GM. This is Milk Road, where the crypto hits just keep coming, and no quarters are required.

Here’s what we got for you today:

SEC LEAVES ETH ALONE 🙌

Grab your coffee (or your favorite ETH-infused milk), and let’s dive into the juicy crypto news that’s hotter than a jalapeño in July.

Imagine this: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally taken a chill pill.

Yep, you heard that right! They’ve had an epiphany and realized that Ethereum isn’t a security, but a commodity.

Translation? The SEC won’t be breathing down Ethereum’s neck anymore!

It’s like Ethereum scored the game–clinching touchdown in the Super Bowl of regulatory battles!

Imagine the ref blowing the whistle and the SEC waving a white flag. Now, that’d be a sight to see. 

A major win!

Consensys played a pivotal role in this regulatory victory. Back on June 7, they sent a letter to the SEC, asking for confirmation that the investigation would be closed. 

They didn’t just ask nicely—they came armed with evidence, pointing to the May ETH ETF approvals as proof that Ethereum is considered a commodity. 

And guess what? The SEC agreed.

With the investigation coming to an end, queue Closing Time by Semisonic and check out this tweet below 👇 

This is a major win for the Ethereum ecosystem and a huge relief for everyone holding $ETH. 

So what does this mean moving forward for Ethereum?

Now that the SEC has stepped back, Ethereum can focus on what it does best—innovating and growing without those pesky regulatory hurdles.

It’s like they’ve been handed a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s DeFi factory… 🍫

Check out the green in the market today that would make any golfer proud:

🥛Milk Road Take: Raise a glass to celebrate this W! This move by the SEC is a significant win for the crypto community. 

Ethereum has been under the microscope for a long time, and this decision provides much-needed clarity.

Clarity that will likely have positive ripple effects for downstream layers of the Ethereum ecosystem. 

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TOP 5 APPS GENERATING REVENUE 2024 💰️ 

We’re almost halfway through the year, and that got the Milk Man thinking… which blockchain applications are generating the most revenue so far in 2024?

For crypto to succeed, we need real applications solving real problems with real users AND generating real revenues. 

We sometimes get caught up in price action and memes and forget that we need sustainable businesses if this whole crypto thing is going to work out.

Thankfully, we’ve come a long way in the last few years, and today we have many crypto applications generating millions of bucks like it's nothing. 

So, let's dive into the top 5 revenue-generating apps in 2024!

1/ Maker: $152.2M YTD

Maker is one of the first applications ever built on blockchains and serves as a bank for the Ethereum ecosystem.

It takes in collateral and issues loans via its stablecoin $DAI. 

Maker generates revenue from loan interest, liquidations, and trading fees.

The Milk Man thinks it’s way ahead of every other application in crypto today and that’s why we recently covered it here.

👉 P.S: We did a podcast episode last week discussing if $MKR is the most undervalued asset in crypto. Check it out here.

2/ Ethena: $79.5M YTD

Ethena is the new bank on the block(chain), launching late last year but really taking off just a few months ago. 

Another stablecoin provider, but this one boasts a 20-40% APY and has been the fastest-growing USD-denominated asset in crypto history.

Similar to Maker, Ethena generates revenue through interest and liquidations. 

However, Ethena also stakes its $ETH collateral to earn an extra 4% APY and has a countertrade to short $ETH.

SO, it generates revenue regardless of the direction that $ETH’s price moves. The Milk Man went through the mechanics simply on Monday, check it out here.

3/ Aerodrome: $73M YTD

One of the many blooming apps on the fastest-growing blockchain ecosystem, Base.

Aerodrome is the go-to decentralized exchange on Base, overtaking the king, Uniswap, in daily trading volume earlier this month.

Base has the users, and they need a place to trade assets. For now, Aerodrome is that place. But let’s see if they can continue to defeat the king.

4/ Lido Finance: $54M YTD

The king of liquid staking on Ethereum.

Lido holds more $ETH than any other protocol today, with more than $34B in total value locked.

They also generate the most fees of ANY application in crypto…

Lido’s business model is pretty simple…

They allow users to stake their $ETH to earn yield and help secure the blockchain WITHOUT the hassle of running their own validator or putting up 32 $ETH. 

In return, Lido takes a 10% cut from the yield their users earn.

5/ Pump.fun: $42M YTD

Rounding out the top 5 is an app that no one would’ve guessed would be on this list at the start of the year (because it didn’t exist).

Pump.fun has deployed more than 1M tokens so far this year! 🤯 

These numbers are outrageous, and fortunately for Pump.fun, they take a fee from every trade made with these tokens.

It’s a killer business today, but let’s see if they can keep it going or if the memecoin mania is just a hype cycle.

🥛Milk Road Take: We spend so much time ogling blockchains and their flashy fees, but let's be real – it’s the apps making bank that deserve our attention.

These are the rockstars creating real products and sustainable revenues. Without these apps, blockchains are just fancy ledgers with no rock-n-roll.

Oh, and did you notice? The top two money-makers in the crypto world are stablecoin providers. Who knew stability could be so profitable… 

Want to make sure your crypto is pulling its weight? 💰

Catch our latest episode to learn why revenue-generating apps are a game-changer for your portfolio! 🎧

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BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

Bored Ape NFTs drop below pre-NFT mania prices. The NFT collection has fallen 90% from their all-time highs, now trading below 10 ETH for the first time since August 2021. This significant decline reflects the NFT market's new diet plan.

Bitwise Ethereum ETF filing reveals $100M interest from Pantera. The asset manager's latest SEC filing notes Pantera Capital's potential investment in its ETF. The ETF has also secured $2.5M in seed capital. This comes amid Ethereum ETF's popularity contest.

Stablecoin transfer volume surges 16x in 4 years. Reaching $1.68 trillion in April from $100 billion in October 2020. And with a $162 billion market cap and 31.1M active users, stablecoins are clearly the more popular use case for crypto.

Iran to launch CBDC pilot in June. Its Central Bank is rolling out the digital rial, targeting micropayments on Kish Island. Unlike other e-money, the digital rial doesn’t need interbank settlement, promising easier, more secure payments. Launch date: June 21.

LayerZero airdrop alert. The LayerZero Foundation just launched an eligibility checker for their token airdrop. With 1.28M wallets eligible, are you in? Check now and see your activity stats. The countdown to 06.20.2024 begins.

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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.