Category: Blockchain

  • Celsius Hires New Lawyers for Restructuring: WSJ

    Celsius Hires New Lawyers for Restructuring: WSJ

    Celsius Network LLC has hired new lawyers to advise the troubled cryptocurrency lender on restructuring, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

    The much-needed restructuring plan has come as it seeks to escape the recent turmoil in crypto markets, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the matter.

    According to the WSJ report, Kirkland & Ellis LLP lawyers have been called on board to advise Celsius on options, including a bankruptcy filing.

    The lawyers have replaced the company’s previous lead restructuring counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

    Since the company’s stagnation due to the market plunge, it has been in an unstable liquidity position. As part of its recovery efforts, Celsius has brought on a team of restructuring lawyers and appointed Citigroup to advise it on potential financing options. 

    The WSJ reported that Celsius is also reshuffling its board as they appointed two new directors last week.

    Customers of the company, who reported $11.8 billion in assets in May and 1.7 million users, have not been able to access their Celsius accounts for nearly a month after it froze user withdrawals as crypto prices plunged.

    Celsius was looking to avoid lengthy bankruptcy proceedings, The Block reported citing people familiar with the company’s situation.

    On June 30, Celsius shared a blog post with the community saying it was continuing to take “important steps to preserve and protect assets and explore options available to us.” 

    “These options include pursuing strategic transactions as well as a restructuring of our liabilities, among other avenues,” said the post. “These exhaustive explorations are complex and take time, but we want the community to know that our teams are working with experts from many different disciplines.”

    Image source: Shutterstock

  • Babel Finance Hires Restructuring Specialist Houlihan Lokey: Sources

    Babel Finance Hires Restructuring Specialist Houlihan Lokey: Sources

    Babel Finance, a Hong Kong Bitcoin financial services company offering lending and asset management services, has hired U.S. investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey, a specialist with wide experience in restructuring and acquisitions to advise in distressed fund situations. People with familiar sources have disclosed the development.

    “Babel is looking at restructuring. They’ve hired Houlihan Lokey or are in the process of hiring them. They’re in the process of signing an engagement letter,” one source said.

    Another source also stated: “They [Babel] are the next major crypto firm to have some kind of some kind of outcome over the next couple of weeks, whether it’s sorting out and getting buy-in from creditors or declaring insolvency or default.”

    The appointment of Houlihan Lokey would prove valuable to Babel, particularly during these difficult times, and will help to ensure that the firm continues offering first-class services to its customers.

    The move comes after two weeks ago, Babel suspended customer withdrawals amid liquidity concerns.  

    On June 17, Babel Finance halted withdrawals and redemption of crypto assets citing “unusual liquidity pressures” amid the current extreme volatility facing the crypto market.

    A few days later, Babel’s team stated that they conducted an emergency evaluation of the firm’s business operations to understand its liquidity status of the company. The team also said they addressed the company’s liquidity situation after reaching agreements with major counterparties on the repayment of borrowed funds back to the lenders to ease short-term liquidity.

    “Babel Finance will actively fulfill its legal responsibilities to customers and strive to avoid further transmission and diffusion of liquidity risks,” the firm further stated.

    Crypto Lending Crisis

    Even as Babel Finance reassures its clients and investors that its financial situation is sound, its dramatic incident is another case that has put the stability of the lending market in the spotlight.

    Babel’s troubles come at a time when the crypto market is experiencing severe distress triggered by the plunge of the Terra ecosystem in May, followed by liquidity crisis facing Celsius Network and Three Arrows Capital.

    Recently, Celsius Network, a major crypto lending platform, hired attorneys specialized in business restructuring from the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to advise on potential solutions to its growing financial problems.

    On 13th June, Celsius halted all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts due to ‘extreme market conditions.’

    While Celsius was first looking for potential financing options from investors, it later decided to consider financial restructuring.

    Image source: Shutterstock

  • Ripple Opens First Office in Canada with New Growth Plan

    Ripple Opens First Office in Canada with New Growth Plan

    Ripple, a company behind XRP cryptocurrency, has announced that it is opening a new office in Toronto, which will serve as an engineering hub. The new office, Ripple’s first footprint in Canada, will support the company’s continued growth in North America and beyond.

    The firm plans to initially hire 50 engineers in Toronto with the goal to expand to hundreds of blockchain software engineers, including applied machine learning scientists, data scientists, and product managers.

    Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, commented about the development: “Crypto and blockchain present an incredible opportunity for engineers to tackle difficult problems, with the potential for these solutions to impact the movement of value around the world.”

    Despite the current market conditions that have seen many other crypto firms announcing massive layoffs and hiring freezes, Ripple plans to hire hundreds of people globally this year. Ripple wants to bring in the best talents by helping the company’s innovation and serve its clients for years to come. The firm opened new offices in key cities, including Miami and Dublin, in the previous year alone.

    The launch of the Toronto office further strengthens Ripple’s commitment to a region that is already a tech hub where it can tap into the local talent pool and hire top engineers to develop crypto innovation in Toronto.

    The move by Ripple demonstrates another clear demand for greater access to the digital economy. The Canadian crypto market is becoming increasingly robust and therefore sets the perfect stage not only for Ripple’s expansion but also for other companies’ international growth.

    A week ago, Bahamas-based FTX Exchange, one of the world’s largest crypto firms, also opened its business in Calgary location in Canada, by acquiring Bitvo Inc., a Calgary-based crypto exchange.

    The move by FTX came amid extreme industry volatility, as digital assets continue to fall to multiyear lows. Many crypto firms, such as BlockFi, Crypto.com, Coinbase, and others, have made deep cuts to their workforce. A prominent crypto lending firm Celsius Network recently suspended operations indefinitely, a situation that has left millions of its users in limbo and accelerated a global collapse of the crypto market.

    Image source: Shutterstock

  • HK’s PANGU Plays a Magician in Metaverse, Expanding P2E Model for Business Growth

    HK’s PANGU Plays a Magician in Metaverse, Expanding P2E Model for Business Growth

    Hong Kong-based start-up PANGU, a metaverse agency appointed by Sandbox, is helping clients to enter into the metaverse by providing asset creation and branding consultation services. The company said it is building various business models, including the play-to-earn (P2E) model for clients to support its growth.

    Kenny Ng, the founder of PANGU by Kenal (left) believes the Metaverse would be the tendency of the future;
    and Zero Chung (right) thinks that providing customied solutions to clients is key advantage of the company.

    Interior designer in the Metaverse

    Stepping into the office located at Kowloon Bay, Eastern Kowloon in Hong Kong, a mini botanical garden has been set up at the base’s main entrance. Agave americana, more commonly known as Century Plant, and other various potted plants are growing under the care of the owner. The vibe of the working environment and its inspirations also come from the green belief.

    PANGU, the visual design production company established as its affiliate of the Kenal Group, has hired over 20 staff and still rapidly expanding. Kenny Ng, Founder of PANGU by Kenal, established his team around eight months ago. Ng shared his experience with Blockchain.News, “just like other start-up companies, we are gradually expanding our scale, starting from building up our products with designers, then developing business and marketing teams at the following stage.”

    Furthermore, the company plans to establish community management in the long term, PANGU’s Ng shared his ongoing business plans to Blockchain.News.

    This company has connected with the Sandbox since last November in 2021 and was just appointed as the official TSB Metaverse agency in April, which is rare for HK-based startups in the global market. According to PANGU, the agency raised its capital independently followed by grants from Sandbox’s “game maker fund”, which aims at connecting with the next generation and the tendency of web 3.

    These services support its business growth by providing a one-stop solution, including land purchase with development, offering marketing strategy, digital assets creation and branding collaboration for clients from online to offline.

    Kenny Ng, Founder of PANGU said:

    “As an agency of (the Sandbox), we wish we are able to provide complete solid service with own our resources, instead of outsourcing works to other parties, which is not practical. So, that would be our direction in practice.”

    “Our partnership (between Sandbox and clients) is more like property developers, and we play our role as the builder and property management unit as a contractor, offering consultations for clients on how to develop their own lands and promote their branding through online and offline activities,” Chung added.

    Projects such as Metagreen or clients of Mcdull or other premium banks in Hong Kong are part of their key clients, these corporate firms have entered into the Metaverse through the Sandbox. In the project of Metagreen, PANGU said they are mainly responsible for purchasing land and its development, non-fungible token (NFT) creation, but also partnerships from online to offline, including partnerships with NFT gallery, NGOs and running other community channel management, such as Discord.

    The founder told Blockchain.News that “in this early stage of the Metaverse, most clients are still discovering and exploring what they can do after investing in these virtual lands. Some clients prefer to shape a revolutionized image and identity in the virtual space, while some clients prefer to promote their branding traditionally,” adding that “we are working together with clients to find out a potential and possible (virtual) identity by helping them to build its ecosystem in this space.”

    The Chief strategist suggests customized design and creative solutions for various clients would be one of the advantages for the company to remain competitive in the industry, as the company is not just serving local customers but serving globally.

    P2E Development

    Meanwhile, inspired by environmentally sustainable beliefs, the company also transformed itself into a game developer, trying to bring different scenarios to this virtual space.

    Earlier this month, the game developer virtually launched an NFT drop project, connecting with a gamification-based metaverse space. Featuring ecology conservation and environmental sustainability, the company is introducing a gamification-based platform for players to explore another virtual world– Ecoland.

    The Ecoland is a diversified ecosystem, featuring environmental and educational theme interaction for players, according to PANGU. The company said its assets creation is fully designed from scratch by itself. Their voxel characters are unique with high quality.

    Webp.net-resizeimage - 2022-06-17T170804.958.jpg

    Operating through the Play-to-Earn (P2E) model, the platform has associated with the Sandbox, players can earn SAND tokens or win some exclusive NFTs after completing several missions in the game in exchange for upgrading their equipment and tradings.

    In addition, the gaming platform also wishes to escalate its landscape in the Metaverse, bringing more interactive ways in different scenarios, such as “Play to learn”, to deliver educational messages to players by completing some mini-games in the space. “We are also cooperating with several environmental NGOs, so we will donate serval amount to NGOs we cooperate with when customers buy specific NFTs from them. These objectives would help us fulfil social responsibility obligations,” Chung added.

    Regarding crypto adoptions, PANGU said currently it would only use tokens for necessary transactions or trading among campaigns during the execution stage, such as paying gas fees during the minting of NFTs. “The company might use tokens in the future as the incentive for staff, encouraging them to stay tuned in the crypto space,” Ng added.

    Previously, the company participated in the event the Artaverse, to increase its exposure to the industry.

    IMG_3609.jpg

    PANGU discloses the company is expanding regional and overseas markets during Q3 and Q4 this year.

    Promising Potential Value in the Metaverse

    According to the latest research from McKinsey & Company, the study suggests the preliminary value of the Metaverse it creates in the space could grow up to $5 trillion by 2030.

    E-commerce would be the largest driving force, which takes up to $2.6 trillion, followed by virtual learning ($270 billion), advertising ($206 billion) and gaming ($125 billion) sector.

    Meanwhile, the blockchain-related application and scenarios on the Metaverse are still expanding.

    Author of “Snow Crash”, Neal Stephenson, who created the term “the Metaverse” nearly 30 years ago, has recently announced a new project named LAMINA1, according to online media outlet Decrypt.

    The project was described as a “free metaverse”, a blockchain-based network for building the open Metaverse. “We’re going to have all the facilities of a full layer one (blockchain) to help support and encourage the creators who want to build with us. That is my and Neal’s strategy—align everything around getting the best thing built and getting everybody all the tools they need to build what they want,” Vessenes explained.

    Imagination of Virtual Land

    The land issue in Hong Kong remains one of the most challenging issues in the city. With limited space and high demand, physical land has become one of the rarest resources for housing, real estate and other property developments.

    Since the arrival of Metaverse and virtual lands in recent years, the bond and chemistry between these two topics have the caught attention of investors who wish to join the virtual space instead of trading physical land. More local entities or corporate firms in Hong Kong, as a result, foresee the potential benefit and investment opportunities in the Metaverse. However, these firms still need a builder’s help to construct the Metaverse infrastructure.

    Apart from projects coordinated by PANGU, more local firms, such as Telcom operator PCCW and local railway operator MTR, also shared optimistic views by joining the Metaverse space, aiming at raising their awareness and exposure in the virtual space. Meanwhile, Yahoo and Meta, formerly named Facebook, have also announced to launch of a metaverse connection in the city in the hope that to reserve the old style and image of the city.

  • Bitcoin Investment in Pension Portfolio Diversifies Inflation Risk: First Digital Trust CEO

    Bitcoin Investment in Pension Portfolio Diversifies Inflation Risk: First Digital Trust CEO

     

    Blockchain.News recently had a conversation with Mr. Vincent Chok, the CEO of Hong Kong-based First Digital Trust, a technology-driven financial institution powering the digital asset industry, to help explore whether the cryptocurrency can be considered a viable addition to pension funds.

    Bitcoin as Game Changer against inflation for retirement

    The global economic crisis is taking a toll on some of the major pension funds around the globe. They are either struggling to make payments for the monthly stipends, as agreed or having little funds to sustain a robust pay scheme.

    Speaking to Mr. Chok in an exclusive interview, Chok told Blockchain.News that the issue of inflation has eroded the harvest of retired workers:

    “In many countries, inflation is higher than what a pension will yield, where you’re earning 1-2%. It is better to invest in alternative assets in a diverse way, where you can buy property, Bitcoin, and access more. Pensions are long-term, and inflation hits hard-earned money, eating away at the value of money.”

    Many users are tired of the traditional pension plans in many countries due to bureaucracy and many processes associated with accessing such funds. This has led to more agitation for a better alternative. Many employees are now looking to use cryptos like Bitcoin to save up for their retirement.

    Pension funds in most countries are significantly underfunded, which has led many to attempt to make up the shortfall between plan assets and obligations through investments. This illustrates the potential adoption of digital assets if more pension funds continue to add exposure.

    While this is a move from the status quo, many global pension funds appear not to be in a hurry to explore this option. 

    Growing Interest in Alternative Finance

    Yet, several pension funds are looking for a change in the exploratory stage. Interest in investing in Bitcoin is growing in the industry. Firms are working to make it more accessible, as studies indicate that small allocations into crypto can yield favourable results.

    In a comprehensive survey of almost 800 institutional investors across Europe and the US, 36% of respondents said that they are currently invested in digital assets, while 6 out of 10 believe digital assets have a place in their investment portfolio. Bitcoin continues to be the preferred digital asset with more than 25% of respondents holding the cryptocurrency.

    A significant number of pension firms are increasingly investing in cryptocurrencies.

    Bitcoin investment by Houston Pension Fund proved that cryptocurrency is not just appealing to individual investors. In October last year, the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF) made a $25 million investment in Bitcoin and Ether, marking major news that a U.S. pension fund had put crypto directly on its balance sheet. Of course, $25 million was only a drop in the bucket compared to the $5.5 billion in total assets held by the fund – more precisely, representing just 0.5% of its portfolio.

    The HFRRF was not the first U.S. pension fund to invest in crypto more broadly. In 2019, two Virginia Pension Funds – the Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System (PORS) and Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) – invested $11 million and %10 million respectively in Bitcoin and further invested $50 million into the crypto in 2021.

    The U.S. pension investment trend appears contagious as there is rising institutional demand from banks, hedge funds, private companies and even family offices in Europe and the rest of the world.

    According to Chok, there is greater interest in and adoption of digital assets as a new investable asset class. The executive said there’s a lot of interest from companies to set up pension plans for employees, plus a lot of interest from banks to include digital assets and crypto into digital pensions.

    Mr. Chok suggested that pension funds are often forgotten about but are an investment plan that everyone must have, usually by law. Governments force people to set up their pension accounts, put their money in, and then forget about it. Yields and returns of these investments aren’t lucrative.

    “Bitcoin pension plans are for younger generations of people who can make tiny contributions that empower them to have far more diverse portfolios,” he said.

    The Bitcoin retirement pensions not only help to provide education but also offer new opportunities than a mere 1-2% yield offered by government pension plans, Mr. Chok explained. 

    “We see this having the biggest impact on younger generations, who will start to think about their future, their retirement, through the easy accessibility of wealth generation mechanisms,” Mr. Chok stated.

    The Bitcoin pension plan gives more hope that younger generations can set themselves up for the future while enabling them to learn about diversifying portfolios and various wealth channels that are accessible and which young people can participate in, he elaborated.

    “Pensions are a boring topic as people aren’t talking about this at dinner. But these new programs – The bitcoin pension plan – enable people to be more willing to learn and provide greater awareness of access to capital, and greater financial inclusion. We’re proud to be able to offer and educate people on new opportunities for wealth generation,” Mr. Chok told Blockchain.News.

    Risks Involved

    Yet, Mr. Chok acknowledged that such enormous achievements and benefits offered do come with shortcomings. For instance, since Bitcoin is speculative and highly volatile in its current state, some entities and individuals believe its long-term investment case is weak.

    In March, the Department of Labor, raised serious concerns about the prudence of a fiduciary’s decision to expose a 401(k) plan’s participants to direct investments in cryptos. The department, which regulates 401(k) plans, cautioned retirement plan managers to be judicious when it comes to cryptocurrencies.

    However, The Internal Revenue Code (Code) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) do not explicitly prohibit the use of crypto as a 401(k)-investment option.

    Mr. Chok told Blockchain.News that in July last year, BnkToTheFuture.com, the largest online investment community of professional investors investing in blockchain, fintech and Bitcoin companies, launched a retirement for investors seeking to incorporate crypto as part of their retirement portfolio and inheritance planning.

    Despites its volatility, Bitcoin is also attracting attention from institutional investors. More large US pension funds are beginning to consider the unregulated asset as a potential asset class. The announcement by Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of 401(k) retirement plans, about launching Bitcoin as an investment option, raised significant curiosity among market participants.

    The global Fidelity Investment is another major large retirement services platform that has started offering a Bitcoin 401(k) product. By this, the company is providing employees with a saving for retirement opportunity to add up to 20% of their pension balance to Bitcoin.

    Despite the risks, at least one major employer – MicroStrategy business and software services company – has signed up to offer Fidelity’s new product to its employees.

    In June last year, a small 401(k) provider called ForUsAll started allowing consumers to allocate up to 5% of their retirement funds into cryptocurrency.

    Of course, the potential for significant wealth accumulation is the primary benefit of investing in cryptocurrency, plus there are other benefits.

    Retirement plan sponsors are looking to provide the service based on customers’ demand. Offering cryptocurrency under a 401(k) plan would also relieve employees of the burden and headaches of holding and trading cryptos for themselves.

    Empirical data shows that crypto components have the ability to significantly increase the yield of a pension fund portfolio, though such enhancement of yield comes at slightly higher risk levels.

    According to Mr. Chok, “It’s not about putting 100% of your retirement fund into digital assets. It simply has a balanced portfolio. If you have 5% in crypto for example, a non-inflationary asset, and it appreciates over 30%, this will still have a huge impact on a portfolio without putting a dent on it if something were to happen to your chosen asset. So, the potential for upside is significant.”

    “If you lost everything, it’s 5%. it won’t hurt your portfolio. You still have an account comparable to standardized government pensions.” 

    The executive said that the increase in risk can be mitigated by adding an actively managed crypto-component to the portfolio rather than a passive investment product.

    Crypto Retirement Portfolio Outlook

    Bitcoin is certainly an alluring investment opportunity because of the potential to make substantial profits. Nothing explicitly prohibits plan fiduciaries from offering the crypto under a retirement plan.

    Employees and retirees can invest in Bitcoin through their IRAs as there is no legal prohibition against doing so. However, such employees and retirees should evaluate the risks and obtain professional advice through their preferred trading platforms while making such investments.

  • Hong Kong Startup BEAM+ LAB’s Exhibition to Celebrate Launch of CRYPTYQUES NFT

    Hong Kong Startup BEAM+ LAB’s Exhibition to Celebrate Launch of CRYPTYQUES NFT

    Hong Kong startup BEAM+ LAB is hosting an interactive exhibition at the Haus of Contemporary from June 8 to 26 to celebrate the launch of CRYPTYQUES, non-fungible token (NFT) collectables based on classic Hong Kong movies.

    The organiser holds an exclusive opening ceremony today (June 6), while the public can join the event starting this Wednesday in HK. Meanwhile, The minting of NFTs is set to launch on June 18.

    The interactive exhibition will allow visitors to experience the connection between the physical world and web3.0 through the metaverse.

    Visitors can also be a part of a series of workshops, screenings and talks that aim to explore the metaverse community and discover the stories behind CRYPTYQUES.

    According to its statement, some of the highlights of the exhibition will include a fog screen projection showing CRYPTYQUES NFTs clippings, limited free posters featuring scenes from My Heart Is That Eternal Rose, 1989 (Chinese: 殺手蝴蝶夢) and Nomad, 1982 (Chinese: 烈火青春), and a pop-up café Zendo offering special coffee sleeves printed with the movie scenes for all coffee orders.

    Guests will also see a special screening of music scores performed by members of Hong Kong Hip-Hop group LMF and members of Hong Kong rock band Chochukmo (觸執毛) created for CRYPTYQUES, along with a photography exhibition of “Desire” NFTs, the first series of CRYPTYQUES collectable.

    Visitors can also join workshops, view a movie poster exhibition, and screenings of the 4K Remastered of Nomad. 

    One of the exhibitions, Raw Emotions X CRYPTYQUES collaboration, will be available for guests to purchase on-site.

    The concept behind CRYPTYQUES was introduced by Hong Kong-based photographer and director Wing Shya. 

    The initial drop is a collection of 1,320 NFTs of classic Hong Kong movie scenes from My Heart Is That Eternal Rose and Nomad. 

    The NFTs will reflect the strong emotional yearnings of “Desire” which have been recreated as 3D-animated video clips by Shya and an internationally-acclaimed Hollywood production team, using point cloud technology.

    CRYPTYQUES will be available in the format of mystery boxes, minting directly on the website (cryptyques.com), the price will be announced one week before the mint date.

    Some of these NFTs have ‘PASS’ properties and will receive AirDrop in the future. An exclusive 1/1 unique NFT will be auctioned in July.

    Image source: BEAM+ LAB

  • Accounting Firm Wolf & Company Pairs with Bitpay to Accept Crypto Payments

    Accounting Firm Wolf & Company Pairs with Bitpay to Accept Crypto Payments

    Leading regional CPA firm providing insightful financial accounting and audit services Wolf & Company partners with cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay to accept cryptocurrency payments.

    In its official announcement, the company stated that it will now accept payments in various digital assets, including Bitcoin ($BTC), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) Ethereum ($ETH), Litecoin ($LTC), Ripple (XRP) popular meme coins, Shiba Inu ($SHIB) and Dogecoin ($DOGE) and several other USD-pegged stablecoins including Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Pax Dollar (USDP), Binance Dollar (BUSD).

    The company officially writes: “As a firm that embraces digital innovation, our team is already working on the cutting edge of cryptocurrency services. By partnering with BitPay to accept crypto payments, we’re truly embracing crypto and its growing role in the economy.”

    Wolf & Company is an accounting company specializing in audit, tax, IT audit, and consulting services.

     

    This accounting firm has been around for over 110 years. They deliver assurance, tax, risk management and business consulting services.

    Last month, Payments platform Nium launched an API-based solution called “Crypto Accept”, which aims to provide crypto payments to businesses worldwide.

    The company said that Crypto Accept currently supports (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrencies for payment and will launch more cryptocurrencies in 2023.

    Image source: Shutterstock

  • Crypto Market Crash Leaves Investors Counting Losses

    Crypto Market Crash Leaves Investors Counting Losses

    Over the previous two years, a boom in crypto prices minted a generation of millionaires and billionaires. Some industry executives and even regular investors acquired extraordinary wealth out of cryptocurrency trading.

    But of late, the crypto market has crashed. Last week, central bank interest rates tightening reports, inflation concerns, and the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD and its LUNA token, helped ignite a wider meltdown, plunging Bitcoin price and wiping $300 billion in value from the wider crypto economy. The recent crypto market crisis has not only hurt investors but also erased billions of dollars from their fortunes.

    Lost opportunities

    Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, is one of the heavyweight investors who faced the wrath. After Ethereum’s price surpassed $3,000 and hit a high of over $4,800 in November last year, Vitalik possessed a digital wallet whose ETH contents were valued at about $1.5 billion.

    But on Friday last week, Buterin revealed on social media that he is no longer a billionaire. Due to the ongoing market sell-off, Ether has lost 60 % of its value, trading at around $2,028 during the intraday on Monday Asia section, according to Coinmarketcap.

    Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance – the world’s largest crypto exchange – also has seen more than $80 billion, or 84% of his wealth, evaporate this year.

    A few days ago, Mr. Zhao tweeted that Luna’s collapse made him “poor again” after losing billions of dollars in crypto following a market crash, which has wiped out the fortunes of several investors.

    On Monday last week, Zhao mentioned that Binance held 15 million Luna tokens. In early April, Binance’s Luna holdings were worth $1.6 billion when the token hit its peak price. But its recent crash saw that value fall to about $2,200 the previous week.

    Managing a down cycle

    There are many ways for crypto investors to prepare for a market crash. The golden rule of investing in a risky asset class like crypto is to only invest money that an investor can afford to lose. It is advisable to ensure that crypto only represents a small percentage of overall investments. High-risk investments like cryptocurrency should only make up a small portion of a total portfolio.

    There are various ways an investor can calculate how much he or she wants to allocate, depending on their risk tolerance, crypto knowledge, and the degree to which they believe cryptocurrency could outperform stocks. The crucial thing is diversification.

    Investing in cryptocurrencies with long-term potential is a great way to guard against panic selling when prices fall. Research can help identify crypto coins with the best chance of long-term survival.

    Image source: Shutterstock

  • SBF Suggests LUNA’s Collapse Different to Theranos, but Questioning its Marketing Strategy

    SBF Suggests LUNA’s Collapse Different to Theranos, but Questioning its Marketing Strategy

    FTX Derivatives Exchange’s billionaire CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, has faulted the marketing strategies that were employed by the embattled Terra blockchain to gain acceptance from the public.

    These comments come on the heels of the protocol’s two tokens, LUNA and UST, losing their value and peg to the US Dollar respectively.

    While many people have been comparing the crash of Terra to the collapse of Theranos, a once innovative healthcare technology that was founded and managed by Elizabeth Holmes. To Bankman-Fried, the downfall of both startups cannot be compared as Elizabeth lied to investors about a technology that was not working in order to keep getting funding.

    He believed the operations and management of Terra, led by Do Kwon, were transparent. The face of the Terra ecosystem has not failed to talk about the fact that UST is not backed by the US Dollar but by a set of volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Terra. Should these coins plunge, the stablecoin stands the risk of also losing its peg.

    While Bankman-Fried noted that he is not making excuses for Kwon and the Terra purveyors, he believes the fall of the protocol should be markedly classified differently from that of Theranos.

    “Luna was a case of mass enthusiasm, excitement, and–frankly–marketing and memes–driving people to believe in something which was going to falter according to the publicly available information. That marketing was probably bad. But it wasn’t the *same* type of bad as Theranos,” He said in a Twitter thread over the weekend.

    The fall of the Terra protocol has been classified as a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency ecosystem. While it seems as though the network cannot be salvaged, a number of support and proposals to revive the ailing blockchain is being proposed as we speak. 

    In a bid to make his followers understand that Terra is not necessarily conceived as a Ponzi scheme, Bankman-Fried said other legitimate companies, including Netflix, have also lost at least 50% of their value since the start of the year.

    Image source: Shutterstock

  • Crypto Needs a Balanced Approach for an Enhanced Global Outreach, PayBito CEO Says

    Crypto Needs a Balanced Approach for an Enhanced Global Outreach, PayBito CEO Says

    For crypto’s full potential to be harnessed, striking a balance between divergent patterns and enhancing diversity at all levels is needed, according to Raj Chowdhury, the CEO of crypto trading platform PayBito. 

    With multiple metrics reflecting that the crypto community comprises mostly men, Chowdhury believes addressing the gender disparity ratio of more than 2:1 is fundamental to spur more growth. 

     

    He added:

    “Crypto has proven its worth as a force for good with efficient low-cost cross-border payment systems, remittance, humanitarian DAOs, DeFi-lending mechanisms, and more. What’s needed for further contribution at a global level is a balanced approach with participation from all sections of the society.”

    Higher crypto adoption rates are being witnessed in developing nations across Latin America and Africa because cryptocurrencies render financial inclusion.

     

    Chowdhury pointed out:

    “The appearance of the present crypto demographic may have detractors questioning its potential, but it is a fact that cryptocurrencies are proving vital to nations with poor banking infrastructure offering financial inclusion to the underserved with the democratization of money.”

    A recent study by crypto exchange KuCoin disclosed that 35% of Nigerians had entered the crypto market in the last six months because of affordable financial services and high inflation rates.

     

    Furthermore, Brazilians are entering the crypto space because of the challenges of being unbanked or underbanked. 

     

    Drawing on this, Chowdhury trusts that an overall balance is needed in the digital asset ecosystem for sustained development as nations like El Salvador and the Central African Republic have set the ball rolling by adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. 

    Image source: Shutterstock