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GM. This is Milk Road. Happy “Cointelegraph intern day” to those who celebrate.

(Almost definitely fired, but not forgotten ❤️).

Here’s what we got for you today:

• ✍️ The battle for stablecoin supremacy

• ✍️ Are the crypto ETFs net-good or bad?

• 🎙️ The Milk Road Show: Bitcoin L2s – Should You Be Paying Attention? w/ Rootstock CEO Daniel Fogg

• 🍪 Italy plans to increase capital gains tax on Bitcoin to 42%

METAVERSE SHMETAVERSE. STABLECOINS ARE WHERE IT’S AT 🤝

“We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.”

That’s a quote from Peter Thiel that, for us at least, highlights the difference between hype and reality in the tech space.

(Hype = flying cars. Reality = 140 character tweets).

The crypto version of that quote might go something like:

“We were promised the metaverse, instead we got stablecoins.”

But here’s the thing…as mundane as stablecoins appear on the surface – right now, they are crypto’s “killer use case.”

And the big-dogs realize this! 

Check out this list of companies/projects that have launched, recently launched, or are planning to launch a stablecoin:

1. Revolut (tbd)

2. Pax ($USDP)

3. Frax ($FRAX)

4. Celo ($CUSD)

5. Blast ($USDB)

6. BitGo ($USDS)

7. Tether ($USDT)

8. Liquity ($LUSD)

9. Ethena ($USDE)

10. Gemini ($GUSD)

11. VanEck ($AUSD)

12. Ripple ($RLUSD)

13. Binance ($BUSD)

14. PayPal ($PYUSD)

15. Tron DAO ($USDD)

16. BlackRock ($BUIDL)

17. First Digital ($FDUSD)

18. Coinbase/Circle ($USDC)

19. Maker/Sky ($DAI/$USDS)

20. Franklin Templeton ($BENJI)

(There’s more, but we’re about to pass out, so we’re going to stop).

…ok, that’s an impressive line up – but why are these big names piling into the space?

Three key factors are at play here. Demand, Solutions, and Profit.

Demand: The US Dollar is the most trusted and reliable fiat currency in the world, and its demand is baked into the global economy.

• For companies trading goods/services globally, the US dollar is a necessity.

• For those in countries facing runaway inflation, the US dollar is an escape hatch.

• For nations borrowing money or buying foreign goods, the US dollar is the standard.

Solutions: In most cases, accessing US dollars is often painfully slow, and loaded with exorbitant fees (especially when you’re outside of the United States).

Stablecoins have low fees (like, really low – sub-one cent in some cases), near instant transaction times, are accessible globally, and their access doesn’t require permission from a third-party (aka: banks).

Profit: Simply put? Stablecoins print cash and take very few people to operate. 

Check this out 👀👇

🥛Milk Road take: We think stablecoins are the most important crypto innovation to date – and it won't stop here! 

We predict that many big companies and banks will be launching stablecoins in the coming weeks/months/years – especially if Trump wins the election and eases the US regulatory fog.

Who's up next? Idk – Google, Apple, Amazon – doesn’t matter who!

Point is: Over the coming years, the fight for stablecoin supremacy is set to become one of the most contentious battles in global markets! 

(Pretty ironic that the original goal of blockchain was to de-dollarize financial markets via Bitcoin…but instead it’s being used to hyper-dollarize the world 😄).

ARE THE CRYPTO ETFS NET-GOOD OR BAD? ⚖️

👉 You’re not a true creative if you don’t use a Mac.

👉 You’re not a real developer if you don’t use Linux.

👉 You’re not a real 90’s kid if you didn’t watch Nickelodeon.

These are all weird hills to die on. 

(Some of us didn’t have cable, ok).

We had a similar thought when we watched “The Great ETF Debate: Bearish or Bullish?” panel at Permissionless last week.

There was an idea proposed that the Bitcoin ETFs go against the ethos of self custody, therefore: they’re bearish.

Now, they absolutely do go against that ethos – but to say they’re net-bearish?

…weird hill. 

Here’s our two cents on why:

• The ETFs are an option, not a requirement.

• They have attracted $51.5B of investment into $BTC (to date)

• They make it possible/palatable for large institutions to buy/hold Bitcoin

(Raising the price of everyone’s $BTC in the process – whether in self custody wallets, or ETFs).

And that’s exactly why we loved this panel – it got us fired up!

…but we still had some unanswered questions after it, like:

1. Are institutions actually buying the ETFs (or is it still just retail)?

2. Why aren’t the $ETH ETFs performing as well as the $BTC ETFs?

3. What about the $SOL and $XRP ETF filings – will they be approved?

4. Why isn’t this rash going away (it’s been like three, maybe four weeks)?

So we reached out to James Seyffart (the dude arguing the bullish side of the argument on the panel) to answer some – but not all – of these questions.

Check out our conversation below 👇

YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts

BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

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Italy plans to increase capital gains tax on Bitcoin from 26% to 42%. Capital gains on Bitcoin above €2,000 ($2,180) will soon be taxed 42%. Yikes.

Grayscale has filed to convert its mixed crypto fund, which includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Other assets that are currently included in the mixed crypto fund are $XRP and $AVAX.

MicroStrategy’s stock has surged over 1,500% since it began purchasing Bitcoin in August 2020. It has significantly outpaced the S&P 500 which grew 111% over the same timeframe.

*this is sponsored content

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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.