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GM. This is Milk Road, the newsletter that tells you everything you need to know about crypto - without the migraines.

Here’s how we’re kicking off the week:

ARE NFTS MAKING A COMEBACK? 📊

NFTs have seen a steady increase in volume recently…

Last week, there were 5 days with $10M+ in NFT sales volume. It’s the first time that’s happened in 2 months.

*firm handshakes all around*

So what’s up? Why are NFTs getting love again?

Here are a few theories…

Theory #1: The overall crypto market is hot.

With BTC, ETH, and other altcoins in the green, investors could be rotating profits into NFTs.

Theory #2: NFTs recently got partially unbanned in China.

China has a love-hate relationship with NFTs.

This is why, due to regulatory uncertainty, most Chinese NFT marketplaces have banned them.

Well last week, Alibaba’s peer-to-peer marketplace (Xianyu):

Theory #3: Christmas is coming.

The Milk Man has inside sources at the North Pole and got word that, instead of coal, people on the “Naugty List” will receive NFTs for Christmas this year…

Unconfirmed report. So, take it with a grain of salt.

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OPEN INTEREST IN BITCOIN IS BOOMING 📈

The CME Group is the largest operator of financial derivatives exchanges. It runs the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Commodity Exchange, and others.

(Fun fact: it also owns 27% of S&P Dow Jones Indices)

Well, guess what? The CME is seeing a big increase in Bitcoin open interest.

Open interest = the value of active derivatives contracts (futures or options) held by traders.

Last week, the CME broke its record for BTC options volume in a day. And it wasn’t even close…

Why this matters: For the most part, institutional investors have stayed away from Bitcoin.

In their eyes, Bitcoin’s the nerd with braces and pimples in middle school.

It has a mouthful of braces (aka regulatory uncertainty) and a face full of pimples (aka volatility).

But everyone knows the worse you look in 7th grade, the better the glow-up later in life.

And Bitcoin’s going through an all-time makeover. It’s been:

Bitcoin went from the ugly duckling → international model.

This is why we’re now seeing record volume coming from derivatives exchanges like the CME and other institutional players.

WEEK 5 OF THE U.S. VS SBF - WHAT’S LEFT? ⚖️

It’s the final stages of crypto’s trial of the century - The U.S. vs Sam Bankman-Fried.

AKA the home of the brave vs. the guy who was brave ballsy enough to steal billions of dollars.

It’s been a wild few weeks so let’s take a look at how far we’ve come, and what’s left in the trial:

(Side note: Crazy, I know… the calendar for crypto’s biggest trial of all time looks like a 2nd-grade lunch menu)

So far in the trial, we’ve:

So, what’s left? 

It’s a big make-or-break week for fkSBF. If you wanna keep up with all the action in real time, check out the InnerCityPress.

Either way, we’ve got you covered with all the best highlights later this week. All you have to do is keep an eye on those inboxes!

BITE-SIZED COOKIES 🍪

Web3 companies raised $103M last week. A total of 10 companies received funding - including Neon Machine (a web3 gaming studio), Aera Protocol (a treasury manager for DAOs), and more.

The total value locked on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols jumped to a three-month high. The TVL has risen from $35.8 billion —> $42 billion in two weeks. Business is boomin’…

The number of transactions involving at least $100,000 worth of BTC hit a new yearly high. The Bitcoin whales are getting active again. 👀

Gemini sued Genesis for $1.6B worth of GBTC shares. The exchange claims the crypto lender owes it 60 million shares of GBTC as collateral.

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.