#FastCrypto by Infinity [12.05 — 12.09.2022]

FastCrypto 12.05.2022

Genesis Creditor Groups’ Loans Amount to $1.8B and Counting

Customers whose money is locked up on trading and lending platform Genesis and who have taken legal advice on the matter currently account for some $1.8 billion of loans, and that number looks like it will continue to grow.

Galaxy Digital to acquire custodian GK8 from bankrupt Celsius

Galaxy won the right to purchase high-security custodian GK8 from Celsius. GK8’s self-custody solution in the ongoing development of GalaxyOne, a new prime offering for institutional investors combining trading, lending, cross-portfolio margining and derivatives with the company’s risk-management processes.

FastCrypto 12.06.2022

Maple token down more than 24%, cuts ties with Orthogonal Trading following $36 million default

Maple Finance’s token, (MPL), plummeted following the revelation that Orthogonal Trading defaulted on $36 million of loans. Orthogonal Trading interacted with Maple through its credit arm as a delegate and through its trading arm as a borrower in order to access credit.

SEBA Bank and HashKey target institutional investors in Hong Kong

The partnership is focused on providing institutional and professional investors with the ability to gain exposure to digital assets and their broader ecosystem in a regulated and compliant fashion.

Uniswap-based DeFi protocol Panoptic raises $4.5 million

Panoptic, a Uniswap-based DeFi protocol for trading perpetual options, raised $4.5 million in seed. Gumi Cryptos Capital led the round, with Uniswap Labs Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Jane Street, Avalanche Foundation’s Blizzard fund.

Nexus Mutual moves to divest, expects $3 million loss with Maple Finance

The loss may have been minimized due to Nexus having deployed to the wETH pool. Investors in Maple’s USDC pool saw as much as an 80% depletion in funds. Due to this, Nexus Mutual expects a loss of 2461 ETH (15.8% of our investment in Maple) on the Orthogonal loans.

FastCrypto 12.07.2022

SushiSwap chief says DEX only has 1.5 years of treasury runway left

SushiSwap’s treasury has less than 1.5 years of runway left, according to Jared Grey, the DEX’s CEO. The DEX’s annualized operating expenses amounted to roughly $9 million.

Ledger debuts new device designed by iPod inventor Tony Fadell

Ledger is releasing a new device designed by Tony Fadell, the inventor of the iPod, at a time when the company is boasting record sales. Ledger’s new credit card-sized device is named Ledger Stax.

Amber Group says it’s ‘business as usual’ amid reports of more layoffs

Amber Group is reassuring clients and stakeholders that it is “business as usual” at the firm following reports that the company laid off “hundreds” of employees in this latest round.

Hedge fund Fir Tree files lawsuit against Grayscale

Fir Tree Capital Management is suing Grayscale for information to investigate potential mismanagement and conflicts of interest, citing Delaware court documents.

Cowen Digital taps London lead, charging ahead amid crypto winter, mass layoffs

Cowen Digital hired a new lead for its European and Asian operations Taylor Cable, former COO and head of institutional client trading at BCAM.

FastCrypto 12.08.2022

Former Binance strategy chief Gin Chao ‘leans in’ to the crypto winter after unveiling new fund with ClearVue Partners

Chao joined forces with private equity giant ClearVue Partners through a new venture called No Limit Holdings. Deploying a $100 million fund, the capital will be deployed across seed stage deals and in strategic rounds, with check sizes between $250,000 to $3 million.

Zodia Custody rolls out service to protect client assets from exchange insolvency

London-based custodian Zodia Custody is rolling out a new service to protect client assets from exchange insolvency. Interchange, will enable clients to keep assets through Zodia Custody and then mirror those holdings on an exchange.

DeFi derivatives protocol Perennial raises $12 million, launches mainnet

Perennial, a DeFi protocol for trading derivatives, raised $12 million in a seed funding round. Polychain Capital and Variant co-led the round, with Archetype, Coinbase Ventures, Scalar Capital, Robot Ventures participating.

Signature Bank adopts caps to reduce concentration of crypto deposits

Signature Bank, is introducing caps to reduce the concentration of deposits from clients in the digital asset industry to below 20% of total bank deposits. The bank said it would adopt a per-client deposit cap of at most 2% of total bank deposits.

Vitalik Urges DeFi to Embrace Real World Assets

Vitalik is bullish on the integration of real-world assets into DeFi and stablecoins. Buterin encouraged devs to explore blockchain-based assets tracking traditional financial instruments. “The formula behind stablecoins can in principle be replicated to other real-world assets, Interesting natural candidates include major stock indices and real estate.” Buterin said.

FastCrypto 12.09.2022

Hong Kong passes amendment introducing VASP licensing regime

Lawmakers are introducing a licensing regime for virtual asset service providers. The AML and CTF (Amendment) applies traditional customer due diligence and record-keeping requirements to VASPs when conducting certain transactions.

Cosmos’ largest DEX Osmosis launches a stableswap

Osmosis developers hope to become the main venue where Cosmos users can access and trade a wider range of stablecoins, both centralized and ones backed with crypto tokens. If successful, it could become the Cosmos-equivalent to Ethereum’s main stablecoin exchange Curve.

Ampleforth developer debuts Ethereum-based inflation-resistant token

Fragments developers have launched an inflation-resistant token called Spot, in an effort to attract DeFi investors worried by rising prices. Spot is the latest project designed using Buttonwood, an ETH-based smart contract that provides the building blocks for designing DeFi protocols.

Gnosis Chain activates its own version of The Merge, transitions to proof-of-stake network

The privacy-focused blockchain, has activated its own version of The Merge, and transactions on the network are now being processed under a proof-of-stake consensus in a process similar to ETH.

PayPal expands crypto services to Luxembourg

PayPal will allow customers in Luxembourg to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash in their accounts. PayPal is working closely with regulators and policymakers in Luxembourg to meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce.