GM. Today on Money Printer Go Brrr newsletter:

• Points vs ICO & Yield Farming: The engagement war

• Who’s more ‘criminal’: Fiat vs Crypto

Top Crypto Gainers (24h)

Points ⚔️ ICO & Yield Farming: A crypto fundraising and engagement war

So, there is this new thing in the crypto industry that you might’ve seen it.

From launchpads to layer 2s, various crypto projects started adopting a new way to engage users: Points.

Essentially ⇾ it’s a gamification practice. 🕹️

The question? 

Which is a better shot at attracting funds and maintaining users engaged?

1. ICO (2014) 

   • ETH was the first ICO ever,

   • great for gathering a crowd, but they're like honey to the regulatory bears,

2. Yield Farming (2020)

   • involves issuing tokens to users for engaging with a protocol,

   • one issue? ⇾ lead to rapid inflation of the token supply, devaluing the tokens and diminishing user incentives 

3. Points programs (2023)

   • a new method where projects award points for user interaction with the protocol

   • points can later be converted into tokens, potentially through an airdrop

   • aim to avoid regulatory issues by not involving direct sales of tokens or exchanges of fiat/crypto for points or tokens.

   • it's a trust game - you hope they play fair so your points aren't just digital confetti.

   • collect those points and hope for a crypto jackpot!

Current project with such programs:

⇾ Blur – NFT marketplace – https://blur.io/

⇾ Rainbow – crypto wallet – https://rainbow.me/

⇾ Friend.tech – web3 social media – https://www.friend.tech/

⇾ Blast – layer2 solution – https://blast.io/en

⇾ Marginfi – lending protocol – https://app.marginfi.com/

⇾ Parcl – exchange for real estate synthetics – https://www.parcl.co/

🔗 You can deep-dive into this matter by reading BitMEX ex CEO, Arthur Hayes, paper:

https://cryptohayes.substack.com/p/points-guard?r=gu0uw

If you're eyeing these Web3 ventures, keep a keen eye on how they handle their points system. 👀

It's a promising path, but only as good as the trust it's built on. 

And remember, in the crypto wild west, it's wise to keep your skepticism handy and not put all your eggs in one shiny new basket. 🙂

“Who’s more criminal”: Fiat vs Crypto

Guess what? ⇾ Old-school criminals still swear by cash; crypto is just too "techy" for them. 😁

The US Treasury did some digging and found out that when it comes to hiding their dirty money, criminals are old school - they still love using cash over crypto.

It's all about cash being hard to track and pretty stable, you know? 

And guess what?

They smuggle it across borders and even fly it out in private planes. 

Let’s break this down:

a massive money-laundering operation that moved $20–80 billion out of Russia between 2010 and 2014
*a massive leak of documents revealing how politicians, celebrities, and business moguls used offshore tax havens to hide their wealth.

The full report here 👉 https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2080

Why does it matter? 

⇾ this latest report from the US Treasury is a clear signal that crypto's rep is getting a makeover,🖌️

⇾ while the bad guys are still playing catch-up with their cash stash, crypto is sprinting ahead, clean and compliant.

This is our moment to shine, proving that crypto isn't just about the hype ⇾ leading the financial revolution with transparency and trust. 

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