ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has announced the permanent revocation of the lending license of the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi. This decision was made two years after BlockFi filed for bankruptcy. The DFPI suspended BlockFi's license in November 2022 and subsequently conducted a comprehensive review of the company.BlockFi has agreed to accept the license revocation and has committed to ceasing any illegal and unsafe business practices. The DFPI initially imposed a fine of $175,000 on BlockFi, but considering the company is bankrupt and no longer operating, it decided to waive the fine in order to prioritize consumer protection.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has announced the permanent revocation of the lending license for the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi. This decision was made two years after BlockFi filed for bankruptcy. The DFPI suspended BlockFi's license in November 2022 and subsequently conducted a comprehensive review of the company.BlockFi has agreed to accept the license revocation and has committed to ceasing any illegal and unsafe business practices. The DFPI originally imposed a $175,000 fine on BlockFi, but considering the company is bankrupt and no longer operating, it decided to waive the fine to prioritize consumer protection.

ChainCatcher news, the crypto lending platform Goldfinch announced the termination of its collaboration with its risk management advisor Ajay Gill. Gill was responsible for the liaison between Goldfinch lenders and defaulting borrowers, and he was set to receive $135,000 over six months, but he recently stopped responding to lenders' inquiries.Obinna Okwodu, head of the Goldfinch Foundation, stated on Friday that he will temporarily take on Gill's responsibilities while searching for Gill's successor.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, the crypto lending platform Arch has announced the completion of a $5 million seed round financing, led by Morgan Creek Digital and Castle Island Ventures. At the same time, Galaxy is providing $70 million in debt financing. This funding will be used to serve institutional clients and individual investors.Arch was founded in February 2022 by finance veterans Dhruv Patel and Himanshu Sahay, aiming to revitalize the crypto lending industry that has been hindered by the collapse of companies like BlockFi and Genesis.Max Bareiss, Vice President of Galaxy's lending division, revealed plans to securitize the debt financing, allowing institutional investors to purchase and trade it on the secondary market through crypto-native channels. Arch currently has 5 full-time employees and plans to expand its team, with plans to launch additional investment products later this year.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the crypto lending platform Ledn issued over $1.16 billion in digital asset loans in the first half of 2024. In January of this year, the U.S. approved a spot Bitcoin ETF, which subsequently led to a rise in the price of Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency. This stimulated institutional clients to adopt the technology and allowed Ledn to process hundreds of millions in ETF market maker loans.The company noted that an increasing number of clients are using digital asset-backed loans for tax reasons, as borrowing against cryptocurrency collateral is often considered a tax-free event.

ChainCatcher news, the crypto lending platform Goldfinch has encountered its third default, with affected users calling for Goldfinch to withdraw funds from the protocol's $107 million treasury for repayment. Borrower Lend East previously secured a loan worth $10.15 million with the support of Goldfinch users.On April 1, news reported that Goldfinch protocol parent Warbler Labs announced that Lend East would only be able to repay about $4.25 million of the loan, and stated that Lend East is expected to default on the remaining $5.9 million when the loan matures on April 3. Critics argue that the recurring defaults highlight the difficulties of underwriting loans in emerging markets and expose serious issues with the Goldfinch protocol model.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Reuters, cryptocurrency lending company Nexo is seeking $3 billion in damages from Bulgaria over a halted criminal investigation, claiming that the investigation derailed its plans to go public in the U.S. and a football sponsorship deal. "The investigation tarnished its reputation and undermined shareholder value."The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), based in Washington, is an international arbitration institution that handles disputes between international investors and states. Its website shows that the case was registered on January 18. An ICSID spokesperson could not confirm the amount of damages requested or other details. The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance stated that it has received the arbitration request from the ICSID, which will be reviewed by a specialized interdepartmental committee before proposing next steps. The prosecutor's office is also one of the defendants in the case.Previous reports indicated that Bulgarian authorities had dropped the money laundering investigation against Nexo executives. The investigation was launched on September 29, 2022, focusing on allegations of involvement with organized crime groups and unauthorized banking activities through Nexo. Under relevant laws, four Nexo executives were accused of operating an organized crime group from 2018 to January 2023. Additionally, two of them faced charges for conducting unauthorized banking transactions between June 2018 and January 2023, involving lending and deposits in various currencies on the Nexo platform without proper authorization under the Credit Institutions Act (CLI).

ChainCatcher news, Singapore's crypto lending platform Hodlnaut stated on the X platform that Ms. Ee Meng Yen Angela and Mr. Aaron Loh Cheng Lee will be relieved of their duties as joint executive judges of Hodlnaut and appointed as joint and individual liquidators. Other details about the company (including the value of any remaining assets) have not been disclosed.Previously, the crypto lending platform Hodlnaut announced a halt to withdrawals, trading, and deposits, and withdrew its application to MAS. It then accepted interim judicial management, with Angela and Cheng Lee serving as managers, to avoid creditors forcing Hodlnaut into liquidation and to provide Hodlnaut with an opportunity for restructuring.

ChainCatcher news, the crypto lending platform Trident Digital Group, founded by former Coinbase executives, has completed an $8 million seed round financing, led by White Star Capital and New Form, with participation from CMT Digital, Joint Effects, and Permit Ventures. Trident will launch a yield product that links returns to risk-free interest rates while ensuring that government bonds physically back any deposits.It is reported that Trident CEO DeMartino previously worked at UBS, Barclays, and HSBC, joined Coinbase in 2021 as Head of Risk Strategy, focusing on DeFi and derivatives trading, and later served as CEO of Matrixport's U.S. operations for a year before resigning in July. Trident's Chief Business Officer Toby Norfolk-Thompson was the Chief Investment Officer of Coinbase Risk Strategy at Coinbase and previously served as Chief Investment Officer for the U.S. and U.K. at Matrixport.

ChainCatcher news, crypto researcher @TomWanhh tweeted citing Dune Analytics data that between May 10 and May 12, the crypto lending platform Celsius staked approximately 40,900 ETH through the staking service provider Figment. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, on April 25, the Estonian crypto lending platform CoinLoan announced that it has stopped all user withdrawals and operations.Previous report, CoinLoan had started to limit user withdrawals in July 2022, reducing the daily withdrawal limit to $5,000. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the founder of the cryptocurrency lending platform Hodlnaut, Simon Lee, stated that for creditors, the proposal to sell the company's business is more suitable than bankruptcy liquidation, and Hodlnaut's user base can be directly taken over by the acquiring party's platform. Currently, Simon Lee and another co-founder of Hodlnaut, Zhu Juntao, are in discussions with potential acquirers regarding the acquisition.ChainCatcher previously reported that in January this year, the main creditors of the cryptocurrency lending platform Hodlnaut rejected a proposed restructuring plan and preferred to liquidate the company. In February, it was reported that potential investors had expressed interest in acquiring Hodlnaut and its claims against FTX, and had contacted Hodlnaut's interim judicial manager. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the crypto lending platform Salt, which was significantly affected by FTX, has completed a $64.4 million Series A funding round by selling shares to qualified investors. This funding will be used for its new products and growth strategy. It is reported that after obtaining regulatory approval, SALT is working to resume full operations in the first quarter of this year.Previously, in November 2022, Salt announced that it had suspended deposits and withdrawals due to the impact of FTX's collapse, but did not disclose the specific amount of its exposure to FTX. The online investment platform Bnk To The Future subsequently terminated its acquisition plan. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the crypto lending platform Nexo has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will pay a $45 million fine and cease offering the "Earn Interest Product (EIP)." Nexo has agreed to pay the SEC a $22.5 million fine and an additional $22.5 million to settle similar charges brought by state regulators.According to previous reports by ChainCatcher, Nexo began offering EIP to U.S. customers in June 2020, and the SEC had previously accused Nexo of issuing and selling EIP without registration. (source link)

According to ChainCatcher, citing sources from The Block, the cryptocurrency lending platform Vauld has received approval from the Singapore court to extend the creditor protection period until February 28, 2023. Previously, its creditor protection was set to expire on January 20 and had sought an extension until April 2. Sources indicate that if the company can make progress, the judge may approve an extension until April. (The Block)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the crypto lending platform Unchained Capital announced layoffs of about 15%.The company's co-founder and CEO Joe Kelly stated that although there is no exposure to FTX, Alameda, or other institutions facing liquidity crises, "the company's lending business has been substantially constrained due to a series of recent events." Joe Kelly also added that the number of new customers, Bitcoin deposits, and trading volume at the company have all reached record highs recently, with the current loan collateral to margin ratio at 214%. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, The Block cites sources reporting that the cryptocurrency lending platform Vauld has approximately $10 million in assets trapped in FTX. Vauld is expected to hold a meeting with its creditors' committee and potential acquirer Nexo on Saturday.Previously, Vauld informed its creditors via email that it has received approval from the Singapore High Court to extend the creditor protection deadline to January 20, 2023. Vauld halted customer withdrawals in July, and on July 12, Vauld notified creditors, disclosing a total shortfall of approximately $70 million. (The Block)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the online investment platform Bnk To The Future has announced that it will terminate its acquisition of the cryptocurrency lending platform Salt Lending due to FTX exposure risks. Previously, Salt Lending sent an email to its customers stating that it was suspending deposits and withdrawals on its platform due to the impact of the FTX collapse, but did not specify the extent of the risk exposure.It is reported that on September 2 last year, Bnk To The Future stated that it had agreed to acquire Salt Lending for an undisclosed amount, allowing users to borrow against their held cryptocurrencies as collateral. The transaction was contingent upon signing a final agreement and obtaining regulatory approval. (CoinDesk)

ChainCatcher news, the crypto lending platform Moon Mortgage has completed a $3.5 million seed round financing, led by CoinFund and Cadenza Ventures.It is reported that the funds will be used to finance Moon's mortgage product CryptoMortgage, which will allow investors to use their cryptocurrencies as collateral to finance real estate investments. CryptoMortgage will soon be launched for homebuyers in Texas, Florida, and Colorado, and will eventually be open to investors in most states across the U.S. (CoinDesk)