Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex announced that it repaid $100 million of outstanding loan facility to stablecoin operator Tether in a post on its official blog on July 2. Per the announcement, Bitfinex made the repayment via wire transfer to Tether’s bank account and the amount was not yet due to be paid to the operator under the facility. Still, the exchange reportedly made the decision to complete the prepayment based on its financial position at the end of the second quarter of 2019. The post concludes: “Also on July 1st, Bitfinex fully prepaid all interest accrued under the loan facility to …

This article has been updated to correct that GreatPoint Ventures, not General Motors, led the funding round. United States-based blockchain startup Spring Labs has raised $23 million in a Seed A funding round, according to a press release on June 12. Among the investors for this seed A funding round — led by GreatPoint Ventures — were Galaxy Digital, the cryptocurrency investment bank founded by crypto enthusiast Michael Novogratz, and automotive giant General Motors (GM). Spring Labs will purportedly use the funds to improve its blockchain-based platform Spring Protocol and develop three new fraud protection products that are designed to …

Cryptocurrency asset management company BlockFi announced that its interest-bearing accounts now support the gemini dollar (GUSD) in a post published on May 29. Per the announcement, GUSD deposits will see a yearly yield of 6.2%, paid in the stablecoin in question. BlockFi notes that it also offers GUSD as a U.S. dollar funding option and as collateral from institutional cryptocurrency borrowers. BlockFi CEO Zac Prince commented: “The implication of adding this functionality is that you could see crypto companies like BlockFi compete with traditional fintech challenger banks by taking advantage of assets like Bitcoin for on-ramps in to a dollar-based …

Korea’s oldest bank, Shinhan Bank, has launched a blockchain-enabled lending platform to speed up the loan process, South Korean news agency Yonhap reports on May 27. Shinhan Bank’s blockchain-powered loan system intends to boost cost and time efficiencies in the lending process, reportedly enabling the public to apply for loans online and get their credits without face-to-face interaction. According to the report, the new system is the first initiative of its kind introduced in South Korea. Specifically, Shinhan Bank’s new lending system applies blockchain technology in the verification and confirmation processes within the network of affiliated institutions and banks. The …

A “next-generation” mobile payment platform has unveiled two products that are designed to help users smartly manage money matters and enjoy “greater financial empowerment.” Crypto.com’s first new offering, Crypto Earn, gives the public “the freedom to grow their assets.” Available through the platform’s flagship app, the service allows users to deposit virtual currencies and accrue incentives, the company said. Consumers can choose to hold their assets for either one month or three months, and the company said a flexible plan will follow in the future. The Hong Kong-headquartered company, which was founded in 2016, has also launched a second product …

Kuala Lumpur-based Bursa Malaysia, the country’s stock exchange, is working on a blockchain-enabled security borrowing and lending proof-of-concept (PoC). English-language local media Bernama reported on the developments on May 6. Per the report, the initiative aims to develop greater transparency and address other challenges of borrowing and lending securities in Malaysia. More precisely, the exchange’s CEO, Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, reportedly said that the PoC should increase the efficiency, speed and capacity of the aforementioned services, which should consequently bring greater demand. Swift claims that the benefits of the PoC will not be limited to the customers of Bursa Malaysia: …

Can stablecoins achieve true decentralization? Certain providers believe they have struck a compromise. Some stablecoin advocates are concerned that pegging a cryptocurrency directly to the U.S. dollar means that it must inevitably have ties to the U.S. banking system. This means that they have to rely on a centralized infrastructure — something Satoshi Nakamoto wanted to avoid when he set out his vision more than a decade ago. Equilibrium says it has managed to address this pitfall by ensuring that its stablecoin, EOSDT, is overcollateralized above 170 percent. This is achieved by ensuring that one unit of EOSDT is equal …

Cryptocurrency lender Genesis processed $425 million in loans over the first quarter of 2019, according to a report released on April 25. The company’s Q1 Digital Asset Lending Snapshot revealed bitcoin (BTC) continues to dominate demand, comprising 68% of its loan portfolio. Lending in ether (ETH) almost halved to 3.6% compared with the last quarter, and XRP also slightly declined to 6.7%. Genesis, which began to offer USD lending as a pilot scheme towards the end of 2018, said demand for dollars remained strong in the first quarter, representing 10% of its active loan portfolio. The lender added that it …

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency lending firm Dharma Labs announced that it has launched its service to the public in a Medium post published on April 8. As Cointelegraph reported in February, Dharma Labs has previously raised $7 million from big name investors, including Coinbase Ventures. Per the launch announcement, users can interact with the service with any wallet, and only Ethereum (ETH) and the decentralized stablecoin (DAI) are supported for the time being. The service is also reportedly non-custodial, and the users remain in control of the private keys granting access to the assets. The post explains that this has an …

A decentralized peer-to-peer network says it is well placed to cater to the growing demand for crypto lending, and has unveiled new tool that allows users to borrow USD-backed stablecoins against cryptocurrency collateral. Nitrogen cites research from Bloomberg that shows how demand for loans backed by crypto collateral soared in 2018, as the price of Bitcoin and other coins began to decrease. It says its service enables users to “borrow and lend in a safe and transparent way” — with a range of intuitive features targeted at them on both sides of the transaction. The network enables borrowers to use …

One of the hottest topics in cryptocurrency right now is the potential ability for distributed ledger technology to transform the borrow and lending activities in traditional banking. This helps banks solve two major issues: application of legal actions and liquidity. But “on-chain” technology could solve another essential, but less recognized, problem: credit. In theory all the information is right in front of you on the blockchain, but the utopian world and the real world are two different things. There remain some significant pain points that are holding back “on-chain” borrowing and lending from really taking off and entering the mainstream. …

A crypto lender offering instant loans in more than 45 fiat currencies says it has amassed more than 170,000 users — with $300 million processed over a seven-month period. Nexo enables consumers to deposit their crypto assets into a secure wallet and instantly access a flexible credit line via automated approval and without the need for credit checks. They can then spend this credit by card or withdraw it to a bank account with a same-day or next-day transfer without incurring hidden fees or foreign exchange commissions. The platform says its interest rates, which are deducted directly from a user’s …