HiFi — the recent rebrand of onetime decentralized application platform Mainframe, which is focused on decentralized finance — announced today the launch of a fixed-rate DeFi lending platform. “Fixed-rate lending is an important milestone for DeFi,” said HiFi CEO Doug Leonard in a press release. “Investors and traders need less-volatile options so that they can plan finances in advance, have predictability in expenses and hedge investments with certainty.” The launch is scheduled for 5:00 pm UTC. With a lending product, HiFi is entering into a marketplace featuring some stiff competition. Aave and Cream dominate with nearly $6 billion in total …

Gemini cryptocurrency exchange has launched an interest-earning program for customers in the United States. Dubbed Gemini Earn, the program lets customers earn up to 7.4% annual interest on all cryptocurrencies supported by Gemini, the firm announced Tuesday. The platform supports 26 cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Zcash (ZEC) and others. The program is immediately available for select Gemini customers, while a full-scale rollout is scheduled for early February. Gemini chief operating officer Noah Perlman told Cointelegraph that interest rates for each cryptocurrency are based on supply and demand in the market for borrowing that …

Shortly after a limited edition non-fungible token release, entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has called into question the valuations in the NFT space, as well as those in half a dozen other asset classes. Called “The RollUp 2021,” Cuban dropped the NFTs on Wednesday on Rarible, announcing the release in a Tweet: Look what I found! The RollUp 2021 collectible https://t.co/EexbU3DNFy #rarible #ethereum #nonfungible #digitalasset #nft via @rariblecom — Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 27, 2021 Describing the NFTs — which feature a half dozen-frame animation of Cuban awkwardly gyrating his hips and shoulders while holding what appears to …

Strategic investor Lyn Alden believes Bitcoin’s growing network effect coupled with favorable macroeconomic factors may bring its market capitalization to $1 trillion in the next few years. Back in 2017, Alden was skeptical toward Bitcoin (BTC), as the network effect of the main cryptocurrency was still relatively weak: “I was concerned with dilution. [...] So, if there isn’t one network effect that retains control, you could see that kind of market cap distributed among multiple different protocols.” Three years later, Bitcoin has not only retained its market dominance but also its network effect is set to grow further. In fact, …

Originally launched as an attractive alternative to traditional fiat business accounts for Internet-based ventures, the latest features for the Circle Business Account appear to take aim at a different kind of competitor: the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Circle, the Goldman Sachs-backed payments company and issuer of the USDC stablecoin, announced their Circle Business Account service on March 10, 2020. The accounts featured a suite of services designed to help businesses leverage USDC, including APIs that could connect to traditional payment rails, accept dollar-denominated payments as USDC, a USDC wallet service, and access multiple e-commerce marketplaces. However, given the yields stablecoins …

The U.S. Federal Reserve's game plan going forward includes short-term interest levels between 0% and 0.25%, as decided by Fed brass in a Sept. 15 and 16 gathering. The independent body plans to maintain low interest rates in order to increase inflation, based on a Sept. 16 report from CNBC. Such news shines a light on Bitcoin as a store of value. The blockchain-based currency is largely immune to such actions, as it is protected against inflation by its permanent cap of 21 million coins. A majority of the Fed's committee members expect interest rates to remain close to 0% …

Singapore-based Delta Exchange has announced the launch of interest rate swaps (IRS) on DeFi rates, flash rates on Bitfinex, and interest rates on the BitMEX perpetual swap, starting today. According to the company, Delta will soon launch IRS for USD Coint (USDC) lending rates on Compound Finance and Dai (DAI) lending rates on Compound Finance at 50x leverage. As the name suggests, an interest rate swap is a forward contract in which one stream of future interest payments is exchanged for another based on a specified principal amount. Opening up a bridge between centralized and decentralized exchanges Speaking with Cointelegraph, …

A report claims that negative interest rates present Bitcoin (BTC) with a unique opportunity. The May 14 report, published by Stack Funds, stipulates that if the interest rates in the U.S. turn negative in the near future, it will force market participants to look for alternatives to traditional assets. This could present Bitcoin with a real opportunity to garner institutional adoption. Negative interest rates It is important to keep in mind that there is no single interest rate in the economy, but rather many. The one that the report alludes to is a Federal Funds Rate — an overnight rate …

Crypto lending platform Celsius Network has listed startup Saga’s SGA stabilized asset, unlocking the potential for token holders to earn interest. “Saga has partnered with leading cryptocurrency interest income platform, Celsius Network,” Saga founder Ido Sadeh Man told Cointelegraph. The collaboration and listing means “users can both preserve their assets’ value with SGA’s proven stabilization mechanism (the IMF's SDR, a basket of currencies designed to offset currency fluctuations), as well as earn attractive interest through the Celsius network,” Man explained. Saga does not call itself a "stablecoin" Although Saga touts SGA as a stable asset, the company does not officially …

Acquiring financial knowledge is priceless nowadays and, to tell the truth, has always been. We live in times when the usage of fiat is steadily decreasing in the world’s top-GDP countries, and the cash era is meeting its end. Right now, most of the existing money in circulation is already digital, and while the digital age with the decade of e-money 2.0 steps in, one should gain a substantial understanding of how financial gravity works so as to not find themselves on the sidelines of the world of tomorrow. All dynamic processes and phenomena in the universe occur only in …

Decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) Maker will launch a new type of Dai (DAI) stablecoin today. Known as Multi-Collateral Dai (MCD), the new type of the DAI will be backed by several types of collateral in contrast to the existing Single-Collateral Dai (SCD), which will now be called Sai (SAI). While Maker previously announced the new protocol in October, the firm provided an update on the upcoming changes to Dai in a post on Nov. 18. As per the announcement, the launch of MCD will not require any action from Dai users today. Maker said it will be monitoring developments closely …

A crypto lender offering instant loans in more than 45 fiat currencies says it has amassed more than 170,000 users — with $300 million processed over a seven-month period. Nexo enables consumers to deposit their crypto assets into a secure wallet and instantly access a flexible credit line via automated approval and without the need for credit checks. They can then spend this credit by card or withdraw it to a bank account with a same-day or next-day transfer without incurring hidden fees or foreign exchange commissions. The platform says its interest rates, which are deducted directly from a user’s …