VCs are amassing unprecedented sums to invest in startups, Celsius goes bankrupt, and a new NFT rentals standard is introduced. Plus, there's a MakerDAO report.
14 July 2022
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Table of Content
🗞️The 10 leading news you should be aware of
🔦Company spotlight: Copper.co
💸 The development of a startup ecosystem and major PE/VC funding
📚Reports and breakdowns of noteworthy developments, here is the TLDR
📈Charts of the week
💡The hottest idea/trend in the industry
📅Blockchain, Crypto and Web3 events calendar…
📎Miscellaneous resources
🗞️ The 10 news you should be aware of
1. Embattled crypto lender Celsius files for bankruptcy protection
Celsius has begun the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It has $167 million in cash on hand to sustain operations as it restructures to optimise value for all stakeholders. In May, the business had over 100,000 creditors and about $12 billion in assets under control. Several state regulators are currently looking at it. Customers of Celsius may have to wait years before seeing their money again, and they may only be entitled to cents on the dollar.
2. ING spins out digital asset custody platform to GMEX
Pyctor provides digital asset storage and transactional network services, as well as interoperability between permissioned and public blockchains. The platform was developed in partnership with major financial institutions and regulators at ING Neo's Amsterdam innovation lab. GMEX plans to include Pyctor into its MultiHub platform, a cloud-based service that combines traditional and decentralised financing.
3. Polygon joins Disney’s ‘Accelerator Program’ to develop AR, NFT and AI experiences
Polygon has been chosen, along with six other firms, to join in Disney's 2022 Accelerator programme. The programme aims to create new technologies based on augmented reality, NFTs, and artificial intelligence. A specialised CEO mentor and Disney's senior leadership team will provide support to participating organisations. Polygon is the program's sole blockchain-native platform.
4. Introducing poundtoken, the first fully-backed GBP stablecoin regulated in the British Isles
blackfridge has launched the poundtoken, a British-regulated stablecoin fully backed by pound sterling (GBP). GBPT will be redeemable for GBP at any time. KPMG will audit the stablecoin to confirm that all tokens issued are fully backed. GBPT can be bridged and transacted across multiple chains. blackfridge plans to develop a range of financial services to drive the adoption of blockchain technology in the financial services industry.
5. Binance volume surges after zero trading fee policy goes live
Binance trading volume spiked after its global zero trading fee policy went live. It was the highest daily volume since March 2020. The surge was likely due to people trying to gain VIP tiers through high trading volumes. Binance will exclude BTC trading from VIP calculations so users have no incentive to wash trade.
6. Tether says it liquidated a Bitcoin loan made to crypto lender Celsius
Tether has repaid a Bitcoin debt to Celsius. Tether suffered no loss because the loan was overcollateralized. Celsius got the remainder of its collateral in accordance with its arrangement with Tether. Tether stated last month that it has only a minor investment in Celsius.
7. Wyre integrates with new global crypto-to-cash service powered by MoneyGram and Stellar
Wyre, a major cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, announced an integration with MoneyGram's first-of-its-kind worldwide on/off-ramp service for digital wallets, released last month on the Stellar network by MoneyGram, a global leader in the advancement of digital P2P payments. The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organisation dedicated to the development and growth of Stellar, provided funding for the establishment of this service. This service is a huge step in bridging the gap between real and digital currencies on a massive scale that has never been attempted before.
8. Lido DAO begins voting on whether to limit its Ethereum staking dominance
Lido token holders voted not to reduce the protocol's Ethereum staking dominance. Lido Finance is behind staked ETH tokens (stETH), which it issues to users in exchange for staking ETH on Ethereum's Beacon chain ahead of the move to proof of stake. Lido currently accounts for over 31% of all staked ETH on the Beacon chain. The debate was triggered by concerns that Lido’s dominance of the ETH2 staking pool will pose a security risk to Ethereum after it transitions from proof of work to proof of stake.
9. ‘Ape Now, Pay Later’ loans bring BNPL to the NFT market
Decentralized finance lender Teller launched a new BNPL (buy now, pay later) feature for some of the most popular NFTs, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, Doodles, Meebits, Cool Cats, and others. BNPL borrowers can submit loan requests through Teller and lenders will provide funding on a case-by-case basis. Lenders can earn up to 30% APR on these loans.
Sending money across borders is expensive, slow, and opaque, and many people around the world do not have access to it. To address this issue, the G20 established an ambitious programme to improve cross-border payments in 2020. This programme includes nineteen building blocks, one of which is the central bank digital currency. The BIS, the World Bank, the Payment and Market Infrastructure Committee, and the International Monetary Fund issued a report on cross-border payments. According to the research, there is no one-size-fits-all paradigm for access to and interoperability of CBDCs, which means that design choices and jurisdiction may differ.
🔦Company spotlight
The company: 👉 Copper.co 👈 Copper is a cryptocurrency custody firm that provides a secure infrastructure for the institutional digital asset investment community.
The story: The London-based custodian, founded by Dmitry Tokarev in 2018, has raised a total of $85M in funding over 4 rounds. In May 2021, the company raised a $50 million Series B led by Dawn Capital and Tiger Global, followed by a $25 million extension from Alan Howard, co-founder of Brevan Howard and crypto firm Elwood Technologies.
Why in the spotlight: Copper.co failed to secure a crypto-asset registration from the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In March, State Street Digital, part of the world’s second largest conventional custodian, announced that Copper would be its technology partner for crypto custody.
💸 The development of a startup ecosystem and major PE/VC funding
1. FalconX more than doubles its valuation to $8 billion in $150 million round
The Series D was led by Singaporean sovereign wealth group GIC and Swiss investment firm B Capital. The financing, which featured participation from Thoma Bravo, Wellington Management, Adams Street and Tiger Global Management, will be used to press forward with hiring.
2. Blockchain startup Mysten Labs eyes $2B valuation
Mysten Labs is in talks to raise $200 million or more at a $2 billion valuation led by FTX Ventures, the VC arm of crypto trading platform FTX, The Information reported. Mysten is led by Evan Cheng, who worked on the defunct Libra project at Meta. The startup is developing a blockchain for decentralized applications.
3. Lightspeed raises $7B+, piling onto record year for mega-funds
In announcing the funds, Lightspeed unveiled Lightspeed Faction, a team dedicated to blockchain investments. Faction is led by Samuel Harrison, former managing partner of Blockchain Ventures, and Banafsheh Fathieh, the former head of investments at Prosus Ventures.
4. Digital asset management platform Safe raises $100m
Digital asset management platform Gnosis Safe has raised $100 million from investors including 1kx, Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global, Lightspeed and Digital Currency Group (CoinDesk's parent company). Safe's aim is to provide custody for Web3 applications through its platform, which offers management of digital assets, data and identity for retail and institutional investors.
5. Konvoy Ventures launches $150M fund to back Web3, Gaming Firms
Konvoy is hoping its latest fund will help connect investors to projects both in the budding blockchain sector as well as traditional games studios. The Denver-headquartered firm’s portfolio consists of 33 companies that have collectively raised $450 million in follow-on funding and have backed blockchain gaming developers, including Sky Mavis, creator of Axie Infinity.
6. TON Foundation sets up $90M Ecosystem Fund
The new TON Alpha-Vista Fund (TAV) has VistaLabs, Alphanonce, Miner’s Fund and Kilo Fund among its backers. The fund's aim is to establish new projects on TON and promote its user as a layer 1, or base, blockchain through advisory services and financial backing.
7. a16z and Variant lead $18 million round into DeFi lending protocol Morpho
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Variant via a native token sale in exchange for USDC. Other investors included Nascent, Semantic Ventures, Cherry Crypto, Mechanism Capital, Spark Capital, Standard Crypto and Coinbase Ventures.
8. NFT game publisher Animoca raises $75M
Investors backing Animoca include Liberty City Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Alpha Wave Ventures, 10T, SG Spring Limited Partnership Fund, Generation Highway Ltd, Cosmic Summit Investments Limited. The company has invested in an array of leading Web3 companies including Dapper Labs, NBA Top Shots, OpenSea, and Sky Mavis.
9. Bitmark raises $5.6M, launches interoperable NFT wallet
Galaxy Interactive and North Island Ventures led Bitmark’s funding round. The company’s last round came in 2016, when it raised $1.7 million led by Cherubic Ventures. The wallet, named “Autonomy,” compatible with Ethereum and Tezos blockchains, is looking to bridge the gap between mainstream art collectors and the world of NFTs.
10. Cross-chain infrastructure protocol LI.FI raises $5.5M
LI.FI, an infrastructure protocol that aggregates cross-chain bridges and decentralized exchanges (DEXs), has raised $5.5 million in a funding round led by crypto-native investment firm 1kx. The fresh capital will help the firm pay for marketing and expand to more blockchains.
📚 Reports and breakdowns of noteworthy developments, here is the TLDR
Overall Net Protocol Income was 6.7M DAI, +33% from May and -23% from June 2021. Annualized ROE on a rolling 6mo basis has begun sliding from 70-80 toward 30-40%.
After-effects from rapid deleveraging in Q2 continue to ripple through the crypto economy (LUNA → Celsius → 3AC → etc.)
ETH/BTC prices continued their decline throughout June
ETH/DAI: 1,955 to 1,024
WBTC/DAI: 31,611 to 18,718
This has driven a substantial amount (impact of -1.4M DAI) of the decline in recurring revenues as vaults liquidated and users covered positions
Collateral locked is also in sharp decline as major institutional users exit lending amidst broader market deleveraging
ETH locked in protocol from Ξ2.2M to Ξ1.5M
WBTC locked in protocol from ₿34K to ₿63K driven by vaults protecting positions, as of 11-Jul-2022 collateral is back to ₿39K (due to Celsius loan repayment)
Total interest income decreased from 4.3M to 2.4M (-44%) month on month
Overall income up on liquidations from a volatile month – from 8.6M to 9.5M (11%)
Maker Says: “We continue to work towards solving one of the greater urgencies our protocol faces, which is correctly monetizing our balance sheet to match the cost and duration of our liabilities”.
📈 Charts of the week
💡The hottest idea/trend in the industry
Rentable NFTs and ERC-4907 - Last week a new smart contract standard was approved which will unlock a powerful new use case for NFTs in blockchain gaming and metaverse spaces: NFT Rentals. The Dual-Role mechanism in ERC 4907, allows the protocol to extract user rights from ownership, which is vital for NFT rentals. In addition, the protocol provides: simple implementation; roles to NFT; on-chain time management and easy third-party integration.
📅 Blockchain, Crypto and Web3 events calendar…
…for the next couple of months
Blockchain & Liberty for All | Jul 14, 2022 | Online
World Blockchain Summit Singapore | Jul 14-15, 2022 | Singapore, Singapore
Mallorca Blockchain Days | Jul 14-17, 2022 | Mallorca, Spain
Avalanche House | Jul 15-16, 2022 | New York, New York
Metaverse Summit | Jul 16-17, 2022 | Paris, France
🆕 Crypto Finance Forum | Jul 18, 2022 | Paris, France
Ethereum Community Conference 5 | Jul 19-21, 2022 | Paris, France
Bloomberg Crypto Summit 2022 | Jul 19, 2022 | New York, New York
House of Muse | Jul 20-21, 2022 | Online
🆕 Redefine Tomorrow | Jul 21-22, 2022 | Online
Crosstech Mexico | Jul 21-22, 2022 | Ciudad de México, Mexico
Blockchain Economy Conference | Jul 21-22, 2022 | Istanbul, Turkey
🆕 Sustainable Blockchain Summit | Jul 22-23, 2022 | Paris, France
Mining Disrupt | Jul 26-28, 2022 | Miami, Florida
Blockchain Economy Istanbul Summit | Jul 27-28, 2022 | Istanbul, Turkey
NFT South | Jul 28-30, 2022 | Dallas, Texas
NFT Expoverse Los Angeles | Jul 29-31, 2022 | Los Angeles, California
Sustainable Energy: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency | Aug 1-3, 2022 | Online
🆕 NFT3 Awards 2022 | Aug 5-7, 2022 | Los Angeles, California
Korea Blockchain Week | Aug 7-14, 2022 | Seoul, Korea
ETHToronto | Aug 8-10, 2022 | Toronto, Canada
Blockchain Futurist Conference 2022 | Aug 9-10, 2022 | Toronto, Canada
Fintech Fest 1.0 | Aug 10, 2022 | San Diego, California
Play-2-Earn Expo | Aug 10-13, 2022 | Bangkok, Thailand
Superverse | Aug 20-21, 2022 | Mexico City, Mexico
Coinfest Asia | Aug 25-26, 2022 | Bali, Indonesia
BlackSeaChain | Sep 1-2, 2022 | Varna, Bulgaria
Hyperledger Global Forum | Sep 12-14, 2022 | Dublin, Ireland
🆕 The Family Office & High Net Worth | Sep 15, 2022 | New York, New York
📎 Miscellaneous Resources
The opinions are our own. The content of this newsletter is not intended to serve as financial advice and is for general informational and educational purposes only. We do not warrant, endorse, or assume responsibility for the accuracy of any information offered by third-party websites linked above.