Compound Finance proposals elicit ‘governance attack’ allegations

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DeFi group petitions to stop ‘patent troll’ targeting DeFi protocols

September 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The DeFi Education Fund says a patent owned by True Return Systems is being used to try to profit from lawsuits against decentralized protocols.

A decentralized finance (DeFi) advocacy body has petitioned the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to review a patent owned by a company it has accused of being a a “patent troll” — a firm that aims to profit from patent lawsuits.

In a Sept. 11 blog post, the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) said on Sept. 7 that it filed an over 90-page petition to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in a bid to cancel a patent owned by True Return Systems.

Granted in 2018, the patent lays claim to a process for “linking off-chain data to a blockchain,” DEF legal chief Amanda Tuminelli said in a Sept. 11 X (Twitter) post.

Tuminelli claimed True Return tried to sell its patent as a nonfungible token (NFT). After no buyer, it filed suit against the DeFi protocols MakerDAO and Compound Finance in October.

4/ When that didn’t work, in October 2022, TRS sued MakerDAO and “Compound Protocol” in two separate federal court proceedings, alleging patent infringement.
Docket links: https://t.co/w47v7fAAEt https://t.co/ExTapxhKNq
— Amanda Tuminelli (@amandatums) September 11, 2023

“Clearly [True Return’s] goal was to name defendants who could not answer the complaint so [it] could get a default judgement,” Tuminelli said.

She claimed True Return would try to enforce the court’s ruling against token holders and repeat the process with other protocols “that either can’t challenge them in court or don’t have the resources to do so.”

DEF claimed True Return’s tech in the patent isn’t new at the time it was granted and claims to highlight similar existing tech such as the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) along with the decentralized storage platforms Sia, Storj and Swarm.

8/ In our petition, we make the point that the “invention” in the patent was not new in 2018. There are many examples of “prior art” the Patent Board can look at - examples - a NASDAQ patent that links price data off-chain to on-chain transaction historyhttps://t.co/amz3jREab7 pic.twitter.com/RJ3VVGFeEj
— Amanda Tuminelli (@amandatums) September 11, 2023

True Return Systems acknowledged Cointelegraph’s request for comment but did not immediately provide a comment.

DEF said it launched the petition with USPTO to defend the ability to use and develop open source software, to stop any potential plans by True Return to sue crypto projects and help MakerDAO and Compound’s legal defence.

True Return has three months to optionally respond to the petition, after six months the USPTO must make a decision if it will move forward with reviewing the patent where it has 12 months to decide if the patent should be cancelled.

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5 peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms for borrowers and lenders

July 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Aave

Discover five platforms — Aave, Compound, MakerDAO, dYdX and Fulcrum — that are transforming lending and borrowing through decentralization.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, which links borrowers and investors directly, has become a well-liked substitute for traditional banking. P2P lending networks enable decentralized lending, in which people can borrow money from other people or institutions directly without the use of intermediaries, such as banks.

Both borrowers, who can receive loans with flexible terms, and investors, who can earn competitive returns on their investments, can profit from this lending arrangement. This article will look at five decentralized P2P lending services that let lenders and borrowers become involved in this expanding market.

Aave

Aave is a decentralized lending platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. By using digital assets like cryptocurrencies as collateral in smart contracts, it enables borrowers to receive loans. On the other hand, investors can lend borrowers their assets while still earning interest on their deposits.

Flash loans, which allow borrowers to obtain loans without providing collateral as long as the loan is repaid in the same transaction, are Aave’s distinguishing feature. This creates new opportunities for immediate liquidity and cutting-edge financial applications.

Compound

Compound is another decentralized lending platform operating on the Ethereum blockchain. It enables borrowers to place security and borrow items backed by the platform. Depending on the demand for particular assets, investors might lend their assets to borrowers and earn interest.

To ensure efficient capital allocation, Compound uses an algorithm that dynamically modifies interest rates based on the availability and demand of assets. By giving users the option to vote on suggestions for platform updates and parameter changes, the platform also lets users take part in governance.

MakerDAO

The Ethereum blockchain-based decentralized lending platform MakerDAO is well-known for its Dai (DAI) stablecoin. By using their digital assets as collateral, borrowers can create DAI stablecoins, which are tied to the value of the United States dollar. Lending money to borrowers allows investors to receive interest in the form of stability fees.

Tokenholders who engage in voting on important choices, such as collateral kinds, stability fees and system upgrades, are a part of MakerDAO’s decentralized governance architecture.

dYdX

The decentralized derivatives trading platform dYdX also provides borrowing and lending features. Borrowers can trade on the site and borrow additional assets using their digital assets as collateral. Investors can lend borrowers their assets while earning interest on their deposits.

Users have freedom and leverage when trading thanks to dYdX’s lending and borrowing options. The platform, which supports various assets and marketplaces, runs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Fulcrum

On the Ethereum blockchain, Fulcrum is a decentralized lending and margin trading platform powered by bZx. Investors can lend their assets and receive interest on their deposits, while borrowers can pledge their assets as security and obtain extra credit.

Users can effectively manage their holdings thanks to the seamless integration of Fulcrum’s lending and trading services. Through the use of its native token, which enables users to vote on protocol updates and parameters, the platform also uses decentralized governance.

DeFi Breaks Out As AAVE, Compound (COMP), Kava and More Outperform Bitcoin (BTC)

June 27, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Debtors saved over $100M using de-pegged stablecoins to repay loans

March 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Debtors saved over 0M using de-pegged stablecoins to repay loans

Aave

Debtors jumped on the opportunity to grab a discount on their loan repayments when USDC and DAI de-pegged from the dollar.

The depegging of USD Coin (USDC) and Dai (DAI) from the United States dollar prompted a frenzy of loan repayments over the weekend, allowing debtors to save a total of more than $100 million on their loans.

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, the USDC price dropped to lows of $0.87 on March 11 amid concerns about its reserves being locked at SVB.

MakerDAO’s stablecoin DAI also de-pegged briefly, going as low as $0.88 on March 11, according to CoinGecko.

*The USDC price briefly dropped to lows of $0.87 on March. 11. Source: Cointelegraph*

The depegging, in the backdrop of broader crypto turmoil, led to more than $2 billion in loan repayments on March 11 on decentralized lending protocols Aave and Compound — with more than half made in USDC, according to a report by digital assets data provider Kaiko.

Another $500 million in debts were paid in DAI on the same day, it noted.

*Digital assets data provider Kaiko found over $1 billion in USDC loan repayments on March. 11. Source: Kaiko*

This tapered off as both USDC and DAI started heading back toward their peg. The following days did not have anywhere near as many repayments, with a rough total of only $500 million in loan repayments across Tether (USDT), USDC, DAI and other coins on March 12, and roughly half of that on March 13.

Blockchain analytics firm Flipside Crypto estimates that USDC debtors saved $84 million as a result of paying back loans while the stablecoin was de-pegged, while those using DAI saved $20.8 million.

*Debtors used de-pegged stablecoins to save millions in loan repayments. Source: Flipside Crypto*

“Overall, DeFi markets experienced two days of huge price dislocations that generated countless arbitrage opportunities across the ecosystem, and highlighted the importance of USDC,” the Kaiko report said.

The depegging of USDC also led MakerDAO to reconsider its exposure to USDC, as crypto projects incorporating DAI in their tokenomics suffered losses due to a chain reaction.

Circle’s USDC began its climb back to $1 following confirmation from CEO Jeremy Allaire that its reserves were safe and the firm had new banking partners lined up, along with government assurances that depositors of SVB would be made whole.

According to CoinGecko data, USDC was sitting at $0.99 at the time of writing.