Cred, a United States-based cryptocurrency lending service, has officially announced the temporary suspension of operations due to an ongoing investigation. On Oct. 29, Cred executives tweeted that the company is now cooperating with law enforcement authorities to investigate a “recent fraudulent incident.” As part of the ongoing investigation, Cred suspended “all inflows and outflows of funds.” The company expects to provide an update regarding the issue within the next two weeks. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment further at this time but we will undertake to provide an update within the next 2 weeks. During this period all inflows and …

Swipe, a Binance-owned cryptocurrency debit card provider, is expanding its offering with a new crypto Visa card that allows users to borrow funds using blockchain technology. Dubbed the “LendFi Visa Card,” the new product deploys major decentralized finance protocols to provide “near-instant access to lending balances.” The card is integrated with the LendFi app — a decentralized lending platform that is connected with the borrower through their mobile device. At launch, the platform will support major DeFi protocol Compound, a spokesperson for Swipe said. According to an announcement, the new blockchain-based lending platform approves loans for users and disburses them …

In a hearing on Tuesday, the Congressional Fintech Task Force heard arguments on new rules that would potentially expand banking regulations to accommodate more technology firms providing financial services. A subunit of the Financial Services Committee, the Fintech Task Force leads the committee’s examinations of emerging technologies. As Task Force Chair Stephen Lynch (D-MA) noted, “Banking is becoming less centralized. Consumers are facing more choices than they ever have.” Banking the unbanked? Much of the back-and-forth in today’s hearing was as to whether or not loosening the rules of banking — which would allow more firms to, for example, offer …

Much has been said about attractive interest rates offered by popular crypto lending platforms like BlockFi, Celsius Network and Nexo. However, there are two sides to every coin. Paying out high interest rates requires charging even higher rates to the borrowers. Yet, Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev disagrees that crypto lending rates are high. In an interview with Cointelegraph, he said that this reflects the “Western” view, where the prevailing interest rates tend to be low. But it is not the case in the developing world, he said: “But for people in Third World countries or even emerging markets, such as …

Wing, a lending protocol built on the Ontology blockchain, currently has $180 million in crypto assets staked on its platform — not a meager amount, even by Ethereum (ETH) standards. Erick Pinos, Ontology’s ecosystem lead for the Americas and an advisor to Wing, told Cointelegraph that he believes two features make this DeFi project unique: cross-chain interoperability with Ethereum and the fact that lending is credit-based, allowing for loans to be under-collateralized. The system's OScore analyzes each user’s on-chain behavior to generate a credit score. This then determines the amount of collateral the user needs to post for a given …

Popular decentralized finance platform Yearn Finance has announced a new lending protocol dubbed StableCredit. StableCredit combines tokenized debt stablecoins, lending and single-sided automated market makers to offer what it describes as “a completely decentralized lending protocol” reminiscent of MakerDAO (MKR). Introducing StableCredit, a new protocol for decentralized lending, stablecoins, and AMMs. https://t.co/Cuoo2OMi5H — yearn.finance (@iearnfinance) September 10, 2020 Users can deposit USD Coin (USDC) to mint StableCredit USD at a ratio of up to 75%, which can then be then exchanged for other crypto assets. To release the locked USDC, users must deposit the borrowed StableCredit USD back into the …

The decentralized finance platform Cred will now use Visa’s extensive reach to further push the adoption of lending and borrowing of digital assets. On Sept. 8, Cred announced that it has joined the international payment behemoth Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program — a program that helps payment startups use Visa’s network, toolkits and expertise to build payment solutions. Cred will use the payment giant’s reach and security to popularize decentralized lending and borrowing of cryptocurrencies, or crypto loans. Cryptocurrency lending and borrowing shot to popularity recently with the launch of the Ethereum-based lending platform Compound. At the time of writing, …

Blockchain technology is disrupting every sector of the global economy with its limitless opportunities and innovative products. Decentralized finance is one of the sectors that has been trying to shake the traditional financial ecosystem. The multitude of DeFi applications emerging all over the fintech space has provided solutions, such as lending, staking, exchange of derivatives, among others. The current craze is justified, as DeFi attempts to build an alternative to the rigid banking systems. Also, government regulation (or lack thereof) and a flawed financial infrastructure have allowed DeFi projects to blossom. However, the concept of DeFi has also faced several …

Cryptocurrency wallet platform Klever will allow users to stake Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tron (TRX) and other cryptocurrencies in Cred’s staking programs from within the wallet. Cred is a cryptocurrency staking and lending platform that allows users from across 190 countries to lend their cryptocurrency funds in return for monthly rewards in stablecoins, cryptos and fiat currencies. The new feature will allow Klever users to opt for any of the staking programs listed on Cred in return for monthly rewards. Once the in-app staking goes live, it will allow users to stake Bitcoin, Ether, and Tron without having to hold …

The statistics for total value locked, or TVL, in decentralized finance are being rocked by Aave (LEND), a lending protocol that has now taken MakerDAO’s mantle as the most popular destination for Ethereum-based assets. According to data from DeFi Pulse, Aave holds $1.44 billion in assets as of press time, slightly edging out Maker’s $1.42 billion. Previous front-runner for the top spot Compound has fallen to fifth place, overtaken by yEarn and Curve. Unlike its close competitor Compound, Aave is not currently running a liquidity mining initiative that could result in padded numbers. The platform offers a wide range of …

Are there any examples of projects offering offline staking? Unfortunately, it’s still the case that most staking, whether directly under a pure proof-of-stake model or indirectly using a delegated proof-of-stake consensus, is online. This usually means handing control of your cryptocurrency to a third party or delegating to a random service. Tezos (XTZ) would be the most similar model to offline staking, since its coins stay liquid and users can set up their own “baker,” or validator, but “bakers” are required to hold at least 10,000 to become a delegate, which costs close to $40,000 at current prices. Qtum has …

BlockFi, a major American cryptocurrency lending startup, has completed another funding round featuring major industry investors. The company has raised $50 million in a Series C round led by Anthony Pompliano’s crypto asset management firm Morgan Creek Digital, BlockFi announced on Aug. 20. Also known as Pomp, Morgan Creek’s co-founder Pompliano is joining BlockFi’s board of directors following the investment. The appointment comes after Morgan Creek participated in all three of BlockFi’s funding rounds over the past 12 months, including the $18 million Series A round in August 2019 and the $30 million Series B round in February 2020. The …