ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the team behind the Trump family's cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial stated that the project will provide lending services for cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum blockchain network, which is not much different from many existing applications in DeFi.It promises to be more "user-friendly" and accessible than existing high-tech alternatives, and will be based on a non-transferable (meaning non-tradable) WLFI governance token.The World Liberty Financial crypto team, led by Chief Operating Officer Zak Folkman and Chief Data and Strategy Officer Chase Herro, released new details today regarding the WLFI token distribution plan, clearly stating that the token sale will be regulated by the U.S. SEC. Folkman stated in today's interview, "No presale, no venture capital, and no early buys; this is as fair as you can expect to see from any other DeFi project, and the token distribution launching now is very equitable."

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, DCG announced in its quarterly shareholder letter this week that it has fully repaid its short-term debts as of June. Over the past 18 months, the company has repaid more than $1 billion to creditors, particularly boosted by strong performance in the first half of this year.It is reported that the only remaining debt for the company is a $1.1 billion promissory note, which is due in 2032, at which point its crypto lending division Genesis will be bankrupt.

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, according to information from the SEC official website, Linus Financial, which was accused of offering unregistered crypto lending products, has reached a settlement with the SEC.The SEC stated that due to Linus Financial's cooperation and timely remedial actions, it decided not to impose civil penalties. Stacy Bogert, Deputy Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division, stated in a statement that while the SEC will continue to hold companies accountable, it "also encourages companies to cooperate and take corrective action promptly when issues arise."

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, according to Decrypt, the crypto lending protocol Maple Finance has completed a $5 million financing round, led by Tioga Capital and Blocktower Capital, with participation from GSR Ventures, Cherry Ventures, Veris Ventures, The Spartan Group, and others.It is reported that the new funding will be used to expand Maple's global services, with a specific focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Several jurisdictions in the region, particularly Singapore and Hong Kong, will also be used to build its newly launched pure lending division, Maple Direct.

ChainCatcher news, the zkSync ecosystem lending protocol EraLend tweeted that, after a preliminary investigation, the illegal attack has been identified as a read-only reentrancy vulnerability. The attacker manipulated the oracle price, resulting in the theft of approximately $2.76 million from the USDC pool, while other pools remain unaffected.In addition, to limit further impact, EraLend has temporarily halted lending, USDC supply, and SyncSwap LP supply, and significantly reduced the interest rates of the USDC pool to protect the affected borrowing positions from potential liquidation during this period.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, reports that based on court documents submitted early Thursday, the cryptocurrency consortium Fahrenheit has won the bid to acquire the bankrupt crypto lending company Celsius Network, whose assets were previously valued at approximately $2 billion. Although the bid has been accepted by Celsius and a committee of its creditors, it still requires regulatory approval to complete the acquisition.Court documents show that the group will acquire Celsius's institutional loan portfolio, staked cryptocurrencies, mining operations, and other alternative investments, and must pay a $10 million deposit within three days to solidify the deal. According to the terms of the transaction, the new company will receive $450 million to $500 million in liquid cryptocurrencies, and US Bitcoin Corp will build a series of cryptocurrency mining facilities, including a new 100-megawatt plant.It is reported that Fahrenheit is a buyer consortium made up of venture capital firm Arrington Capital and mining company US Bitcoin Corp, selected as the winning bidder after a lengthy auction process. (source link)

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, Maple Finance CEO Sid Powell stated during a community call on Tuesday that they are planning to launch a lending pool for investing in U.S. Treasury bonds. This fund pool will allow qualified investors and companies outside the U.S. to invest in U.S. Treasury bonds on-chain.He also mentioned that Maple will hold a community vote later this year on the new tokenomics for its native token MPL. Additionally, Maple Finance is adding new lending products, internally referred to as Maple Prime, which will enable borrowers to actively manage their collateral positions. The protocol also plans to introduce open-term loans, providing borrowing limits without an expiration date. (CoinDesk)

ChainCatcher news, the crypto lending platform Celsius Network tweeted that withdrawals of allocable assets in certain custodial accounts will reopen today. Eligible users will be notified of the steps they need to take to facilitate their withdrawals.Previously, ChainCatcher reported that Celsius stated in February that eligible users could withdraw 94% of their custodial assets, while the remaining 6% would be determined by the court. (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)

According to ChainCatcher news and defillama data, as of today, the total value of crypto assets deposited in Liquid Staking protocols is $14.1 billion, making it the second largest sector in the crypto market. The total value locked in DeFi lending protocols is $13.7 billion, ranking third, while decentralized exchanges (DEX) lead with $19.4 billion in deposits. (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)