DeBank, a cryptocurrency wallet focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions, has closed new funding led by major venture capital firm Sequoia China. The firm announced Tuesday on Twitter that it raised $25 million, bringing DeBank’s total valuation to $200 million. Apart from Sequoia China, the funding round featured major crypto investment firms like Dragonfly, Hash Global and Youbi. The raise also included strategic funding from Coinbase Ventures, Crypto.com exchange, stablecoin provider Circle and hardware wallet maker Ledger. DeBank is a cryptocurrency wallet designed to track DeFi data, including decentralized applications or exchanges (DEX) and DeFi interest rates. It also lets …

Avalanche (AVAX) strengthened its case for a potential upside run towards $160 in the coming sessions as it broke out of a classic bullish pattern earlier this week. Dubbed "bull flag," the pattern emerges when the price consolidates lower/sideways between two parallel trendlines (flag) after undergoing a strong upside move (flagpole). Later, in theory, the price breaks out of the channel range to continue the uptrend and tends to rise by as much as the flagpole's height. AVAX went through a similar price trajectory across the last 30 days, containing a roughly 100% flagpole rally to nearly $150, followed by …

Circle, the company that created the USDC stablecoin, announced a partnership with public charity Endaoment to create a disaster relief fund. The fund will help mid-western American communities impacted by last week's deadly tornadoes. The two entities hope to raise $1 million in grants to support the American Red Cross and local non-profits. Via Endaoment, blockchain enthusiasts will be able to directly contribute USDC or other cryptos using connected wallets with a minimum donation of $20. The funds will be distributed in $20,000 intervals to seven participating charities, the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Team …

On Dec. 8, top executives from six major crypto companies faced the United States House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee during a special hearing on digital assets. While the tone of the conversation was largely proclaimatory, the industry reacted with an optimistic buzz — it seems that crypto is bound to become a hot topic on the Hill for years to come. The meeting that took place in Congress also garnered much attention from mainstream media. What’s notable is the fact that this hearing is the first time that the industry’s senior leaders (aka “crypto moguls”) directly expressed the fears …

Stablecoins, or crypto assets which peg their value to less volatile fiat money, are useful tools for a variety of reasons. They can be used to cash out crypto investments, send or receive stable money abroad, and to pay for everyday consumer transactions without fear of fluctuation. A recent estimate from the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, put the total stablecoin supply at roughly $150 billion. But central banks, the issuers of traditional fiat money around the globe, do not seem to be big fans of stablecoins. A sharp increase in supply coupled with a lack of relevant regulations …

Maxine Waters, the chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, has announced several chief executive officers at major crypto firms in the United States will speak at a hearing to discuss digital assets and the future of finance. According to a Wednesday announcement, Waters said Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks, Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon, and Alesia Haas, the CEO of Coinbase Inc. and the CFO of Coinbase Global, will be witnesses at a full House committee hearing held on Dec. 8. The hearing, named Digital Assets …

Bitso, a major Latin American cryptocurrency exchange, is collaborating with the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin operator Circle to launch a new cross-border payment tool between Mexico and the United States. The company announced on Thursday that the integration with payment solutions from Circle aims to provide Mexican people with a new option to send and receive payments to or from the U.S. Called Bitso Shift, the new tool uses cryptocurrency to enable low-cost and instant cross-border payments available 24/7, allowing users to instantly exchange between Mexican pesos and the United States dollar (USD)-backed stablecoins. The new offering intends to unlock …

Circle, the United States-based issuer of USD Coin (USDC), has set its sights on thriving Asian crypto markets. In a move to strengthen its presence in Asia, Circle picked Singapore to establish a regional headquarters. The company is also setting up an investment arm called Circle Ventures, according to Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire’s interview with Bloomberg. The venture arm’s first investment will focus on a Japanese yen stablecoin. Allaire said the company sees substantial opportunities in the Asian markets, where he expects to see strong adoption of stablecoins in borrowing and lending markets. He added that the inflation environment and …

Issuers of stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) may soon be required to work under the same regulations as banks, but that seemingly doesn’t frighten the CEO of the USDC-issuer Circle. Commenting on the Biden administration’s proposal to work on a bank-like regulation for stablecoin issuers, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire took a supportive stance for the recommendation. He highlighted that proposal’s aim to regulate dollar stablecoin issuers in the United States financial system as banks at the federal level by the Federal Reserve represents significant progress for the industry’s growth. Allaire noted the current steps would upgrade the …

Circle, the company behind the world’s second-largest stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), has been subpoenaed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. According to a Monday regulatory filing from Circle, the SEC issued an “investigative subpoena” from its Enforcement Division in July. Circle stated that it would be fully cooperating with the regulator after receiving the request: “In addition, in July 2021, we received an investigative subpoena from the SEC Enforcement Division requesting documents and information regarding certain of our holdings, customer programs, and operations. We are cooperating fully with their investigation.” The Circle filing is part of its plan …

Amid speculation as to whether China’s second-largest property developer, Evergrande Group, will default on its $300 billion in debts, analysts are wondering whether the firm’s collapse could pose contagion risks for the crypto industry. On Sept. 8, Fitch Ratings asserted it “appears probable” that Evergrande will default on its debts, with the firm having since conceded that it will be unable to sell properties or other assets in its possession quickly enough to service its rapidly mounting debts. In a Tuesday statement, Evergrande predicts “significant continuing decline in contract sales in September, thereby resulting in the continuous deterioration of cash …

A sharp sell-off across the cryptocurrency market on Tuesday — that saw top tokens Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) fall by double-digital percentages — created a venue for stablecoins to prove their worth. The fixed-price cryptocurrencies offered interim protection to traders from the notorious crypto price volatility. They did so by almost maintaining their one dollar-peg and offering sufficient liquidity to traders who looked for a safety net during the market decline. Blockchain analytics service CryptoQuant reported dramatic spikes in stablecoin transfers as the cryptocurrency market capitalizati fell from $2.38 trillion to $2.103 trillion on Tuesday. …