🥛WTF is Worldcoin? Here’s what you need to know

PLUS: MIT researchers say BTC mining has these 4 benefits                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 July 25, 2023 | [Read Online]( Today’s edition is brought to you by [Roots]( - the first real estate portfolio that creates wealth for both its investors and its residents. GM. This is Milk Road, the crypto newsletter that gives you the same feeling as finding money in your old pair of jeans. Here’s how we’re kicking off the week: - A new eyeball-scanning crypto project 👁️ - MIT researchers: BTC mining has these 4 benefits…♻️ - Visual of the day: crypto outflows are back 📊 - BTC volatility drops to a new yearly low 🍪 Prices as of 8:40 AM ET. WORLDCOIN’S EYEBALL-SCANNING OP JUST LAUNCHED 👁️ Crypto’s a lot like people-watching at a Taco Bell at 3 in the morning... Every once and a while something comes along that has you like: Today’s eye-opener is... drumroll… Worldcoin. What is it? It’s a crypto project that developed a “privacy-preserving digital identity” that can be used to verify humans. Think of it as a digital passport. But there’s a twist… you first need to scan your eyeball using “The Orb”. Source: [Worldcoin]( Here’s how it works: - To get started, users need to visit one of The Orbs to get their retina scanned. There are ~150 Orbs in 35 cities across the world. - Once the retina is scanned, the user gets a World ID. This provides “proof-of-personhood” that the user is a real and unique person. - World IDs are cryptographically secured using zero-knowledge proofs. This allows Worldcoin to verify humans while keeping their identities private. (Think of ZK-proofs as codewords to get into a club - you prove you’re legit without revealing who you are) - Once a user has a World ID, they can download the app to claim $WLD tokens. Except the token isn’t available for claim if you live in the U.S. (Worldcoin ain’t dealing with that regulatory landmine.) Worldcoin has been in the works for 3 years, has raised $250M, and is being developed by smart people like Sam Altman (aka the Father of ChatGPT). So, how is the crypto community reacting to the launch? It’s mostly negative reviews. Our boy Vitalik wrote a [blog post]( calling out potential privacy & security concerns. It also said Worldcoin could be too centralized. Others have accused Worldcoin of exploiting users in poorer countries. It gave 25 WLD tokens, which were useless at the time, to people willing to have their retinas scanned in ~2021. Here's the best from Twitter (nope, I ain't callin’ it "X"): Milk Road Take: We’re all for building cool products in crypto, but I think I’ve seen this plot in a Black Mirror episode - and it didn’t end well. So for now, we’re staying away from The Orbs. (Milk Road Rule #58: Avoid questionable crypto projects like it was dodgeball - dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge out of the way.) But we’re curious… what do you think of the Worldcoin project? Reply to this email to let us know. We’ll share the top responses later this week! [REAL ESTATE INVESTING THAT DOES GOOD]( There’s a lot of benefits to investing in real estate. The problem? Most people think you need millions of dollars, have to lock up your money for 5+ years and be a real estate expert to get started. Well, not anymore. [Roots]( is knocking down barriers to real estate investing, offering quarterly liquidity and cash distributions while uplifting communities. Here’s how it works: - You sign up and invest in the Roots fund - Roots buys single-family properties and finds top-notch Residents - Those Residents get invested for being good tenants leading to fewer vacancies, lower turn costs, and better returns for you And the model is working. [The fund]( has grown over 36% in 2 years and over $14 million has been invested so far. Get started today with $100 (and no entry fees) in just 5 minutes. [Invest with Roots]( MIT RESEARCH: BTC MINING BENEFITS THE ENVIRONMENT ♻️ “Bitcoin [mining]( is bad for the environment.” We’ve all heard something like this before. And that’s because [Bitcoin]( mining uses a bunch of energy. (Fun fact: the only thing that uses more energy than a miner is a kid who just discovered how to flick the light switches on and off.) Well, MIT researchers released a [new study]( on Bitcoin mining last week. The results? Bitcoin mining actually has a few environmental benefits. Here are the four benefits the researchers found: - Bitcoin mining can help stabilize energy grids. It provides grid operators with a resource that can quickly adjust its power usage to offer stability during periods of high demand or grid stress. - Bitcoin mining can mitigate methane emissions. It can combust waste flare gas in electrical generators and reduce methane emissions burned into the atmosphere. - Bitcoin mining can be a solution to unplugged oil and gas wells. By operating near orphaned wells, miners can convert wasted energy into electricity, generate revenue, and fund well-sealing efforts to mitigate the climate impact. - Bitcoin mining can facilitate the expansion of renewable energy resources. This is big. It doesn’t necessarily put Bitcoin mining in the “Great for Environment” bucket, but it also takes it out of the “Destroying the World” bucket. And it will only open up the conversation between researchers, scientists, and miners on how to make Bitcoin mining better and more eco-friendly. VISUAL OF THE DAY: CRYPTO OUTFLOWS ARE BACK 📊 Ladies & gents, the latest [crypto funds flow report]( is out. The results? Outflows totaled $6.5M. And just like that, the 4-week streak of inflows is over. *Womp womp* Here are some other highlights: - BTC saw the majority of outflows with $13M - Investors also withdrew from short Bitcoin funds for the 13th-straight week (woohoo) - ETH topped the leaderboard with $6.6M in inflows - Other altcoins like XRP, SOL, UNI, and MATIC also saw minor inflows So what? On the outside, it doesn’t look like much. (Literally, you need a telescope to see the outflows on the graph.) But it does show an interesting trend: crypto funds are investing in altcoins. Since the [XRP vs. SEC]( lawsuit news broke, crypto funds have been loading up on XRP (which now represents 8% of AuM) and other tokens. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues and if overall inflows can get back on track this week. MILK & COOKIES 🍪 [Backers dropped the Little Legends charitable NFT project today.]( Partnered with Shoes That Fit, holders benefit from unique NFTs, private events and rewards and get to help provide sneakers to those in need.* [Bitcoin’s volatility level has dipped to 0.74% - a new yearly low.]( It's the lowest reading since Jan. 16. [Alphapo got hacked for over $31M.]( It’s suspected the crypto payment platform was exploited due to a leak of private keys. [Kraken launched a new web interface.]( The crypto exchange simplified fiat & crypto deposits/withdrawals and redesigned its user interface to make crypto as easy as possible. [Bitcoin “long-term holders” now control 75% of the circulating supply.]( Long-term holders = addresses that have held Bitcoin for at least 155 days. *This is sponsored content MILKY MEMES 🤣 Worth the 20-second watch 😂 [tw profile: fxnction 2.0] fxnction 2.0 @fxnction [tw] 😂😂😂😂 Jul 22, 2023 1.48K Likes 294 Retweets 79 Replies HIT THE INBOX OF 250K+ CRYPTO INVESTORS Advertise with Milk Road to get your brand in front of the Who's Who of crypto. The Roaders are high-income crypto investors who are always looking for their next interesting product or tool. [Get in touch today](. What'd you think of today's edition? - [🥛🥛🥛🥛🥛 F**king great]( - [🥛🥛🥛 Meh, do better]( - [🥛 You didn't bring the heat]( ROADER REVIEW OF THE DAY VITALIK PIC OF THE DAY [tw profile: Milk Road Images] Milk Road Images @MilkRoadImages [tw] The name's Buterin. Vitalik Buterin. Jul 25, 2023 0 Likes 0 Retweets 0 Replies DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. 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