If you haven’t played Minecraft, you certainly have a nephew who does.

But what do mining virtual blocks in a video game and Bitcoin mining blocks of data have in common?

They can both net you Bitcoin.

That’s right, the choice game of creative man-children and anxious preteens has become an industry unto itself.

Grab your teal pickaxe (that’s the best one, right?) and get ready to mine some BTC, because we’re not playing for fun anymore.

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Espresso Shots

☕️ XRP Hits Million Trades Per Minute ⌚ 💸

The court ruling on Ripple’s unregistered securities suit sent XRP token surging last week.

The resulting uptick was so extreme that on July 17, Ripple’s native XRP token exceeded 1 million trades per minute.

Though some voices quickly reminded investors that this isn’t even close to the trading volume XRP was hitting at its peak.

Yes, XRP is nowhere near its once $10.6 billion market cap, though 1 million trades per minute is nothing to sniff at.

But more importantly, if XRP can eat three racks of ribs in under ten minutes, it will get its photo on the Wall of Fame at Big Al’s Smokehouse.

☕️ Australia Will Block Exchanges 🦘💱

National Australia Bank (NAB) has announced new blocks that would protect Australians from crypto scams.

The NAB already prevented millions in transactions of what otherwise would have been crypto scams. But some scammers still manage to slip through the cracks.

“More broadly, cryptocurrency scams are one of the fastest-growing security threats, with Australians losing more than $221 million to them last year,” read statements released by the NAB.

NAB also stated that “40%” of Australians would be okay with their transactions taking longer if they were afforded better protection from scams.

NAB never explicitly stated which exchanges would be blocked and further scrutinized, but we have at least one guess.

“Some of these exchanges can be pretty sketchy, aye?” said one Australian as they dove headfirst into a murky, crocodile-infested river.

☕️ Will Bitcoin Beat the Dollar? 💵 🪙

Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, certainly seems to think so.

Fink believes that in the coming years, Bitcoin will transcend the world’s major currencies such as the American dollar or the euro.

“It has a differentiating value versus other asset classes, but more importantly, because it’s so international it’s going to transcend any one currency,” said Fink in an interview with CNBC.

And part of that transcendence will no doubt be the mass adoption of Bitcoin ETFs, with BlackRock hopefully among the first to be approved.

“We are working with our regulators because, as in any new market, if BlackRock’s name is going to be on it, we’re going to make sure that it’s safe and sound and protected,” Fink continued.

It’s certainly a bullish outlook, but like any CNBC discussion about future monetary transcendence, interviewers had to pause to allow Fink to hit his dab pen.

Spilling the Beans

Earn Crypto From Minecraft?? ⛏️ 🕹️

When Minecraft arrived on the scene in 2011, nobody could have anticipated its cultural impact or staying power.

Over a decade later, Minecraft still maintains a dedicated player base of more than 180 million active users.

Minecraft started on the PC, but it’s now available on every major game console.

But why is Minecraft so popular?

First and foremost, creative freedom.

Minecraft is the digital equivalent of a set of blocks. Kids and adults can build and design to their hearts' content, making scale replicas of the Starship Enterprise or Minas Tirith.

But not everyone is using Minecraft like a virtual Lego set.

There are all kinds of varieties of play across the Minecraft servers, ranging from battle royales, to survival modes, to pacifist, online communities.

Much like subreddits, the Minecraft servers just get more and more niche, with some dedicated to passions such as naval warfare or space exploration.

But playtime is over.

Because one Minecraft server, one dedicated to Bitcoin, is actually letting players earn crypto.

That’s right, the Satlantis server, which has integrated Zebedee’s lightning network, is giving out satoshis as a reward for playing Minecraft on its server.

However, Minecraft is owned by Microsoft, which has explicitly stated that it has banned all NFT functionality from Minecraft servers, even those created by fans.

Much of Minecraft’s code is open source, so, much like the game itself, inventive users can very much make it their own.

And unlike Roblox, Minecraft’s greatest competitor, Minecraft lacks an in-game store or virtual economy.

We have to credit the minds at Satlantis for identifying a niche and going for it.

But with Microsoft’s negative outlook on Web3 gaming for Minecraft, it’s unlikely that Satlantis’ impromptu Minecraft Bitcoin mine will be permitted to stand for much longer.

Now, you’re probably wondering exactly how much Bitcoin you can earn playing Minecraft.

Satlantis distributes 1 million satoshis per week, equivalent to 1% of a single bitcoin. That’s roughly the equivalent of $300.

So no, you’re certainly not going to be able to pay your mortgage playing Minecraft, but $300 a week is nothing to dismiss backhandedly.

For now, don’t be surprised when your son refuses to take out the trash or mow the lawn.

He can make his allowance playing Minecraft on his iPad.

Premium Market Report

Meme of the Day

Have YOU ever tried to build a city in Minecraft? Those kids are working hard. 😵

Crypto 101

MFI: This acronym stands for “Money Flow Index” and it’s one of the best indicators of how any given cryptocurrency is currently trading.

The MFI is a ratio of both price and time to analyze buying and selling pressures in a crypto market.

The Last Sip

If you can earn bitcoin playing Minecraft, we came up with some monetization models for some other popular video games.

3. Increase your water pressure playing Mario. If your favorite plumber is going to be bouncing around in your drainpipes, he might as well up the PSI on your showerhead while he’s collecting all those coins.

2. Get Vitamin D playing “Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.” If you’re going to be scaling snow-covered mountain tops and pulling Koroks out of stumps, you should be rewarded with extra serotonin. You can take a Breath of the Wild without even reaching for your inhaler.

1. Learn dance moves from Fortnite. Impress ten-year-olds and embarrass your spouse at the next Thanksgiving gathering when you nail an entirely out-of-date “floss.”

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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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.