| 1 | | Fahrenheit, a crypto consortium involving blockchain-based venture capital (VC) firm Arrington Capital and crypto miner US Bitcoin Corp, has won a bid to acquire the assets of the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network LLD, which were previously valued at around $2B. As part of the deal, Fahrenheit will provide the capital, management team, and technology to found and operate a new company owned by Celsius' creditors. More: - The acquisition includes Celsius' institutional loan portfolio, staked cryptocurrencies, mining unit, and other alternative investments.
- Fahrenheit will have three days to guarantee the agreement by paying a $10M deposit.
- Celsius account holders will own 100% of the equity in the new entity.
- The new company will be supervised by a renewed board of directors, which will substantially be appointed by creditors.
- According to the deal terms, US Bitcoin Corp will build a number of crypto mining facilities, including a new 100-megawatt plant, and the new creditors-owned entity will get $450M to $500M in liquid cryptocurrency.
- The Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), a holding company affiliated with Gemini Trust owned by the U.S. crypto exchange Gemini's founders, has won the backup bid.
- The acquisition needs to be approved by the regulators to finalize.
Zoom Out: - Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2022, mainly due to its liquidity issues and the crypto market downturn triggered by the multi-billion dollar Terra ecosystem's collapse that wiped over $60B off the crypto market.
- The firm initially launched the auction for its assets in April this year to find a buyer who would move its crypto lending and mining businesses out of bankruptcy.
- Rival bidder NovaWulf lost the bid following the latest deal, though it was once the favorite of Celsius.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: NFT loan volumes skyrocketed over the last several weeks as major NFT marketplaces adopted new lending features and platforms. The weekly loan volume reached a six-month high with $67.18M between May 1 and May 7, up from $19.56M at the beginning of the year. The figure further saw a jump last week, nearly doubling to $114.25M. What it means: NFT lending allows NFT holders to borrow money using their NFT assets as collateral. Relevance: Amid the increased interest in NFT lending among investors, Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has recently integrated an NFT lending feature into its NFT marketplace. The feature will allow users to borrow Ether (ETH) by using their NFTs as collateral within the platform. NFT loans on Binance will also generate an annual interest rate of 7.91%. In addition, the platform said it would charge no gas fees for the transactions related to the lending process. Brands that should care: NFT lending mainly gained traction shortly after the NFT marketplace Blur launched a perpetual NFT lending platform dubbed Blend at the beginning of May. Blur, launched in October last year, had already proved its competitive power when it surpassed the leading NFT marketplace OpenSea in trading volume in February. The platform's success forced its rivals to launch new features to compete with Blur. However, with its lending platform, the popular marketplace received almost all the share of the cake. In the week of May 15, when NFT loans peaked, Blur's lending protocol hosted 83% of all the loan volumes. | | | |
| 3 | | The U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase has partnered with the Austria-based crypto trading platform Bitpanda to consolidate its roots outside the U.S., especially in Europe. The collaboration will see Coinbase establish a connection with European banks and fintech institutions seeking to offer digital asset services to their clients through Bitpanda's institutional investment services platform, Bitpanda Technology Solutions. More: - As part of the partnership, Coinbase will become one of the liquidity providers for Bitpanda Technology Solutions, while Bitpanda's platform will use Coinbase Prime's custody services.
- Coinbase Institutional's clients outside the U.S. will also be able to access Bitpanda's investment services platform.
- Bitpanda Technology Solutions allows institutional clients to offer trading, investment, and custody tools for many assets, including crypto, to their own customers by integrating the platform's trading infrastructure.
- The infrastructure provider's clients include Austrian bank Raiffeisenlandesbank, German neobank N26, French fintech firm Lydia, Italian mobile bank Hype, and the U.K.-based fintech startup Plum.
- Bitpanda's chief operating officer (COO), Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, said banks still want to offer crypto services to their customers despite a prolonged crypto winter and the damaged reputation of digital assets after last year's high-profile collapses.
- In the announcement, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad also added that Coinbase and Bitpanda share an ambition to make the practice of digital asset investment safe and secure in a regulated way.
Zoom Out: - The move has become Coinbase's latest effort to strengthen its presence outside the U.S. following its conflict with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- The firm is currently in a legal battle with the SEC in which the regulator claims that the platform could violate the securities laws through its exchange and staking services, while the popular crypto exchange complains about the lack of regulatory clarity in the U.S. that it holds the agency responsible for.
- Earlier in May, the company launched a new Bermuda-based international derivatives exchange for institutional crypto traders outside the U.S.
- Coinbase's executive team, including CEO Brian Armstrong, also recently visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for strategic development in the region.
- Also, the firm diversified its crypto offerings in Singapore and made its subscription service available starting in the U.K., Germany, and Ireland.
- However, during the earnings call for Q1, Armstrong said the firm is still fully committed to the U.S. despite the regulatory uncertainty.
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| 4 | | Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, Peter Smith, CEO of the U.K.-based crypto exchange Blockchain.com, has estimated that a potential U.S. debt default would first hit the crypto market. Smith said this possibility would initially create a pull-back trend in the industry before paving the way for an upward trend. More: - The Blockchain.com CEO stated that if the U.S. defaults on debt, this would probably be bad for crypto at first since many people would want to stay away from risk assets amid a recession.
- However, the executive underlined that the crypto industry would see a strong comeback and upward trend in the long term after the U.S. hits the debt ceiling.
- Besides, Smith added that the crypto market has always followed cyclical patterns so far.
- The CEO expects 2024 will be another precedential year expecting a recovery, just as the painful 2022 came before the industry recovery this year.
Zoom Out: - On the other hand, the U.S. currently faces the risk of hitting the debt ceiling.
- The debt ceiling refers to the maximum amount of money the U.S. government is authorized to borrow as federal debt to meet its legal obligations, including the payments for military salaries, tax refunds, and Social Security and Medicare benefits.
- If the government cannot agree upon a new debt ceiling deal or does not raise the limit, the U.S. can run out of cash by June 1, defaulting on debt.
- A recent Bloomberg survey showed that Bitcoin (BTC) is likely to be one of the top three assets most preferred by retail investors if the U.S. hits the debt ceiling.
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| 5 | | Bitcoin payment app Strike has shown its commitment to its native U.S., announcing that its primary headquarters will continue to stay in Chicago. The announcement came several days after the firm established new headquarters in El Salvador, where Bitcoin (BTC) became legal tender in September 2021, as its international hub. More: - The headquarters in Chicago will oversee the operations in the U.S., while the El Salvador-based offices will supervise the global operations.
- Strike also recently expanded its services to 65 countries in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean from just three.
- Before the expansion, the platform was operational only in the U.S., El Salvador, and Argentina.
- The new headquarters in El Salvador was first announced by Strike CEO Jack Mallers at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami.
- During his keynote speech at the conference, Mallers compared El Salvador's crypto-friendly climate to the strict regulatory environment in the U.S.
- In the event, Strike CEO said El Salvador introduced crypto-inclusive regulations to boost technological innovation in the country, while the U.S. regulations prevented Strike from offering its services in certain states, including New York.
Zoom Out: - The U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also recently said the firm is still fully committed to the U.S. despite the regulatory uncertainty in the country, its legal conflict with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and its intensified global expansion attempts.
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| 6 | | Web3-based browser Brave has integrated a new feature into its video service, Brave Talk, allowing NFT-gated video calls for its users. The new feature allows video conference hosts to use NFTs and POAP (Proof-of-Attendance Protocol) tokens to let other users access the call. More: - All Brave Talk users with a premium subscription can currently use the feature on any browser with any Web3 wallet.
- The token-gated calls only support Ethereum-based NFTs for now.
- Hosts can also configure avatars and assign moderator permissions using NFTs, alongside many other functions.
- Brave said NFT projects can benefit from the new feature to allow community members to chat with other holders.
- The platform added that the users could experience the first-ever fully integrated Web3 live event platform by combining its tools, including the Web3-based browser, digital wallet, and NFT-gated video call.
- The firm plans to allow hosts to give access based on specific token balances or previous ownership of a token and send crypto to participants in the future.
Zoom Out: - POAP NFT badges prove that a person attended an event in the physical or virtual world and are given to the attendants after the event.
- Brave currently has more than 50 million monthly active users worldwide.
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- The initial design of the world's first Bitcoin Tower set to be constructed in Dubai has been unveiled by the real estate developer Salvatore Leggiero at an exclusive architecture-focused event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- South Korea's National Assembly has passed new legislation to mandate lawmakers and high-ranking public officials to report on their crypto holdings.
- Crypto exchange Bitfinex has invested in the Chile-based crypto exchange OrionX to expand its presence in Latin America.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's crypto project Worldcoin raised $115M in a Series C fundraising round led by Blockchain Capital.
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 | Staff Writer | | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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