on the HSBC Evolve platform - a new trading platform for FX and precious metals

• 1 token = 0.001 Troy ounces (No idea wtf that is, but Troy was a damn good movie. So I’m on board with it…)

Why this matters: Tokenized gold has quietly grown into a ~$1.1B market. 

While HSBC isn’t the first bank to jump into the space… it’s the biggest. 

And as more well-known names enter the space, more people will get comfortable experimenting with tokenized gold and other real-world assets (RWA’s). 

It’s still early, but it’s a trend everyone should keep their eyes on. 

P.S. - yesterday we asked you which topic we should dive into next, and the majority of you voted…RWA’s. (perfect timing)

Ask and you shall receive. 

We’ll be diving deeper into RWA’s in a special edition next week, so keep an eye out on those inboxes!

TAKE ON CRYPTO RESPONSIBLY

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• Bakkt® Onramps: A range of solutions making access to crypto easy, from fiat onramps to crypto rewards  

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AC MILAN IS TOKENIZING ITS FIELD ⚽️

Everyone and their momma is launching a crypto project…

The problem? Not everyone is doing something interesting. 

Well, yesterday I found something that was. And it just so happens to include 2 of my favorite things:

1/ NFTs 

2/ Fútbol (we don’t call it “soccer” under this roof)

Check it out…AC Milan is tokenizing their field. 

• The Italian club partnered with NFT companies to create a digital replica of the field

• The digital field has been split into 1 yd x 1 yd blocks

• Fans can buy the blocks and “own” a piece of the digital field

• If something happens on that block during the real game (i.e a goal, an assist, a yellow card, etc) the owner of the block gets points

• More points = more rewards (i.e. signed shirts, VIP experiences, free tickets, etc.)

Here’s a quick visual:

Milk Road Take: This is pretty cool. 

It isn’t the first time we’ve seen this either…the Australian Open is doing something similar by tying NFTs to plots of land on their tennis courts. 

It’s been pretty successful so far:

• The NFT collection has done $3.5M+ in sales volume

• Some fans have been able to sell their NFTs for over a 4,000% return

It’s been a win-win for everyone.

We’ll see if AC Milan and its fans see the same success.

A BILLIONAIRE ANSWERS WHY HE’S STILL BULLISH ON NFTS 🤔

Mark Cuban is:

• A billionaire

• The owner of the Dallas Mavericks

• A successful investor (he’s also on ‘Shark Tank’, the business TV show)

In other words, the guy is a f*cking boss.

Well, check it out, Mark was recently interviewed on WIRED. They do those interviews where they ask a famous person super random questions.

One second, it’s a question about their favorite meal….

The next second, it’s a question about whether they’d want to battle…

a) 1 gorilla-sized duck or

b) 10 duck-sized gorillas

(I’m picking A. Hit “reply” to this email and let us know what you’d pick!)

Anyways, back to Mark Cuban’s interview. He was asked about NFTs. 

The question: “Everyone is losing money in NFTs, why are you still here?”

His response is pretty epic. It’s short, sweet, and only lasts about 80 seconds.

Check out the video below. 

BITE-SIZED COOKIES 🍪

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The SEC charged crypto firm SafeMoon, its founder, and executives for an alleged $200 million fraud. According to the SEC complaint, SafeMoon and its leaders falsely promised investors they would safely lock liquidity pool funds, but instead stole millions to fund lavish lifestyles.

PayPal successfully registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a crypto service provider. The status permits PayPal to engage in “certain cryptoasset activities” under the FCA’s anti-money laundering rules.

FTX’s bankruptcy estate has transferred close to $127.5 million of digital assets over the past few days. The assets include ETH, SOL, and a few other altcoins.

Adidas is teaming up with Bugatti to auction a limited number of “phygital” soccer shoes. There will be 99 physical shoes with Bugatti-themed designs, and each one will have a digital twin. 

Coinbase’s crypto futures trading is now eligible to retail U.S. customers. U.S. degens 🤝 futures trading.

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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.