Happy Tuesday! Or as it was once called, Tyr’s-Day, named for the Norse God of War. You probably know him as Thor and you’re probably already picturing Chris Hemsworth and his dreamy eyes.

Anyway, pour yourself a strong cup of coffee (or mead) cause we got some updates.

Espresso Shots

Big news from the day!

☕️  Mastercard is bringing crypto to its banking functions. 29% of those banking with Mastercard already hold crypto and 65% of those surveyed said that they wished their financial institution would offer crypto-related services. Mastercard is just the latest financial institution to come to its senses, joining titans such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon. I’m hoping that soon my local Chipotle will start accepting crypto so I can pay for my guac with Dogecoin.

☕️ Walmart Executive Suresh Kumar expressed a pretty massive vote of confidence in Crypto this week when he said “Crypto will become an important part of how customers transact … We want to make sure that we make it as friction free for customers …so that they are able to drive value out of it.” This is another indicator that the superstore is taking crypto very seriously after their plans to create metaverse products and perhaps even a digital currency were unearthed earlier this year. This new currency will be an exciting addition to Walmart’s already wide variety of affordable products such as toothpaste, breakfast cereal, and pump-action shotguns.

☕️ Very normal businessman, Kanye West has entered into an agreement to purchase right-wing Social Media App, Parler. Parler has faced heavy criticism for being a home to right wing conspiracies and for its role in the planning of the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol. Recently, Parler has entered into the world of web3 with its NFT Marketplace DeepRedSky. Up until this point, the Marketplace has primarily launched Trump-related NFTs. This acquisition represents an unusually controversial business move for West, whose life is otherwise stable and unremarkable. 

Spilling the Beans

Aptos is here… So what the %*ck does that mean?

A new blockchain has just gone live and it’s attempting to rival Ethereum and Solana - so can it do it? Honestly, maybe. Let’s rewind a bit. 

In 2019, amidst growing fascination with Crypto, Meta - then Facebook - announced ‘Libra.’ Libra was Facebook’s answer to Crypto. 

It was to be a new Crypto protocol managed by an organization of Fortune 500s and non-profits. 

The currency itself, also called Libra, was to be tied to the US Dollar and would be the new currency of the world’s largest social network. 

The financial opportunities for Facebook were clear, from e-commerce to subscriptions to marketplace fees to an e-commerce platform. What was also immediately clear was that regulators were not a fan. 

The project was eventually shut down after a failed rebrand to ‘Diem’ and months of regulatory debate. And yet, it didn’t quite die. 

Enter: Aptos, a company founded by ex-Facebook developers who worked on the failed Libra project. 

So does Aptos have any hope of succeeding where Zuck has failed? The smart money certainly thinks so. 

Before formally launching to the public, Aptos had a whopping valuation of $4 Billion! That comes from some massive investments from the investment arms of Coinbase, FTX and Binance. Multiple other venture capital studios have piled in as well. 

Aptos has promised to be a faster and more secure blockchain than its existing competitors. It also claims to solve many performance and security issues found in most other Layer-1 protocols. It is built using the Move language - the same language the failed Libra project was built on. 

Whether or not Aptos carves out a home for itself in Crypto remains to be seen, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on this one.

Meme of the Day

Love my seasonal drinks.

The Last Sip

Well, you did it. You made it to your very last sip. So take a deep breath, drink that last drop of coffee, forget about that asshole who cut you off in traffic, and put this week in a french press (crush it). We believe in you.

Stay caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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.