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GM. This is Milk Road, where we dissect crypto trends with the precision of a surgeon, removing uncertainty and leaving only gains.

PSA: Everyone remain calm - crypto is in the green, the SEC took another L in court, and Bitcoin is all over the news.

It was a good day. Kinda like when you eat spaghetti while wearing a white shirt and don’t get any red sauce on it.

Here’s what we’re talking about today:

• Grayscale won. The SEC lost. What now? ⚖️

• Twitter gets a new digital assets license 🧐

• DCG and Genesis reach an “in-principle” deal with creditors 🍪 

GRAYSCALE WON. THE SEC LOST. NOW WHAT? ⚖️

It was the early afternoon.

I was riding the Peloton for the first time. (aka the stationary bike where fit, better-looking-than-you people yell at you through a screen. Weird, I know)

Then I got a text from the Milk Man.

The Milk Man: “Holy sh*t. It happened… Grayscale won. The SEC lost”

I couldn’t believe it.

I got so hyped I started pounding my chest like I won the 3rd-grade spelling bee.

Then I took a deep breath and started typing out a response to the Milk Man…

Me: Down goes Gensler!

Here’s what you need to know:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 3-0 in favor of Grayscale. (Bring out the brooms, it’s a sweep)

• The judges found the SEC has no good reason to deny Grayscale’s Bitcoin spot ETF application.

• The judges used phrases like “fell short of the standard”, “absence of a coherent explanation”, and “arbitrary and capricious” to describe the SEC’s decision-making.

It was the court’s version of a Comedy Central Roast. (and it was great)

Why this matters: For the last few years, the SEC has been blocking spot ETF proposals left and right.

The main reason? The SEC argues fraud and manipulation could affect spot and regulated futures markets differently.

The U.S. court found no evidence of this. (Side note: Grayscale presented evidence showing that there’s a 99.9% correlation between the two markets.)

So, what now? Grayscale has been granted a “petition for review”.

This means the SEC needs to review the application again and either…

a) Accept the application.

b) Pick a different reason to deny the application. (and drag the process out even longer)

c) Appeal the court’s decision and try to get an “en banc” review. This is a fancy legal term where other judges get called in to review the case (very rare).

Either way, the court’s ruling is a major win for the industry.

Not only does it better the odds for a Bitcoin ETF approval but, more importantly, it shows that the SEC’s word isn’t the “end all, be all” for crypto.

We’ll cheers to that.

Let’s see how the rest of the crypto community reacted:

The ball is back in the SEC’s hands. All eyes will be on Gary G to see what the next move is.

ETHX - KEEPING ETHEREUM DECENTRALIZED

The liquid staking battle is heating up like the Milk Man’s oven on Turkey Day. But just like turkey, not all liquid staking providers are created equal.

One liquid staking provider just emerged and is already making a splash with its top-tier user experience and juicy rewards.

I’m talking about Stader Labs - they just launched ETHx. And not only are the rewards flowing, but Stader Labs offers the lowest ETH requirement for node operators with a 4 ETH bond.

Here’s why stakers are choosing ETHx:

• Best-in-class ETH staking rewards up to 8% currently

• DeFi rewards up to 35% with top protocols like Balancer and Pendle

• Slashing protection to user funds with ~$4M in bonded ETH

And with triple-audited smart contracts, you know you’re protected by the best in class. Stake now.

TWITTER GETS A CRYPTO LICENSE

Twitter made a BIG move this week…

(Look, I’m an old-school guy - I still call it Twitter. I still call it Facebook. Sue me)

Here’s what you need to know:

• Twitter got approved for a “Currency Transmitter” License in Rhode Island.

• The license lets companies store, transfer, and exchange digital assets - as well as hold assets on behalf of its users.

• The license also includes related service providers like crypto wallets, payment processors, and exchanges.

Just like that, Twitter is one step closer to integrating digital assets into its platform.

P.S. - No wonder crypto exploded yesterday… Grayscale won, Twitter got a new license, and the SEC got called capricious - all within 24 hours.

BITE-SIZED COOKIES 🍪

Digital Currency Group and Genesis have reached an in-principle deal with its creditors. The problem? It’s a bad deal for creditors. (P.S. - The Milk Man is working on a Guide to Bankruptcy Claims that will drop soon)

Francis Suarez announced he has dropped out of the U.S. presidential race. It’s official, the most pro-Bitcoin (and most ripped) candidate is out.

Robinhood and Jump Trading have ended their crypto partnership. Alexa, play ‘Welcome to Heartbreak’ by Kanye West.

Polygon dropped a new developer toolkit for ZK-powered networks on Ethereum. The new software toolkit will allow developers to build their own customizable chains, and connect to each other through a ZK-powered bridge to form a “Value Layer.”

Mastercard held its first-ever blockchain innovation event in London. It was an “innovation sprint” as part of the development of Mastercards Multi-Token Network (MTN).

USDC will launch natively on the Base network next week. The new version will replace the current USD Base Coin that most people use today.

MILKY MEMES 🤣

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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.