GM. This is the Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that keeps you entertained through the Groundhog Day that is life.

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• Birkins vs. MetaBirkins: IT’S ON

• Greed is in the [crypto] air

• Biggest NFT buys of the year

• Drake wins $2M in Bitcoin with Chiefs win

NFT TRADEMARK TRIAL IS A-GO 

Today in Manhattan, a trial began that could set a huge precedent for the digital goods industry.

Hermès is suing artist Mason Rothschild who created 100 NFTs called MetaBirkins which the snooty French brand claims, excusez moi! zat rips off our Birkin bag trademark!

Birkins, if you don’t know, are big ugly handbags. But they’re rare and expensive so people want them. Kind of like NFTs.😬

The trial is the first of its kind and is a BFD in the world of digital assets. IP law is older and crustier than the ladies who buy Birkins. How this goes could decide all kinds of legal precedent.

Here’s a cheat sheet on the case:

• Hermès filed a lawsuit in January 2022 alleging that Rothschild confused customers who think the NFTs are associated with the fashion house

• It also says the NFTs have hurt the company’s own would-be plans to eventually expand into the NFT space

• But Rothschild is all like, nah, freedom of expression and the First Amendment and anti-consumerism and you guys can suck it

• Hermès wants Rothschild to stop using the brand in his work, to burn all of his MetaBirkin, AND wants his profits + financial damages.

The collection got ~$1M in sales on OpenSea by late 2021 with some NFTs selling for as much as real-life physical Birkin (Rothschild got a percentage of that.)

Experts are saying both Rothschild and Hermès have compelling legal arguments.

So a W isn’t… in the bag for either side at the moment.

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MAGIC 

One of the biggest barriers to mainstream crypto adoption is the complexity of setting up a wallet. 

For non-crypto natives setting up a wallet is more stressful than a trip to the dentist. 

Our friends over at Magic are changing that. Magic removes friction from onboarding and increases user conversion – its worked for new startups and Fortune 500s. 

With Magic, your customers can create wallets instantly with an email or social login and easily access your Dapp or NFT drop. Stop requiring your customers to download 3rd-party software and keep track of seed phrases!

Magic offers a white-label wallet SDK so you can design your ideal onboarding flow with your branding. Or, you can choose Magic’s all-in-one wallet widget, which has built-in authentication and fiat-onramp services.

Plus, Magic Wallets:

• Are non-custodial, secure, and compliant (SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, CCPA)

• Integrate with your existing identity provider

• Work with 20+ major blockchains

If you want to increase adoption of your Dapp or Web3 project, book a demo with Magic's team of experts, or get API keys and try it.

GREED IS IN THE CRYPTO AIR

Some nerd once said “facts don’t care about feelings”. Maybe! But markets sure do. 

This is the Milk Road Fear & Greed Index. It’s one of our favorite things to look at to understand vibes in the major crypto markets.

It spits out ONE number every day that ranges from 1= extreme fear to 100 = extreme greed. The score is calculated by looking at stuff like price volatility, social media mentions, surveys, and how many crypto bros are getting bottle service at the clerb.

Yesterday's score was 61. Which sounds like crypto failed its exam, but that’s actually a good score. (Funny, I used to tell myself the same thing in Biology class.)

But seriously, this is the highest score (AKA the most “greedy”) the F&G Index has been at since November 2021. And we’ve been out of the “fear” zone for 12 straight days. 

Why you should care: Well, for one, the Fear & Greed Index is pretty well correlated with prices. Just check it out… Greedy Greens near the tops, and Fearful Reds at the bottoms.

Secondly, it can give you some insights on when to buy or sell. If the market is feeling too fearful, it could be a good time to buy. If the market is feeling too greedy, it could mean a correction is coming soon.

Right now, crypto is a lot like that guy that’s been down in the dumps but finally got a date with the cute girl at work - confidence is sky high! But if he gets too greedy and goes all in (i.e. asks her to marry him after 2 dates), he could be in for trouble and things could quickly fall apart. 

One thing we do know is that tomorrow is the start of a new month. And February is known for two things:

1/ Fellas all rushing to buy flowers & chocolates at 3pm on Feb. 14

2/ Crypto prices are generally in the green

So, in the great words of Phil Collins: “I can feel it greed coming in the air tonight”. (*queue sick drum drop*)

BIGGEST NFT BUYS OF THE YEAR

2023 has been filled with trends. Some are new ones like:

• Waking up to jump into a bath of ice at 5am to flex on social media increase performance

• Going alcohol free (not only can alcohol kill your liver, but it can kill your social life now too)

But one of the trends we’re seeing has a familiar face… NFTs. In fact, weekly NFT sales volume over each of the last three weeks hasn’t been this high since June. 

And there have been some BIG buys so far. So we got curious… what have been the biggest NFT buys of the year so far? 

Here are the top 20.

Top takeaway: Blue chip NFTs like CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Fidenzes made up the entire top 10 and majority of the biggest buys. Out of the top 2000, CryptoPunks appeared 176 times and BAYC/MAYC appeared 600+ times.

Turns out NFTs are a lot like Doritos - the blue chips (Cool Ranch) are the best.

MILK AND COOKIES

For everything else, there’s a crypto card. Binance and Mastercard are rolling out a prepaid crypto card in Brazil for users to buy goods & services with 13 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. The two companies rolled out a similar product in Argentina in August 2022.

Nice ink, bro. A tattoo parlor in Guatemala is offering free Bitcoin tattoos to entice customers to pay with the cryptocurrency.

Just hold on, we’re going to the Super Bowl. Drake won $2M in Bitcoin after he placed and won a $1M bet that the Kansas City Chiefs would beat the Cincinnati Bengals and advance to the championship game.

Red pilled.Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer made its first Web3 investment, taking part in a $4.1M funding round for a decentralized science startup called VitaDAO.

MILKY MEME

🤣🤣

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.