Crypto traders' urge to create leverage positions with Bitcoin (BTC) appears irresistible to many people, but it's impossible to know if these traders are extreme risk-takers or savvy market makers hedging their positions. The need to maintain hedges holds even if traders rely on leverage merely to reduce their counterparty exposure by maintaining a collateral deposit and the bulk of their position on cold wallets. Not all leverage is reckless Regardless of the reason for traders' use of leverage, currently there is a highly unusual imbalance in margin lending markets that favors BTC longs betting on a price increase. Despite …

An investor with nearly $2 million worth of funds frozen in bankrupt cryptocurrency lender BlockFi has filed a class action complaint against its founders, two directors and crypto exchange Gemini. In a Feb. 28 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, investor Trey Greene accused the defendants of numerous wrongdoings, including violating the consumer fraud and exchange acts, breaching its fiduciary duties, as well as offering and selling unregistered securities. “The unregistered securities sold by the BFI [BlockFi] Defendants on behalf of BlockFi were marketed and sold via a steady stream of misrepresentations and …

The founders of the troubled cryptocurrency lender Hodlnaut are trying to save the business despite creditors insisting on its liquidation. On Feb. 28, Hodlnaut’s interim judicial managers released the sixth affidavit of Hodlnaut co-founder Simon Lee reportedly stating the company’s founders proposed selling the business as a better option for creditors than liquidating the firm. According to a report by Bloomberg, Lee said that he and Hodlnaut’s other co-founder Zhu Juntao have reached out to a number of “potential white knight investors.” Lee reportedly wrote that Hodlnaut co-founders are confident the company’s user base “can be acquired and on-boarded on …

The Bank of Canada has released a working paper that examines lending protocols in decentralized finance (DeFi) with regard to sources of instability and their relation to crypto asset prices. Its findings point to potential ways to optimize DeFi lending platforms, or possibly the practical limits of decentralization. The authors of the paper, titled “On the Fragility of DeFi Lending” and released Feb. 22, acknowledged the inclusiveness DeFi offers and the advantages of smart contract protocols over the use of human discretion. They went on to identify the systemic weaknesses of DeFi. Information asymmetry, a key issue for regulators, was …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) firm Platypus is working on a compensation plan for user's losses after a flash loan attack drained nearly $8.5 million from the protocol, affecting its stablecoin dollar-peg. In a Tweet on Feb. 18, Platypus disclosed to be working on a plan to compensate the damages and asked users not to realize their losses in the protocol, saying this would make it harder for the company to manage the issue. Assets liquidation are also paused, said the protocol: 2/ We are working on a plan to compensate the losses, please DO NOT repay your USP and realize the …

Crypto lending platform MakerDAO is voting on a new proposal to bring another commercial bank into its ecosystem, strengthening the connection between decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional finance. As per MakerDAO's governance forum, Cogent Bank, a Florida commercial bank, is proposing to participate with $100 million in loans to MakerDAO's RWA Master Participation Trust. Maker Governance votes on 4 Governance Polls within the current monthly governance cycle. What's being voted on and what are the implications? Recap, here. ↓ pic.twitter.com/YivsBJHpHv — Maker (@MakerDAO) February 17, 2023 The proposal is part of MakerDAO's monthly governance cycle, and seeks the same terms …

The crypto winter and FTX collapse has decimated the ranks of cryptocurrency lenders. Genesis, BlockFi, Voyageur Digital and Celsius Network all filed for bankruptcy in the past seven months, and the contagion may still not be over. But at least one crypto lender appears to be on the comeback trail. SALT Lending, one of the world’s first cryptocurrency lenders, announced Feb. 8 that it has closed a $64.4 million financing that will strengthen its balance sheet and replenish its capital reserves. Accredited investors will receive shares of the company’s preferred stock in return for their funding. Though the Series A …

Max Levchin, the CEO of buy-now-pay-later company Affirm, has confirmed that they will be shutting down their “Affirm Crypto Program” amid dampening consumer spending and a changing macroeconomic environment. The CEO released a letter to shareholders on Feb. 8 alongside a 19% staff cut. He cited uncertain macroeconomic conditions and the need to offset some liabilities on the firm’s balance sheet as the two main reasons behind the decision: “In a period of increased economic uncertainty, we are doubling down on our core businesses, delaying projects with less certain revenue timelines, and aligning our operating expenses with revenue. Concurrent with …

Troubled cryptocurrency lending firm Hodlnaut is reportedly working with several potential investors to sell its business and other assets. A number of potential buyers have inquired about purchasing Hodlnaut and its claims against the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 6. Hodlnaut’s interim judicial managers have received multiple proposals to acquire its Singapore-based crypto business after the company sought protection from creditors. Citing an affidavit, the report notes that the judicial managers are now in the process of signing non-disclosure agreements with the potential investors. The affidavit reportedly indicated that as of Dec. 9, Hodlnaut Group owed a …

A seven-member committee has been appointed to represent the interests of unsecured creditors in Genesis Global bankruptcy case, according to court filings on Feb. 4. The committee will represent the creditors in court, having the right to be consulted before major decisions and to participate in the reorganization plan. Members are generally select from a list of twenty largest unsecured creditors. Among the chosen members are Mirana Asset Management - an arm of crypto exchange Bybit, SOF International, Digital Finance Group, and crypto exchange Bitvavo, along with three individual creditors Amelia Alvarez, Richard Weston, and Teddy Andre Amadeo Goriss. The …

Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Everlend Finance is closing down its operations and urging clients to withdraw funds from the platform. The company announced the decision on Twitter on Feb. 1, stating that despite having "enough runway" to continue operating, it would be a gamble under current market conditions. In particular, Everland's team noted: "Unfortunately, rn liquidity is just not there and this is so not just about Solana and the B/L market (on which Everlend is 100% dependent) keeps shrinking. In these conditions pressing forward is a gamble. And even though we had enough runway, we decided to stop …

A small-scale decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has suffered a rather sizeable smart contract exploit leading to an estimated $120 million being stolen from its protocol. BonqDAO, which is behind the Bonq protocol, told its Twitter followers on Feb. 1 that its protocol was exposed to an oracle hack that allowed the exploiter to manipulate the price of the AllianceBlock (ALBT) token. Bonq protocol was exposed to an oracle hack, where exploiter increased the ALBT price and minted large amounts of BEUR. The BEUR was then swapped for other tokens on Uniswap. Then, the price was decreased to almost zero, which …