GM. This is the Milk Road, where crypto is like a game of dodgeball - we’ll teach you how to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge all the scams, ponzis, and bullsh*t.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Meta’s metaverse lost $13.7B

• Stage 3 of the Bear Market

• Decentralized drug development raises millions

• Amazon’s hiring a Web3 specialist

ZUCK SUNK $13.7B INTO THE METAVERSE LAST YEAR

Meta is staking the future of the company on the metaverse, and damn is the price tag eye watering.

The company formerly known as Facebook lost $13.7B on its metaverse initiatives in 2022 with $4.3 billion of that in the last quarter alone.

That’s a lot of money for some sh*tty, legless avatars in a largely empty virtual world.

You’d think investors would be losing their gd minds but nope, Meta stock shot up 20% on news of the earnings largely because its traditional business of serving ads to Facebook boomers is performing well.

Reality Labs, the unit responsible for Meta’s metaverse projects is going to keep burning greenbacks for some time. But it’s all worth it, Zuck says. Who doesn’t want a future where we’ll have headache-inducing equipment strapped to our noggins?

So why is Zuck still bullish?

1/ Meta’s Quest 3 VR headset is coming later this year

The company doesn’t have to fight hard for VR market share; it controlled 90% of it for headsets last year. But the Quest 3 headset is Meta’s bet that VR will finally see some true consumer crossover. Zuck said it will “establish this technology as the baseline for all headsets going forward.”

No pressure.

2/ VR apps are starting to make (some) money

On the call, Zuck said there are now more than 200 apps making more than a million dollars each on Meta’s platform. That’ll buy you a lot of Sweet Baby Rays

3/ And more than 100M WhatsApp users created animated avatars

The platform started letting users make funny little cartoons of themselves in November. Apparently 100M of WhatsApp’s ~2B users have taken advantage of the feature since then.

For now, investors are tolerating Zuck’s metaverse ambitions while core Facebook makes money. But with a price tag this steep, he’s going to need a lot more than glorified Bitmoji to convince us this isn’t a desperate gamble.

TODAY'S EDITION IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY thirdweb

When I first joined crypto I heard all about, “The Blockchain.”

Where was it?

How did it work?

Is it Bitcoin? Oh no, it's gotta be Ethereum.

It took me months to learn it wasn't one blockchain, but many blockchains. And, each blockchain had its own strengths and weaknesses.

“X blockchain is built for gaming”

“Y blockchain is perfect for NFTs"

“Z blockchain, trusted by sports experts everywhere”

I was starting to get it until I heard about Layer 2s. (wtf are those?)

First, I have learn about all these different blockchains, and now they have layers?

I was confused.

Thankfully, our friends over at thirdweb helped us create a full Deep Dive on blockchains.

We compared Bitcoin to Bentleys, Ethereum to Toyotas, Layer 2s to a Brooklyn mechanic, and Solana to a ... oops sorry if you want to find out, check out the Deep Dive here.

STAGE 3 OF THE BEAR MARKET

Crypto is in a weird place.

Some companies are going bankrupt. Others are raising millions of dollars.

Some people are hanging up the gloves wallets and retiring crypto for good. Others are getting ready for their first rodeo.

Some months prices soar. Other months they drop like a roller coaster. Crypto makes Six Flags look like an amusement park for babies.

It’s utter chaos and can be confusing as f*ck. Which is why we really enjoyed this thread from our buddy Jason Yanowitz from Blockworks. It was one of the best damn things we read all week so we’re gonna give you a quick Milk Road rundown.

Jason splits the bear market into three stages and he thinks we just entered Stage 3. Here’s a breakdown of the stages:

STAGE 1: THE UNWIND

During this stage, it doesn’t feel like a bear market. There’s still excitement & greed in the air but this is where things start going downhill…

Prices start declining. Company valuations get cut. New narratives stop popping up every day. The honeymoon stage is over.

But then comes…

STAGE 2: FORCED CAPITULATION

This is where sh*t hits the fan.

Ponzis get exposed. Companies go bankrupt. Prices crash. And then go lower. (And just when you think it’s over, it drops again.)

In this stage, investors go from Diamond Hands to Edward Scissorhands as they’re forced to cut ties with their investments.

Turns out, everything was not fine. And it was at this moment, everyone knew, they f*cked up.

STAGE 3: BOTTOMLESS EXHAUSTION

This is where pain turns into exhaustion. Jason thinks this is where crypto is now.

Companies shut down. Regulators have crypto in their sights. Investors stop investing as much. Talented builders leave. And you’ll get a weekly “I told you so call” from your friends.

But the most annoying thing? Prices consolidate sideways for months. Sure, there may be instances where prices go up or down, but for the most part, things stay flat.

This is the toughest stage to survive.

Just don’t lose sight of the big picture. Crypto is building a new open, permissionless world. It’s not gonna happen overnight. It will take decades.

See y’all on the other side.

FUNDING FRIDAY

This week in Funding Friday, we saw ~$110M invested into web3 companies. These are the builders. The crazy ones.

Here’s who got the bag:

VitaDAO got $4.1M to decentralize drug development. The DAO collectively funds and digitizes research in the form of IP-NFTs to spin out new biotech companies.

Polemix got $2M to build a platform for ideas & opinions. Instead of just liking a post, you can now own, collect and, ultimately, invest in ideas

Sec3 got $10M to provide end-to-end web3 security. It’s a security research firm that launches automated solutions and security audits for web3 protocols & projects.

Cohort got $3.5M to help brands build NFT products. It’s an all-in-one platform where NFT campaigns are easily created - no crypto or wallet needed.

BlockJoy got $12M to manage crypto infrastructure. It provides blockchain nodes as a service so crypto companies can easily deploy infrastructure at 80% of the cost.

Check out the full database of companies that have raised money this year, right here.

MILK AND COOKIES

SBF, CZ, & Marky Mark. Fortune is teaming up with a Mark Wahlberg’s production company to develop a documentary exploring the FTX founder and Binance leader’s turbulent relationship over the years. Does Fortune want us to forget they comprared SBF to Warren Buffett?

Job alert! Amazon Web Services wants to hire specialists for its Web3 Go-To-Market team that is trying to grow its Web3 clientele on the service.

Doge ya wish you had a new couch? A live auction house DAO is selling the couch that the Shiba Inu dog sat on in the photo that got the viral meme treatment in the 2010s. It’ll kick off on Feb. 8

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.