GM. This is the Milk Road, the daily newsletter that tees up the best of crypto so you can hit non-stop home runs. You’ll be lookin like Barry Bonds out there (without all the roids).

Here’s what we got for you today:

• Crypto hacks buy you a lot of nukes

• Mastercard’s NFT lead mints his resignation letter

• Say hello to Lugano: the city of Bitcoin

• Logan Paul gets hit with a web3 haymaker

CRYPTO HACKS ARE A MAJOR PART OF THE NORTH KOREAN ECONOMY

When you’re a pariah state cut off from trading with most of the rest of the world you gotta pay the bills somehow. And for North Korea, that’s stealing crypto like Milk Man be stealing your girl.

Kim Jong-Un’s army of merry hackers—including Lazarus Group—were responsible for stealing $1.7B in crypto in 2022, according to a Chainalysis report. That’s nearly half of the $3.8B stolen globally last year.

To a country like the U.S., $1.7B is chump change. Seriously, I think Uncle Sam has more than that down the back of the sofa. But for North Korea that’s nearly 1/10 of their entire economy and enough to fund their nukes program for 3 years.

Don’t expect Pyongyang’s crypto crooks to put down their keyboards anytime soon.

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY HIVEMAPPER

I’m about to tell you something you probably won’t believe. 

Are you ready for it? 

You can earn crypto by driving your car. 

You think I’m lying?

Let me introduce you to Hivemapper. 

It’s the easiest and simplest way to earn crypto (think I’m bullsh*ting? Keep scrolling). 

Here’s how Hivemapper works. 

• You order a dashcam 

• Put it on your dashboard

• Drive around town 

• Earn Hivemapper’s native token HONEY

As you drive, the dashcam collects imagery data. 

The more data it collects the more HONEY you earn. 

That’s it. 

Over 5,000 people are already doing this to earn crypto. 

And today is your lucky day. 

Hivemapper is giving Milk Road readers a discount. But, you gotta act fast. 

Use the code MILK10 at checkout to get $55 off the dashcam today.

MASTERCARD'S NFT LEAD QUITS IN STYLE

Everyone who has ever worked a job they hate has imagined throwing deuces at their boss, delivering the perfect zinger, and walking out the building without turning back.

Mastercard’s now ex-NFT Product Lead did the web3 equivalent. 

Satvik Sethi dropped a bomb on Twitter by exposing Mastercard, but he also turned his resignation letter into an NFT. Each one costs 0.023 ETH and 90 have been minted so far*.

**Correction. We’re making that 91….**

Sethi said he suffered harassment, emotional distress, and his salary was cut by 40%, while his workload increased by 200%. He claimed he would go months without getting paid.

Mastercard has been going big on NFTs recently. So far, the multi-billion dollar financial giant has:

• Launched a new Accelerator so musicians can launch their own NFTs

• Partnered with crypto exchanges so users can easily buy NFTs using debit cards

• Dropped the first NFT-customized partnership

Sethi says he was the frontline man for all of Mastercards NFT plans. All partners, clients, and regional teams would get directed his way. In other words, Mastercard, Sethi claims, treated its MVP like sh*t. 

Godspeed and good luck, Satvik!  This is now my second favorite resignation of all-time, behind this…

THE CITY WHERE YOU CAN LIVE OFF BITCOIN

There’s one thing holding Bitcoin back: it can’t really be used for everyday purchases. Sure, you can stare at your wallet on a screen all day long but.. that’s about it.

In most places you can’t use it to pay for your groceries. Or a haircut. Or a Big Mac. For most people, Bitcoin is not a functional fiat replacement.

But Lugano, Switzerland is not most places.  Four months ago, the mayor of the city kicked off new project called "Plan ₿". 

The goal? Make Bitcoin & crypto payments available everywhere. Local coffee shops. McDonald’s. Fondue joints. Anywhere and everywhere. 

Fast forward to today, this is what the Lugano Bitcoin Heat Map is lookin like…

(No, that’s not a map of all the broken McDonald’s ice cream machines.)

These are all Micky D’s and other businesses that accept Bitcoin payments. On top of that, people can also get a 10% cashback reward in LVGA (Lugano's native stablecoin) when using crypto at these places.

In other words, you can basically live off crypto in Lugano. The mayor even dropped a video where he paid for his morning coffee, fade & beard trim, and a new book using Bitcoin. Talk about a flex.

It’s a pretty cool experiment, but it’ll be interesting to see how sustainable it all ends up being… 

Historically, Bitcoin has had a price more volatile than a teenager’s mood swings making it a risky choice for vendors to accept as payment. But with the recent trend of (relatively) flat prices, we could see more places following Lugano’s lead. 

It’s a cool sneak-peek at what the future could look like. 

MILK AND COOKIES

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… new metaverse. The NFL has revealed the first “Super Bowl metaverse” where a virtual concert will be held on Roblox. The female rapper Saweetie will be performing.

We’re hiring! eBay opens up new web3 job positions like Crypto Counsel, Head of Community, and more. Crypto Counsel has to be the hardest title in web3

Groceries 🤝 Bitcoin. Pick n Pay, one of the largest grocery retailers in S.Africa, will accept Bitcoin in over 1600 stores.

Hit with a haymaker! Logan Paul gets hit with a class-action lawsuit for alleged fraud, breach of contract, and false marketing on his project CryptoZoo. He might be down & out for the count after this…

MILKY MEMES

🤣🤣

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.