Banking Giant With Nearly $450,000,000,000 in Assets Under Management Launches Crypto Venture Capital Arm

September 22, 2022 The Daily Hodl

GEM Digital commits $50M to ParallelChain Lab for L1 protocol development

September 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

GEM Digital commits M to ParallelChain Lab for L1 protocol development

CeFi

As a proof-of-stake layer-1 protocol, ParallelChain intends to deliver an architecture that operates in confidentiality while allowing to validate transactions.

Digital asset investment firm GEM Digital Limited (GEM) has committed $50 million to finance ParallelChain Lab following the launch of its mainnet and native token listing, XPLL, in Q4 2022.

As a proof-of-stake (PoS) layer-1 protocol, ParallelChain aims to bridge the infrastructure divide between centralized (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). The soon-to-be-launched ParallelChain Mainnet is open source and based on a PoS consensus mechanism dedicated to maintaining a fair distribution of power.

The permissioned ParallelChain Enterprise, on the other hand, will ensure the secrecy of transactions using a patented Proof-of-Immutability mechanism. The two platforms, together, intend to deliver an architecture that operates in confidentiality while allowing to validate transactions. Speaking about the innovation, ParallelChain CEO Ian Huang stated:

“We see this solution as the answer to enterprises’ privacy and compliance demands while simultaneously addressing the need for scalability across many public applications, namely DeFi.”

GEM’s $50 million investment in ParallelChain is planned to be redirected to market expansion, community development, research and development and funding of decentralized projects and decentralized app (DApp) developers.

Showcasing the diverse interest of crypto investors, institutional crypto lending protocol Maple Finance announced its commitment of up to $300 million in secured debt financing to public and private Bitcoin (BTC) mining firms.

Today, @IcebreakerDeFi joins Maple and opens a $300M capacity pool to provide secured debt financing to blue-chip Bitcoin mining and digital asset infrastructure companies. pic.twitter.com/ZWyLV2P9hr
— Maple (@maplefinance) September 20, 2022

Mining firms from North America and Australia that meet the treasury management and power strategies standards are eligible to apply for the funding. Sidney Powell, CEO and co-founder of Maple Finance, highlighted the recent pullback from lenders, adding that:

“Miners play an essential role in growing the crypto ecosystem and local economies, and we are proud to extend a new financing vehicle to direct capital where it is needed the most.”

As Cointelegraph reported, Maple currently holds 50% of the institutional crypto lending market as measured by total loans outstanding.

Japanese Banking Heavyweight Nomura to Launch Crypto-Focused Venture Capital Arm

September 21, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Voyager Digital assets auction set for Sept. 13 after being rescheduled from August

September 7, 2022 Coin Telegraph

CeFi

The centralized crypto lender rejected an had offer from FTX after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in July after 3AC defaulted on a loan and its debts topped $1 billion.

Bankrupt centralized crypto lender Voyager Digital filed a notice Tuesday with United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York informing the court of its intention to hold an auction of its remaining assets. The auction is proposed to take place on Sept. 13 at the Manhattan office of Digital Voyager’s investment banker Moelis & Company, with a hearing to approve the results on Sept. 29. Offers for the lender’s assets have already been submitted.

Voyagers, we want to let you know that multiple bids were submitted as part of the company’s restructuring process. As a result, an auction is scheduled for September 13th. (1/3)
— Voyager (@investvoyager) September 7, 2022

The auction was originally scheduled for Aug. 29. In order for an auction to be held, multiple parties must show interest in the acquisition of Voyager Digital’s assets. On July 22, FTX made an offer to buy all Voyager Digital assets and digital asset loans, with the exception of loans to Three Arrows Capital (3AC). That offer was labeled “lowball” by the lender and rejected within days.

Voyager suspended trading, deposits, withdrawals and loyalty rewards on July 1 and announced July 5that it was going into Chapter 11 reorganization, a form of bankruptcy, with over $1 billion in debts. The company said customers with cryptocurrency in their accounts would receive “a combination of the crypto in their account(s), proceeds from the 3AC recovery, common shares in the newly reorganized Company, and Voyager tokens.”

Voyager Digital’s bankruptcy came days after the company issued a default notice and was exploring legal remedies against Three Arrows Capital, which owed it 15,250 Bitcoin (BTC) and 350 million USD Coin (USDC). Voyager Digital assured customers then that it would continue servicing their accounts. It also engaged Moelis at that time.

In August, the court allowed Voyager Digital to pay “key” employees – the ones the company said were crucial to its continuing operations – bonuses totaling $1.9 million, despite objections from investors. At the time of writing, Voyager Token was selling at $1.07, up 38.92% in 24 hours.

Federal Reserve Researchers Predict Two Adoption Scenarios for Crypto and DeFi in New Report

September 5, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Amid crypto winter, Nexo commits additional $50M to buyback program

August 30, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Amid crypto winter, Nexo commits additional M to buyback program

Banks

The Bitcoin lender has sought advice from Citigroup on how to acquire distressed crypto firms amid the bear market.

Crypto lending platform Nexo has increased the size of its buyback program, giving the company more discretionary ability to repurchase its native token to boost interest payments or make strategic investments in the future.

On Tuesday, Nexo disclosed that its board of directors had committed an additional $50 million to buybacks, building off the company’s initial $100 million repurchase program launched in November 2021. The approval green lights the discretionary repurchase of up to $50 million worth of NEXO tokens on the open market.

NEXO is the platform’s native cryptocurrency, giving users the ability to earn interest and lock in lower rates for borrowing. The token currently has a market capitalization of $563.6 million and 24-hour trading volumes of $46.7 million, according to Nexo’s website.

*NEXO market cap chart. Source: CoinMarketCap.*

The company said it increased the size of its repurchase program to demonstrate its “solid liquidity position” and willingness to invest in its community. The initiative will be carried out over six months, with all repurchased tokens subject to a 12-month vesting period. Once the vesting period is satisfied, the repurchased tokens may be used to pay daily interest via NEXO tokens or make strategic investments “via token mergers,” the company said.

Nexo has been keen to demonstrate its financial strength amid the bear market, going as far as seeking advice from Citigroup on how best to acquire distressed crypto firms. While the whole of the crypto industry has been rocked by the implosion of the Terra ecosystem, centralized finance companies like Celsius, Voyager Digital and BlockFi have faced the biggest blowback.

The cryptocurrency market remains in a precarious state with Bitcoin (BTC) exhibiting a strong correlation to traditional equities. Some analysts fear that this strong correlation could ignite another selloff of digital assets as traditional markets continue to react to Federal Reserve jawboning.

Maven 11 launches $30M lending pool on Maple as borrowers turn to DeFi

August 11, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Maven 11 launches M lending pool on Maple as borrowers turn to DeFi

CeFi

With liquidity drying up in the wake of CeFi contagion, borrowers are turning to decentralized finance for their credit needs.

Netherlands-based crypto investment firm Maven 11 has launched its third lending pool on Maple Finance, giving borrowers access to liquidity amid the bear market.

The $30 million pool financed by institutional lenders will be utilized by trading firms that include Wintermute, Auros and Flow Traders, among others, Maven 11 announced this week. The new pool is designed “specifically for institutions looking for yield opportunities,” the company said.

Maple, a decentralized finance credit platform, is filling a void left by the implosion of leading centralized finance (CeFi) companies such as Celsius. Liquidity constraints triggered by the collapse of Terra (Luna) — now renamed Terra Classic (LUNC) — and its resulting contagion effects have led borrowers to seek out new credit opportunities from within DeFi.

Since launching in 2021, Maple Finance claims to have issued more than $1.5 billion in cumulative loans, with total deposits exceeding $635 million at the time of writing. The protocol currently has over $58 million in total value locked, or TVL, according to DefiLlama. The vast majority of TVL comes from Ethereum, though Maple did expand to Solana in April of this year.

Maven 11 operates a successful venture arm, having raised $160 million in cumulative funding in 2021 to back up-and-coming projects across the DeFi and Web3 industries.

Some prominent voices from within the crypto industry believe DeFi’s push for mass adoption will be aided by institutions. At the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Ripple Labs executive Boris Alergant said the DeFi industry still needs to create the next “killer app” to appeal to the masses. Institutions will play an important role by offering exposure to DeFi services.

DeFi needs a ‘killer app’ to go next level, says Ripple exec

August 10, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Boris Alergant

A panel at the Blockchain Futurist Conference was asked about the future of decentralized finance and what was needed to be done to bring about mainstream adoption.

A “killer app” for consumers is what will be needed to bring the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector to a level that draws in a mainstream audience, said Ripple Lab’s head of DeFi markets Boris Alergant.

Alergant nade the comments during a panel at the Blockchain Futurist Conference titled "The Future of Decentralized Finance" on Aug. 9, which was covered by Cointelegraph reporters on the ground in Toronto, Canada.

Alongside Alergant, Aventus Ventures CEO Kevin Hobbs, FLUIDEFI co-founder and CEO Lisa Loud, and Teller Finance CEO and co-founder Ryan Berkin also featured on the panel.

The general sentiment among the panelists was that centralized finance institutions will ultimately push DeFi towards mainstream adoption. Alergant suggested that growth will likely come from a user-friendly CeFi app that offers exposure to DeFi services:

“For an average user, you tell your mom how to go out and stake on Aave or ETH [...] and this is a process. She doesn’t know how to use MetaMask, but she wants to generate that yield somehow. She wants to transact but she doesn’t know how to do it.”

“So I think institutional adoption is where it's going, and the institutions are what is going to enable [...] that killer app for consumers to really bring crypto and DeFi to the next level.”

FLUIDEFI co-founder and CEO Loud expressed a similar view, noting how the everyday person eventually adopted the internet despite not understanding the internet protocol suite, also known as TCP/IP.

“We all use the internet right? The internet was a paradigm shift for us, but we don't know how to use TCP/IP. Right now, everybody who uses DeFi knows how to use the protocols, it's not sustainable, it's not a good model for adoption.”

“If we look at two years, I see institutions investing more in DeFi and I see companies making simpler user experiences,” she added.

The Ripple executive also outlined that the DeFi sector will soon work hand in hand with the CeFi sector to provide financial services to customers.

“DeFi will ultimately supplement and complement CeFi. In the end you don’t really care if a trade is done through decentralized means in a centralized exchange. I just want the best damn execution,” he said.

The Blockchain Futurist Conference is the largest annual blockchain and crypto conference in Toronto, Canada, and is running until Aug. 10. 2022, marking the fifth year of the event. This year's event is expected to see Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin speak there despite appearing at the Korea Blockchain Week only two days ago.