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GM. This is Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that's as smooth as a well-aged whiskey, minus the hangover.

Here’s what’s fresh at Milk Road today:

WHALES GOBBLE UP BTC LIKE KRILL 🐳

Ever been whale watching? No, not the kind where you’re on a boat with binoculars.

I’m talking about the kind where you’re staring at charts, watching whales buy up Bitcoin like it’s on a half-price sale!

On June 11, a whopping 20,600 $BTC flowed into whale accumulation addresses.

That's right, these big fish are scooping up Bitcoin at lightning pace:

When prices drop, the whales dive in headfirst.

Let's see how four companies are stacking $BTC like it's going out of style.

1/ MicroStrategy’s new $500M bet

MicroStrategy isn’t just dabbling in Bitcoin; they’re doubling down in a big way.

The company announced plans to offer $500 million in convertible senior notes to qualified institutional buyers.

That number just got a 40% bump today as well…

What’s all this cash being raised for? You guessed it—more Bitcoin!

A massive $700 million bet is no small change, signaling continued strong confidence in Bitcoin's future for Saylor’s army.

2/ DeFi Technologies adopts $BTC as treasury asset 

Next up, DeFi Technologies, a public Canadian company, is taking a page from the Bitcoin playbook.

They’ve adopted Bitcoin as their primary treasury reserve asset and purchased 110 BTC to kickstart this strategy. 

Here’s what their CEO had to say:

More companies holding Bitcoin indicates increasing institutional trust in $BTC as a hedge against inflation.

3/ Semler's $17M Bitcoin buy and $150M more planned

Semler Scientific, a medical technology company, didn’t just get on the roster to sit on the sidelines.

They recently purchased an additional 247 Bitcoin for $17 million, bringing their total holdings to 828 $BTC, worth approximately $59 million. 

But they’re not stopping there—they plan to invest up to $150 million more in Bitcoin as one of their 2 north stars (aka eyes on the prize focus).

Here’s what the CEO, Doug Murphy-Chutorian, had to say:

"Semler remains focused on our two strategies of expanding our healthcare business and acquiring and holding Bitcoin".

4/ Metaplanet’s $16M Bitcoin purchase 

Last but definitely not least, we have Metaplanet.

This Japanese company disclosed another additional purchase of $16 million worth of Bitcoin, which sent their shares up by 10%. 

This international interest shows that the Bitcoin buying spree isn’t just confined to the U.S., solidifying Bitcoin's status as a global store of value.

🥛Milk Road Take: Seeing whales and major players like MicroStrategy, DeFi Technologies, Semler, and Metaplanet scoop up more Bitcoin during dips is like getting a nod from the cool kids. 

These trailblazers are creating a playbook for others to follow, signaling long-term confidence in crypto despite price fluctuations. This is only the beginning. 🐳

P.S. There’s 1,678 Bitcoin whales right now and its growing fast (whales = wallets with 1k+ $BTC).

Learn how to take insights from these whales and trade along with them on Milk Road Radio’s newest episode 👈🎧

HUGE LIQUIDATION CAUSES 25% DROP IN CRV 🩸

Michael Egorov, the founder of Curve Finance, had a ROUGH one Yesterday.

His bags suffered 10’s of millions in liquidations causing $CRV to plummet:

This comes after Ergorov borrowed nearly $100M in stablecoins that were backed by Curve’s governance token.

Now, that’s a lot to unpack, so let the Milk Man break it down for you:

SO, in a nutshell, when the collateral value dips too low, it starts getting liquidated by the lender to cover the deficit. Think of it as a DeFi margin call, but with more drama and no pesky phone calls.

Surprisingly though, this isn't Michael’s first tango with liquidations…

In early 2023, he put up $291M $CRV tokens (around 34% of the circulating supply) as collateral to borrow $65M in stables.

And in true degen fashion, he used the loan to buy a $41M mansion in Australia.

Later that year, Curve was hacked!

This made the price of $CRV plummet, sending shockwaves through the wider DeFi ecosystem.

Considering his loan exposure, Egerov acted quickly to limit his losses. 

The liquidation bonanza exposed several systemic risks, prompting some platforms to safeguard themselves from $CRV volatility.

Because of these safeguards, the interest on Egerov’s loans skyrocketed. 

Which leads some to believe that Egerov’s liquidations might have been a clever way out of his heavy interest situation.

🥛Milk Road Take: Michael Ergorov is fine, it’s the $CRV holders that are the ones taking a beating.

Imagine trying to sell $140M worth of $CRV on the open market—there's no liquidity to handle it. 

The price would tank, and the community would go ballistic. 

Instead, maybe this was his way of selling. Lending against $CRV, taking a 30% hit on collateral, and walking away with $100M. 

Who knows? 🤔

FUNDING FRIDAY 🤑 

Welcome back to Funding Friday! This week, $106.85M was raised by crypto companies. Here's the scoop on who secured the bag:

1/ Nexus Laboratories Raises $25M

What they do: Nexus Laboratories focuses on developing zero-knowledge infrastructure to enhance blockchain privacy and scalability.

Who led the round: Lightspeed Venture Partners

2/ Layer3 Raises $15M

What they do: Layer3 is a multichain bounty platform that incentivizes users to complete tasks across various blockchain ecosystems.

Who led the round: Electric Capital

3/ Nuffle Labs Raises $13M

What they do: Nuffle Labs provides data services and infrastructure solutions within the Near Ecosystem, aiming to enhance blockchain interoperability.

Who led the round: Electric Capital

Honorable Mentions:

Also, big news came in this week on some serious dry powder ready to fund more crypto projects! Paradigm, a leading VC firm in the crypto space, has raised a whopping $850 million for their third investment fund.

BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

Bitcoin to hit $1M by 2033, says Bernstein. Hold onto your digital hats! Bernstein analysts foresee Bitcoin's sky-high price, driven by ETF demand. Maybe now's the time to start that piggy bank, or rather, a Bitcoin wallet!

Notcoin rockets 10% amid TON wallet surge. Telegram games are fueling Notcoin's rise, pushing The Open Network's daily active wallets to rival Ethereum's again. Seems like everyone’s got a new favorite game—and it's paying off big time for Notcoin!

Nigeria drops tax charges for Binance execs. The two executives have been dropped from tax evasion charges by a Nigerian agency but they still face a money laundering case. It's a partial victory, but the game isn't over yet!

Polygon boosts governance with Aragon's new hub. This new governance hub empowers community-driven development. Now everyone can have a say, from protocol upgrades to voting on new features. Like a democracy, but with more code and fewer campaign ads!

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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.