Loans news
Yield platform Stablegains sued for promoting UST: Finance Redefined
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week. The backlash from the Terra implosion still haunts the crypto world, with the now-shuttered stablecoin yield platform Stablegains being sued for customer losses. The plaintiffs allege that the platform funnelled customer funds into Anchor Protocol without users’ knowledge or consent. Platypus, the DeFi protocol that was exploited for over $8 million, is working on a compensation plan to recover some of the funds. Florida’s Cogent Bank is proposing a $100 million participation in loans …
Regulation / Feb. 24, 2023
Platypus attack exploited incorrect ordering of code, auditor claims
The $8m Platypus flash loan attack was made possible because of code that was in the wrong order, according to a post mortem report from Platypus auditor Omniscia. The auditing company claims the problematic code didn’t exist in the version they saw. In light of the recent @Platypusdefi incident the https://t.co/30PzcoIJnt team has prepared a technical post-mortem analysis describing how the exploit unravelled in great details. Be sure to follow @Omniscia_sec to receive more security updates!https://t.co/cf784QtKPK pic.twitter.com/egHyoYaBhn — Omniscia (@Omniscia_sec) February 17, 2023 According to the report, the Platypus MasterPlatypusV4 contract “contained a fatal misconception in its emergencyWithdraw mechanism” which …
Defi / Feb. 17, 2023
Bitfarms settles outstanding loan with BlockFi for $7.75M
Bitcoin (BTC) miner Bitfarms has settled its debt obligations with BlockFi, closing the chapter on its short relationship with the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender. On Feb. 9, Bitfarms disclosed that it had settled its $21 million debt obligations with BlockFi for a single $7.75 million cash payment. The settlement was reached weeks after Bitfarms warned that it might default on its BlockFi loan. “Combined with the earlier restructuring and elimination of our capital expenditure obligations in December, this successful negotiation and settlement furthers our initiatives to reduce indebtedness,” said Jeff Lucas, Bitfarms’ chief financial officer. Bitfarms’ relationship with BlockFi centers around …
Business / Feb. 9, 2023
Voyager victim calls for trustee to seize control of the estate
A Voyager creditor and finance lawyer wants to see a chapter 11 trustee appointed in crypto brokerage Voyager Digital’s bankruptcy trial, which would see Voyager lose control of its estate. In a Feb. 1 motion, Voyager creditor Michelle DiVita accused Voyager of having a “history of financial statement inaccuracies and public misrepresentations that were known, or reasonably discoverable, at the beginning of the bankruptcy proceeding." Due to this pre-bankruptcy conduct, DiVita believes that an examiner or trustee should have been requested, and is now doing so herself. The filing alleges that Voyager “concealed the true nature of its lending activities …
Regulation / Feb. 2, 2023
Crypto-friendly bank ends loans backed by crypto mining rigs
The holding company for the crypto-friendly bank, BankProv, has revealed it’s no longer providing loans secured by cryptocurrency mining rigs after writing off $47.9 million in loans primarily secured by them throughout 2022. According to a Jan. 31 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), BankProv has already nearly halved the proportion of its digital asset portfolio consisting of rig-collateralized debt since the quarter ending Sep. 30, 2022. The bank held $41.2 million in digital asset-related loans as of Dec. 30 last year consisting of $26.7 million worth of loans collateralized by crypto mining rigs which “will …
Regulation / Feb. 1, 2023
FTX sister company Alameda Research sues Voyager Digital for $446M
Embattled crypto investment firm Alameda Research is suing bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital in an effort to claw back loan repayments FTX made before it collapsed in November. Lawyers managing the FTX and Alameda bankruptcy case sued Voyager for $445.8 million in a Delaware court on Jan. 30. While both companies filed for bankruptcy in 2022, Voyager's chapter 11 filing came four months earlier in July. Following Voyager's Chapter 11, the crypto lender demanded repayment of all outstanding loans to FTX and its affiliate investment firm Alameda Research. According to FTX lawyers filing on behalf of Alameda, these loan repayments …
Business / Jan. 31, 2023
Wormhole hacker moves $155M in biggest shift of stolen funds in months
The hacker behind the $321 million Wormhole bridge attack has shifted a large chunk of stolen funds, with transaction data showing that $155 million worth of Ether (ETH) was transferred to a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Jan 23. The Wormhole hack was the third largest crypto hack in 2022, after the protocol’s token bridge suffered an exploit on Feb. 2, 2022, that resulted in the loss of 120,000 Wrapped ETH (wETH) around worth $321 million. According to the transaction history of the hacker’s alleged wallet address, the latest activity shows that 95,630 ETH was sent to the OpenOcean DEX and …
Blockchain / Jan. 24, 2023
Bitfarms seeks to modify loan facility with BlockFi as bear market drags on
Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Bitfarms has unveiled plans to modify an existing loan agreement with BlockFi — a move the company said would reduce its indebtedness amid the bear market. On Jan. 13, Bitfarm disclosed that it is working with creditors to modify a loan agreement for Backbone Mining Solutions, or BMS, which owns and operates Bitfarms’ 20-megawatt mining facility in Washington state. BMS received a $32 million equipment financing loan from Bitcoin lender BlockFi in February 2022. The loan was secured against existing BMS assets, including its miners and a certain percentage of BTC produced by its mining rigs. …
Business / Jan. 13, 2023
Public Bitcoin mining companies plagued with $4B of collective debt
The recent bankruptcy filing of Bitcoin (BTC) miner Core Scientific despite a $72M relief offer from creditors raised questions about the overall health of the bitcoin mining community amid a prolonged bear market. Turns out, the public bitcoin miners owe more than $4 billion in liabilities and require an immediate restructuring to get out of the unsustainably high debt levels. The Bitcoin mining community took up massive loans during the 2021 bull market, negatively impacting their bottom lines during a subsequent bear market. Bitcoin mining data analytics by Hashrate Index show that just the top 10 Bitcoin mining debtors cumulatively …
Bitcoin / Dec. 24, 2022
Crypto trading firm Auros Global misses DeFi payment due to FTX contagion
Crypto trading firm Auros Global appears to be suffering from FTX contagion after missing a principal repayment on a 2,400 Wrapped Ether (wETH) decentralized finance (DeFi) loan. Institutional credit underwriter M11 Credit, which manages liquidity pools on Maple Finance, told its followers in a Nov. 30 Twitter thread that the Auros had missed a principal payment on the 2,400 wETH loan, which is worth in total around $3 million. M11 Credit suggests that it is always in close communication with its borrowers, particularly after events in the last month, and said Auros is experiencing a “short-term liquidity issue as a …
Defi / Dec. 1, 2022
Digital assets could add $40B a year to Aussie GDP: Tech Council report
Up to $40 billion a year (AU$60 billion), could be added to Australia's national GDP with the right regulatory framework and could lead to enormous cost savings for consumers and businesses according to a new report. The Nov. 29 Digital assets in Australia report was commissioned by the Tech Council of Australia (TCA), one of the country's technology industry advocacy groups, and written by technology consulting firm Accenture, which outlined a number of potential benefits the growth of the digital assets sector in Australia could deliver, stating: “Digital assets (DA) have the potential to transform our lives offering significant time …
Regulation / Nov. 30, 2022
Wintermute repays $92M TrueFi loan on time despite suffering $160M hack
When Wintermute, a cryptocurrency market maker, lost $160 million due to a hack, concerns related to the repayment of debt worth $189.4 million surfaced. However, in an exciting turn of events, Wintermute paid back its largest debt due Oct. 15, involving a $92 million Tether (USDT) loan issued by TrueFi. After repayment of TrueFi’s $92 million loan, Wintermute still owes $75 million to Maple Finance in USD Coin (USDC) and wrapped ether (WETH) and $22.4 million to Clearpool, a total of $97.4 million in debt. Loan details show that Wintermute Trading had borrowed $92.5 million for a term period of …
Business / Oct. 16, 2022