Evening News | 0xb1 reveals true identity and exposes the inside story of Celsius's collapse; Alameda has repaid Voyager loans and retrieved collateral
Aave proposed to create a decentralized stablecoin called GHO; Voyager announced its delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange.Organizer: Cookies, Chain Catcher
"What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?"
1. 0xb1 officially reveals true identity, previously managed hundreds of millions in assets for Celsius and faced legal disputes
The well-known Twitter account 0xb1 announced today its true identity as Jason Stone. His company KeyFi worked for Celsius for a long time after being acquired by them, and 0xb1 was also created by Celsius, managing hundreds of millions in customer deposits at one point. However, due to the company's failure to hedge risks, it incurred losses and refused to pay profit-sharing, and has now filed a lawsuit against Celsius.
Jason Stone stated that he led a talented group managing the 0xb1 address from August 2020 to April 2021. Before leading 0xb1, Jason Stone spent years creating yield optimization strategies in the PoS field. In 2019, he founded a company called KeyFi, which developed MPC staking software and strategies. In 2020, the company was acquired by Celsius, after which Jason Stone shifted KeyFi to stake and deploy DeFi strategies for Celsius. In August of that year, Celsius created the 0xb1 address and transferred hundreds of millions in customer deposits to that address for investment, subsequently sharing the private key with Jason Stone for management.
"They assured me that their trading team fully hedged any potential impermanent loss caused by our activities in the liquidity pool. They also assured me that they managed risks and hedged against token price fluctuations," Jason Stone said. "But in late February 2021, we discovered that Celsius had deceived us. They did not hedge our activities, nor did they hedge against the volatility of crypto asset prices."
Jason Stone claimed that Celsius refused to acknowledge the truth or their failures in risk management and accounting, attempting to shift the blame onto him, while also owing KeyFi a significant amount of money. "Given the public speculation about the company's solvency and my observations of Celsius's loose relationship with the truth, I believe it is wise to clarify the facts once and for all. I have filed a lawsuit against Celsius to resolve this issue definitively." (Source link)
2. Alameda Research: Has repaid Voyager loan and retrieved collateral
Alameda Research stated on Twitter that it has repaid the loan at Voyager Digital and retrieved its collateral.
According to documents submitted by Voyager Digital to the New York bankruptcy court, Alameda borrowed approximately $377 million from Voyager, with an outstanding balance that includes a $75 million unsecured loan. Alameda's debt made it Voyager's second-largest borrower, following the bankrupt Three Arrows Capital. (Source link)
3. Chen Weixing: If blockchain is only used for speculation, it loses its soul
Recently, blockchain investor Chen Weixing shared his views at an internal meeting of the QuanGuo Fund, stating that if blockchain is only used for speculation, it loses its soul.
When discussing the excessive bubble in blockchain, Chen Weixing noted that securitization in blockchain has become extremely easy, so in the future, over 95% of the financial system on blockchain may be assets, with only 5% being debt. The characteristic of assets is that they are particularly prone to bubbles, which can burst easily, leading to particularly fast cycles on the blockchain.
Chen Weixing also stated that the first step in blockchain entrepreneurship is to build a community. How to unite as many people as possible with your idea and profit distribution mechanism. The second step is to conduct business. This represents a drastic paradigm shift. The original company is essentially a subset of a DAO, which provides a vast space for innovation, and in the future, various organizations may operate on DAOs. (Source link)
4. TON Foundation raises $90 million for ecosystem fund
The Layer1 blockchain TON Foundation has raised $90 million for a new ecosystem fund, with supporters including VistaLabs, Alphanonce, Miner’s Fund, and Kilo Fund. Previously in April, the foundation raised $250 million for its first ecosystem fund. (Coindesk)
5. Aave proposes to create a decentralized stablecoin called GHO, minted based on over-collateralization
Aave has proposed to create a decentralized stablecoin called GHO, which will be over-collateralized, similar to the most popular decentralized stablecoin Dai in the Ethereum ecosystem. Aave users will be able to use assets provided to Aave as collateral to mint the stablecoin. These assets will continue to generate yield while also being used as collateral. The proposal is currently under discussion and requires governance voting for implementation. (The Block)
6. Voyager announces delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange
Voyager Digital Ltd. announced its delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Voyager stated that it received a review notice from the Toronto Stock Exchange regarding the listing of the company's common shares, but due to its bankruptcy restructuring application, the company voluntarily delisted its common shares.
As a result of this review, trading of Voyager's stock has been suspended by the Toronto Stock Exchange. Additionally, due to its bankruptcy application, Voyager no longer qualifies for OTCQX International, and its stock will trade over-the-counter. However, due to the suspension and delisting review by the Toronto Stock Exchange, the stock on the over-the-counter market has also been suspended.
Voyager plans to apply to transition the trading of its common shares from the Toronto Stock Exchange to the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), but there is no guarantee that the CSE will approve. (PRNewswire)
7. Global credit service provider HidedRoad completes $50 million Series A financing, with participation from FTX and Coinbase
Global credit service provider HidedRoad Partners announced the completion of $50 million in Series A financing, led by Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Citadel Securities, FTX Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Greycroft, XBTO Humla Ventures, Wintermute, SLN Capital, Profluent Trading, and Coinbase Ventures.
It is reported that HidedRoad's quantitative platform spans locations, products, and asset classes, providing real-time risk management and seamless credit. The company offers bulk brokerage, clearing, and financing services for both traditional and digital assets. (THE BLOCK)
"What are some noteworthy articles to read in the past 24 hours?"
On July 8, the Celsius collapse incident received another major revelation, as Jason Stone, the former CEO of KeyFi behind the 0xb1 Twitter account, announced a formal lawsuit against Celsius, accusing the company of operating a "Ponzi scheme" and severely mismanaging customer funds, failing to conduct basic internal audits to clarify its obligations, and using customer assets to manipulate the crypto asset market. This article is a compilation of the core parts of his indictment by Chain Catcher (with some omissions) to help readers further understand the details of the Celsius collapse incident.
2. "Coinbase Chief Economist: Reasons for the Origins and End of This Bull Market"
In the past five years, the cryptocurrency market has seen enormous returns, partly due to the adoption by institutional and retail investors, which laid the foundation for web3. How should we assess the recent highs and lows in cryptocurrency prices? From the perspective of market efficiency, cryptocurrency prices reflect the market's assessment of the future prospects of digital assets. This perspective can help us understand the historical trends of cryptocurrency prices and their correlation with the overall financial market.
3. "Interview with Sequoia Capital Partners: How to View the Crypto Cycle and Future Trends?"
Founded in 1972, Sequoia Capital has just turned 50 this year and is the undisputed leader in the global venture capital field. This article comes from an UnChained interview with two partners from Sequoia Capital, Shaun Maguire and Michelle Bailhe, discussing their views on the crypto cycle and future trends. The former has successfully launched three out of five companies, while the latter started at McKinsey and later served as the team leader at a Silicon Valley creative lab.
