BlockFi’s eventful 2021 has continued in the second half of the year as state regulators in the United States began to crack down on the company’s crypto interest-bearing accounts. The move likely marks another operational headache for the non-bank lender in a year of substantial fundraises and public listing plans interspaced by controversy and technical blunders. State regulators going after crypto interest-bearing accounts may also stand as a bellwether of possible federal regulations targeted at the cryptocurrency loan market. Indeed, such a scenario might be possible given the current focus on digital currency regulations in America. From curtailing centralized crypto …

A fintech platform is taking on the decentralized finance craze with a focus on security, stability and accountability that DeFi platforms, by their very nature, cannot match. “Crypto has a reputation problem and we hope to fix that,” crypto exchange and lender YouHodler CEO Ilya Volkov said. “We want to be as safe and reputable as your local TradFi bank but with an innovative twist that lets users harness the power of blockchain-based financial services.” Call it TradFi with a fintech twist, as YouHodler offers crypto-collateral loans on 30 cryptocurrencies, an exchange with a fiat off-ramp, high-interest savings, and a …

Lending has been around in some form for thousands of years — dating back to ancient civilizations where farmers would borrow seeds and use crops as repayment. The arrival of fiat currencies transformed the way economies were run back then. Indeed, you could argue that we’re seeing such a seismic shift now as cryptocurrencies become a larger and more influential part of the world’s financial ecosystem. When done right, crypto lending has the potential to level the playing field — giving consumers a type of flexibility that they may otherwise have been unaccustomed to. For several years now, the rates …

The Texas State Securities Board has filed for a hearing with the potential to impose a cease and desist order against crypto lending firm BlockFi for not offering a security licensed at the state or federal level. According to a Thursday filing, the state regulator will be holding a hearing related to allegations BlockFi is illegally funding its crypto lending operations and proprietary trading through the sale of unregistered securities. Should the judge accept that the platform’s accounts earning interest on crypto represent unlicensed securities, BlockFi may be subject to a cease and desist order. Should the judge grant the …

The state of Alabama has become the second state in the United States to raise concerns over BlockFi, a major cryptocurrency lending platform. The Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) has issued a show-cause order to New Jersey-based company BlockFi, ASC director Joseph Borg officially announced on Wednesday. Already facing a cease and desist order from the New Jersey Bureau of Securities, BlockFi now has 28 days to provide cause why the platform should not be forced to cease and desist from selling “unregistered securities” in Alabama, the regulator said. According to the ASC, BlockFi’s interest-earning cryptocurrency BlockFi Interest Accounts constitute securities. …

The New Jersey Bureau of Securities had issued a cease and desist order to centralized crypto lending firm, BlockFi, preventing it from onboarding new interest account clients in the state. The news was first broken by Forbes on July 19, with the outlet citing an undated, unpublished draft press release which revealed that the New Jersey Bureau of Securities was planning to issue a Summary Cease and Desist order to BlockFi. The draft reportedly accuses BlockFi of offering unregistered securities to its customers. The document purported to quote Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck as stating: “Our rules are simple: …

A DeFi platform has launched a lending and borrowing network that allows nonfungible tokens to be used as collateral. ETNA Network says it is developing a suite of products that are designed to work in an interconnected manner — creating a tangible use case for NFTs in the process. The project’s DeBank also enables those who hold ETNA, the platform’s native cryptocurrency, to access loans on an interest-free basis. Elsewhere, an NFT factory is described as an all-in-one marketplace for crypto collectibles — bringing digital art creators and collectors together while ensuring that tokens can be traded instantly. Beyond the …

Aave hovered near its three-week high on Tuesday, helped by the prospects of its foray into the mainstream through the launch of an institutional lending platform. Fundamentals Dubbed as Aave Pro, the platform expects to become a “permissioned liquidity protocol” by offering institutions, corporates and fintech clients access to decentralized finance (DeFi). That said, it would follow strict regulations while onboarding participants, ensuring that their Ethereum addresses are safe-listed following a thorough Know Your Customer process. “We will have different kinds of permissioned markets so that DeFi will be more layered and tailored to specific needs,” Stani Kulechov, founder and …

Alex Mashinsky, the CEO of centralized crypto money market Celsius, has revealed that a share of profits from the company's recent $200 million investment into Bitcoin mining infrastructure will be redistributed back to depositors. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Mashinsky stated the firm's mining expansion has added a fifth stream of yield generation for its crypto depositors — alongside lending funds to institutional investors, leveraging DeFi protocols, retail lending, and market making on centralized exchanges. In early June, Celsius announced it had invested more than $200 million into North American Bitcoin mining infrastructure and positions in Core Scientific, Rhodium Enterprises and Luxor …

In times like these, when the entire cryptocurrency market is down and there is nary a sector-wide runup to be found, traders have to dig into data to see how the market dynamics may have changed to pinpoint signs of new growth. Stablecoins are the newest trend to emerge in the decentralized finance (DeFi) arena due to the resiliency they bring to the sector, especially since protocols that are more reliant on the dollar-pegged assets continue to offer token holders low-risk yield opportunities in turbulent market conditions. Possible evidence of stablecoins rising influence can be found in the difference between …

A platform that allows blockchain applications to be built using JavaScript has invited developers and entrepreneurs with bright ideas to take place in an online hackathon. HackOnLisk aims to support innovation on the Lisk network as it moves to the Sapphire phase of its roadmap — marking the moment where different blockchains within its ecosystem can communicate with each other for the very first time. In order to enter, participants need to build a blockchain application using Lisk SDK 5.1.0, the latest release, and provide a URL to an open-source repository. Last but by no means least, a 10-minute video …

A fintech platform says it is on a mission to stop passive hodling — helping them to unlock value from their cryptocurrencies in new ways. YouHodler offers crypto-backed loans that enable enthusiasts to generate liquidity from their digital assets without having to spend them. A suite of trading solutions encourage experimentation — while web and mobile wallets deliver “a safe and easy-to-use alternative to senseless crypto wallets.” By integrating a range of payment methods, including stablecoins, bank transfers and credit cards, YouHodler’s goal is to create seamless connections to the real world — ensuring crypto can be used for everything …