The latest developments in the DeFi space
Hi everyone 🚀 As most of the world looks to Ethereum just before #themerge in the next 48 hours, we highlight some of the other news hitting the crypto space. As usual, we have picked out some of the most newsworthy pieces for you. You can find this newsletter on Medium or on our LinkedIn!
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is currently 34 FEAR 😰 with Bitcoin at $22.2k and Ethereum at $1.7k.
In the last week, big bag holder Microstrategy again filed a paper in order to sell stock to get more bitcoin, FTX Ventures acquired 30% of Skybridge Capital, Celsius offered to pay back customers with $7,575 or less and Avalanche staking platform Nereus Finance suffered a flash loan hack.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, LG partners with Hedera to implement NFTs on their televisions, cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has published a token listing and delisting procedure for tokens.
This newsletter is a summary of a number of largely unrelated news pieces from the crypto-verse that might be crypto/DeFi/NFTs/VCs/Macro but touch upon DeFi. It is aimed at people who want to stay abreast of some of the news but are not following along too closely. It is put together by Bisonai — a DeFi company in Seoul that bridges together AI + Blockchain.
If you’d like to get in touch, ping us at business@bisonai.com. ✉️ Previous newsletters can be found here.
[tl;dr]
- MicroStrategy files to sell up to $500 million in stock in order to fund Bitcoin purchases.
- SkyBridge Capital Will Be Partially Acquired by FTX Ventures
- Celsius is willing to return some money, but not much.
- Hack of the Week: Avalanche Flash Loan Attack Raises $370,000
Korea Corner
- LG Electronics launches an NFT platform with Hedera.
- Following government pressure, cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has published a token listing and delisting procedure.
MicroStrategy files to sell up to $500 million in stock in order to fund Bitcoin purchases.
MicroStrategy (MSTR), a software developer that has become a corporate bitcoin (BTC) vault, intends to sell up to $500 million in stock to fund additional cryptocurrency purchases.
According to a Friday filing with the U.S. The SEC announced the stock offering, which will be used for “general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin.”
The timing is notable because it is the first tangible indication that founder Michael Saylor, who recently stepped down as CEO to become executive chairman and focus on buying bitcoin, is serious about turning MicroStrategy into a crypto proxy. Since 2020, he has used funds raised through stock and bond offerings to purchase approximately 130,000 bitcoin, totalling more than $2 billion.
As a result, MicroStrategy’s stock has become tethered to the price of bitcoin, resulting in a $1.2 billion loss on the bitcoin bet given this year’s drop. However, the stock rose 12% on Friday as bitcoin rose nearly 10%. However, following the announcement of the stock offering, which will dilute the value of existing shares, the stock fell about 1.5% in after-hours trading.
SkyBridge Capital Will Be Partially Acquired by FTX Ventures
SkyBridge Capital (“SkyBridge”), a global alternative investment firm, will be acquired by FTX Ventures, a multi-stage venture capital fund. The deal’s financial terms have not been disclosed.
SkyBridge will receive additional working capital as a result of FTX Ventures’ investment to fund growth initiatives and new product launches. SkyBridge will also use a portion of the proceeds to purchase $40 million in cryptocurrencies for long-term investment on its corporate balance sheet. Regardless of market conditions, SkyBridge remains profitable and debt-free.
The agreement is SkyBridge and FTX’s latest collaboration, following a multi-year partnership to sponsor global SALT conferences in North America, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as co-present Crypto Bahamas, the leading institutional digital assets conference set to launch in April 2022. The firms’ collaboration on venture and digital asset investing will be expanded across current and future product offerings.
“Sam is a visionary who has built incredible businesses that are synergistic with the future of SkyBridge,” said Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Managing Partner, SkyBridge. “Our business has continued to evolve since we founded the firm in 2005. We will remain a diversified asset management firm, while investing heavily in blockchain.”
On Monday, September 12 at 9:00 a.m., Anthony Scaramucci and Sam Bankman-Fried will discuss the partnership on stage at SALT New York’s opening session. ET.
Celsius is willing to return some money, but not much.
Celsius, the cryptocurrency lending platform that collapsed and stopped accepting withdrawals during the market meltdown in June, has pledged to partially refund customers’ money. However, there is a catch: according to a motion filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court, the pledge would only apply to Custody and Withold Accounts, as well as custody assets worth $7,575 or less, according to Coin Telegraph.
The reaction of the community to the motion has been mixed, with some creditors pleased to reclaim at least some of the frozen funds, while some industry leaders criticized the platform’s management. BnkToTheFuture.com CEO Simon Dixon pointed out that the possible release of $50 million would be insignificant in comparison to the $210 million in assets Celsius still has in custody. According to the company’s filing, though, the motion is merely a “first step forward, and not the last word on, efforts to return assets to customers.”
Avalanche Flash Loan Attack Raises $370,000
According to blockchain cybersecurity firm CertiK, a flash loan attack on the Avalanche blockchain has extracted $370,000 in USDC from a smart contract as well as several liquidity providers, reported Blockworks.
The firm believes that decentralized exchange Trader Joe, staking platform Nereus Finance, and automated market maker Curve Finance have all been impacted.
A flash loan exploit is a smart contract security abuse in which a malicious actor borrows uncollateralized funds from a lending protocol and manipulates the price of a given asset, increasing its value.
Due to the nature of a flash loan, the attacker then sells the borrowed capital back in the same transaction after arbitraging the asset, pocketing the difference.
Avalanche, a layer-1 smart contract platform developed by Singapore-based Ava Labs, has risen to prominence in recent years, becoming a top 20 crypto in terms of market cap.
The Avalanche network, which is compatible with Ethereum, consists of an ecosystem of decentralized applications as well as staking initiatives via its proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
Flash loans have previously been used in high-profile crypto heists, including the third-largest of 2022, when DeFi dapp Beanstalk lost $182 million.
Korea Corner
LG Electronics launches an NFT platform with Hedera.
- The Seoul-based firm’s platform will give users a way to trade and display NFTs on their televisions.
- Transactions will be processed by Wallypto, a crypto wallet developed by LG.
LG Electronics, a television company based in Seoul, has launched a new NFT platform using the Hedera blockchain, as reported by The Block .
LG Art Lab is the company’s platform. According to an announcement made today, it will allow customers to buy, sell, and display digital art in the form of NFTs on their televisions.
LG is not the first large corporation to see an opportunity in the NFT market. Tag Heuer, a Swiss watchmaker, announced a new tool in June that allows customers to display NFTs on the face of certain smartwatches.
The new platform is built on the Hedera network, with transactions handled by Wallypto, an LG-patented crypto wallet for smartphones that is currently in beta testing.
Christian Hasker, CMO of Swirlds Labs, the Hedera developer, said in a statement that the announcement will bring NFTs “beyond being computer-based collectibles and toward becoming a piece of art displayed as any other artwork would be within the home of its owner.”
Following government pressure, cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has published a token listing and delisting procedure.
Following the collapse of the Terra stablecoin, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange published its token listing procedure on Friday in response to government pressure, according to Coin Desk. The listing procedures include examining the transparency of the underlying project, transaction support, and investor fair participation. Law violations, the discovery of technological vulnerabilities, the abandonment of the project, and user protection are all delisting criteria. Except in emergency situations, the Seoul-based exchange issues a notice 10 days before delisting.
In terms of trading volume, Upbit is the country’s largest crypto exchange, and a listing or delisting on the platform has an impact on price movements. According to a senior executive at the exchange, “cryptocurrencies are no different than the products that go on the shelves at grocery stores or department stores,” and that clients have options. “Not everyone shops to eat peas and carrots; there is also a demand for desserts.” So far, he has described Korea’s framework for cryptocurrency regulation as “a copy of the securities market,” which, in his opinion, fails to recognize their differences. “In most cases, local regulations will work against a market’s competitiveness,” he said.
Bits and Bytes
- ‘Go to jail:’ Community roasts Celsius-themed Monopoly board game
- Merriam-Webster Adds ‘Metaverse’ and ‘Altcoin’ to Dictionary in Nod to Crypto
- Starbucks Brewing Revolutionary Web3 Experience for its Starbucks Rewards Members
- Ethereum Merge Explained: Experts break down the risks of the long-awaited crypto update
Meme of the week
Thanks for your readership! If you’d like to get in touch, email us at business@bisonai.com. 📧
Previous newsletters can be found here. Until next time, have a great week ahead!
Finally, if you’re in Seoul, please join us for Seoul DeFi #4 on 20 October! Register here.
