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GM. This is Milk Road – the ‘hydraulic press’ of crypto newsletters.

(We pack everything you need to know about crypto, into an easy-breezy daily read.)

Here’s what we got for you today:

• ✍️ How to spot memecoin rug pulls (before they happen)

• ✍️ What to look out for this week

• 🎙️ The Milk Road Show: Institutional Crypto Trading Trends: What Are the Whales Buying?

• 🍪 A masterclass in crisis PR

HOW TO SPOT MEMECOIN RUG PULLS (BEFORE THEY HAPPEN) 👀

It almost (almost!) happened.

We got so close to getting our wish of a weekend free of memecoin skulduggery (yeah, you heard us — skulduggery — we’re bringing it back!).

And while this isn’t a ‘presidential-level’ grift – it’s still pretty damn obvious…

That is: the upcoming ‘$YZY’ token launch from Kanye West. 

Kanye is (apparently) trying to use the token to sidestep payment platforms that have cut ties with him since he became a self-proclaimed n*zi (👈 don’t want to get sent to spam).

…say it with us now: “Consequences very rarely show up lubed.”

We’re going to give you a brief overview of the tokenomics and rumors surrounding this launch – but for the most part, we want to paint a picture of how these things work, so you can spot and avoid them altogether.

Sound good? Great! Let’s get into it…

1/ Tokenomics and rumors

Like $TRUMP before it, $YZY’s tokenomics are god awful.

And people are already questioning whether or not Kanye sold his X account to alleged memecoin pump n’ dumpers.

TL;DR of that thread is:

• Fashion designer, turned ‘crypto guy’, @barkmeta seems to be linked to the $YZY launch

• He has been accused of multiple rug pulls in the past

• The rumor is barkmeta bought Kanye’s X account for $17M (but nothing has been confirmed yet)

2/ How these things tend to work

Step 1 (the launch): A famous figure launches a token with the majority of the supply locked up in their name.

Step 2 (the pump): They release a small amount of tokens, and snipe the launch (aka: buy up the initial circulating tokens for cheap, the moment the whole thing launches), pushing prices up.

Step 3 (the dump): As initial retail volume comes in, they get to selling – moving money from the public holders’ wallets, to their own – dumping the price in the process. 

Step 4 (the rally): After the first three steps are complete, they then try to instigate a ‘community take over’ – the goal being to bring hype back to the token in an attempt to save all the people that got burned, helping the price to stabilize/recover. 

Step 5 (the second dump): They wait for the unlock. If the token’s price can remain stable (or even increase) after the initial dump, the orchestrators have an opportunity to rug holders a second time once the supply unlocks hit.

So how do you identify these kinds of launches? 

Famous figure + insane token lock ups + small public distribution = giant red flag.

How do you avoid them altogether?

Stack majors n’ chill. 👇

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS WEEK 📅

The US economy is about to have its most important single earnings call of the quarter, there’s a major unlock you need to know about, and the regulatory landscape just got more chill.

Here’s everything you need to know about this week:

1/ Macro 📊

• CB Consumer Confidence data - Tuesday - a vibe check with consumers

• January New Home Sales data - Wednesday - an increase in new home sales indicates people have money and are willing to spend it

• US Q4 2024 GDP Data - Thursday - how much did the US economy grow/contract in the last quarter of 2024

• January PCE Inflation data - Friday - Personal Consumption Expenditures Inflation measures how much prices are going up for things people buy, like food, clothes, and services.

Right now, everyone is watching this data in hopes that it gives the Federal Reserve an excuse to lower interest rates and potentially print money (lowered inflation + weakened economy = the perfect excuse to do both).

But remember what Kyle went over in last week’s Flash Update: The US isn’t the only player in the game with the ability to pump global liquidity (aka: add fresh cash to the global economy).

Other major nations can (and will likely be forced to) pump new liquidity into the system (*cough* China *cough*) in the coming months. 

So don’t freak out if this data doesn’t spell out “The US is about to start cutting/printing”.

2/ Earnings Season 💣

The US economy is about to have its most important single earnings call of the quarter!

$NVIDIA is reporting on Wednesday, after the market closes.

What does this have to do with crypto? 

Crypto is heavily tied to the tech sector, and Nvidia is like one big barometer for the tech industry.

If tech companies are buying $NVIDIA’s chips at increased levels → the sector is growing.

3/ Token unlocks 🔓

Things to remember here: token price impact often starts ~30 days before the unlock event, and team unlocks tend to have the most effect on price.

This is one of the smaller weeks for unlocks we’ve seen in a while – but (and we’re not sure why) the unlock that everyone should be watching this week has not been included in this chart.

This Saturday, March 1st, ~$1.5 billion worth of $SOL will be unlocked.

The unlock will go to teams, seed investors, the Solana Foundation, and firms that bought $SOL at heavily discounted prices through the FTX bankruptcy. 

This is likely why Solana’s price has been taking a beating over the past 30 days or so, as investors have front run the potential selling event.

(Hopefully this will mean the unlock itself will be a bit of a nothingburger.)

4/ Regulatory easing 🧑‍⚖️

In the past week, the SEC has dropped its cases against Coinbase, Robinhood, and OpenSea.

The next big case everyone has now turned their attention to is Ripple ($XRP).

Keep your eyes peeled! 👀

Alright, that’s everything you need to watch this week!

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Ooof! Three swings, three misses. Three bills aimed to introduce state-run Bitcoin reserves have failed so far. — DL News

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A masterclass in crisis PR: Bybit CEO Ben Zhou says they've fully replaced the $1.4B worth of Ethereum that was hacked last Friday

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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.