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GM. This is Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that's more addictive than a game of Snake on your old Nokia phone.

Here’s what we got for you today:

• ✍️ Pudgy Penguins making moves

• ✍️ Milky Movements: June’s winners & losers

• 🎙️ The Milk Road Show: Pudgy Penguins' Plan to Onboard 100M Users w/ Luca Netz!

• 🍪 Bittensor halted after $8M hack

PUDGY PENGUINS MAKING MOVES 🕺

It’s a bird, It’s a plane, it’s a… Pudgy Penguin in space?! 

Oh, the Pudgy Penguins! Those delightful little creatures that waddled their way into our hearts and wallets. 

What exactly are they? They're a collection of 8,888 unique NFT penguins, each with its own quirky traits and backstory that grant access to a thriving community. 

These penguins recently made a big flip as they passed BAYC’s floor price, showcasing they are one of the few that got the whole “NFT thing” right…

They've also got their own merchandise, toys (in Walmart and Target), and even a play-to-earn game called Pudgy World. 

It's like they're creating a whole penguin-themed utopia, and honestly, the Milk Man’s here for it.

But that’s not all! These penguins aren't just about cute digital art; they're also a brand that fosters creativity, freedom, and community.

Their team and Luca Netz (current owner after reviving the project from the original team) have been on an absolute streak of driving value. 

Here’s a look of what they’ve done:

• Igloo Inc: Pudgy penguins now has a mom/dad, when last week they formed a parent company for the brand as a whole.

• Frame acquisition: Igloo Inc. then went ahead and made an acquisition of Frame, an onchain creator economy platform focused on the birth of new consumer crypto apps.

• Abstract chain: The Frame acquisition's goal is to develop their own chain, a Layer 2 network for culture and communities supporting the goal of bringing more consumers onchain.

So why is Igloo and the Penguins so set on their own L2?

Simple. They want to tackle the big elephant in the crypto zoo, the massive gap for average joe’s between web2 and web3.

Someone needs to revolutionize the consumer crypto experience to make it more accessible and user-friendly for the general public to use…

And it sounds like the Igloo and Frame teams are up for the task!

The community and value of these NFT’s are responding accordingly to the recent news.

Even the TradFi Titan VanEck is having some fun with it.

🥛Milk Road Take: It’s clear that Luca and the team know how to make an impact, in both the corporate and individual worlds alike.

This is another example of a company developing their own L2, this time it's a crypto native one.

As the tech becomes more and more of a commodity, it becomes clear we will continue to see more custom fit L2 solutions, because why not keep that value as close to the Igloo as possible?

BUT HOLD UP! Today we’ve got Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, on the show!

We break down Luca’s blueprint for how Pudgy Penguins plans to onboard the next 100 million users onchain ⛓️

And here’s his hot take: Luca believes Pudgy Penguins will outperform staked $ETH over the next 5 years. 

Want to know why? Tune in! 👂👇

YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts

MILKY MOVEMENTS: 3 WINNERS & 2 LOSERS 🥇

Here’s a fresh new monthly segment for you Roaders out there.

We’ve scoured the top 100 coins on CoinMarketCap for June and picked out the top 5 winners and losers. 

So, grab your spoon and get ready to dive into this bowl of crypto crunch.

Here’s what’s been riding high (or crashing hard) this month:

Winners:

1/ Kaspa ($KAS) was up 26.78%

• What it is: Kaspa is a Layer 1 blockchain focused on open source peer-to-peer payments. 

• The token: $KAS is used to pay for transactions on the network and incentivize miners. It’s not just a governance token; it has real utility in keeping the network running smoothly.

• Why it was up: The recent mainnet upgrade and increased adoption by developers have got everyone buzzing.

• What to watch for: Keep an eye on their upcoming partnerships and any new tech advancements. 

2/ Toncoin ($TON) was up 21.41%

• What it is: Originally developed by Telegram, Toncoin is the lifeblood of the TON blockchain, which focuses on making tech more user-friendly and widely adopted.

• The token: $TON is used for transaction fees, staking, and as a payment method within the TON ecosystem.

• Why it was up: Major integrations and growing ecosystem applications have attracted a lot of attention.

• What to watch for: Future updates and the launch of new decentralized applications (dApps) on the TON network can be key drivers for Toncoin's price.

• Could TON be the best-performing asset this cycle? Dive into our pro report for all the juicy details!

3/ Ethereum Name Service ($ENS) was up 18.15%

• What it is: ENS is the Godaddy of web3, you can purchase a “.eth” name and attach it to a wallet so you don’t need to share those 42 character long, impossible to remember and easy to screw up wallet addresses.

• The token: $ENS tokens are used for governance, meaning holders can vote on the direction and changes to the protocol.

• Why it was up: The surge in demand for decentralized domains and increased user adoption have driven its value up.

• What to watch for: New feature releases and partnerships with major web3 projects are drivers to keep an eye on.

Losers:

1/ Celestia ($TIA) was down 49.02%

• What it is: Celestia makes blockchains faster and more efficient by handling consensus and data separately. It's like giving each part of the blockchain its own job to do, so they can both work better.

• The token: $TIA is used within the network for transaction fees and staking, with many holding onto it in hopes of future airdrops.

• Why it was down: A massive sell-off due to regulatory concerns and a delayed mainnet launch has spooked investors. Plus, the lack of airdrops has dampened enthusiasm.

• What to watch for: Regulatory updates and progress on their roadmap. If they start giving out big airdrops again, demand could trend upward.

2/ Chiliz ($CHZ) was down 46.75%

• What it is: Chiliz is all about bringing sports and entertainment fans closer to their favorite teams and celebrities. It enables fans to trade tokens and participate in team polls and surveys, essentially giving them a voice in team decisions.

• The token: $CHZ is used to buy fan tokens and participate in various fan engagement activities.

• Why it was down: Decreased user engagement and competition from new entrants in the fan token space have hit Chiliz hard.

• What to watch for: Upcoming sports seasons and new partnership announcements could potentially revive interest in $CHZ.

That’s all for this month’s edition of Milky Movements!

We’ll keep our eyes on what pops off 🍾 or takes a dump 💩 next month.

BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

Jumper Exchange is an excellent example of a protocol that makes cross-chain DeFi easy. Jumper ties together all of the most popular blockchains, bridges and decentralized exchanges. Check out our review!

Decentralized AI network Bittensor halted after $8M hack dropping it’s value by 13%. The theft was discovered due to a potential private key leak, and the network is in "safe mode" while investigations continue.

Polkadot community unhappy with heavy treasury spend. They spent $37M on marketing (43% of their $87M total H1 2024 spend). Critics argue the hefty spending exerts significant selling pressure on markets. 

Ethereum poised to outshine Bitcoin after spot ETH ETF Launch. Experts foresee Ethereum outperforming $BTC, as Bitcoin contends with $8.5 billion in selling pressure from Mt. Gox repayments. Looks like ETH is ready to flex its muscles!

Blast allocates 10 billion tokens in phase 2 rewards.The Ethereum Layer 2 rewards will be distributed over the next 12 months to support mobile dapp development and user incentives. Rewards are split evenly: half in Blast Points, half in Blast Gold.

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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.