MakerDAO & Spark Lending Protocol | Bitrex & Bankruptcy | Goldman Sachs & Microsoft & Blockchain Canton | Binance & Bitcoin NFTs | Tether & Bitcoin | &more
09.05.-15.05.2023
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1 | MakerDAO Launches Spark Lending Protocol
MakerDAO, the issuer of DAI, the leading decentralized stablecoin, has launched Spark Protocol, a new lending platform that aims to bolster DAI's capabilities. Spark Lend is the protocol's debut offering and allows users to borrow or supply Ether, stETH, DAI, and savings DAI at competitive rates. Savings DAI (sDAI) is a new yield-bearing token that represents DAI deposited in Maker's DAI Saving Rate (DSR) module. Maker's governance token MKR is down 4.5% in the past 30 days, while ETH is down 0.5% in the same period. Spark Protocol is the first product of Maker's Endgame plan, which involves restructuring the DAO into multiple subDAOs, each with its own governing token. With the launch of Spark, a new yield-bearing DAI token called savings DAI (sDAI) has been introduced, which represents DAI that is deposited in Maker's DAI Saving Rate (DSR).
https://thedefiant.io/makerdao-launches-spark-lending-protocol
2 | Bittrex files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just weeks after SEC charges
Cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware. In a May 8 filing in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Bittrex estimated it had more than 100,000 creditors, between $500 million and $1 billion in assets, and between $500 million and $1 billion in liabilities as part of bankruptcy proceedings. The bankruptcy covered its Seattle-based entity Bittrex, Inc, two Bittrex entities in Malta and an affiliated entity Desolation Holdings LLC. Bittrex Global GmbH, the Liechtenstein-based global entity for exchange, was not included in the filing. In a statement to Cointelegraph, Bittrex Global CEO Oliver Linch said Bittrex's bankruptcy proceedings "[drew] a line under the U.S. wind-down from a legal perspective."
3 | Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and Other Giants Join Forces to Launch New Blockchain Called Canton Network
Digital Asset, a financial technology firm, announced it will launch a privacy-enabled interoperable blockchain called Canton Network, which is designed for institutional assets and built to responsibly unlock the potential of synchronized financial markets. Multiple industry giants in the finance and tech space will join the network, including Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Deloitte, BNP Paribas, Paxos and others. Canton Network will provide a decentralized infrastructure that connects independent applications built with Daml, Digital Asset's smart-contract language. It "enables financial institutions to experience a safer and reconciliation-free environment where assets, data, and cash can synchronize freely across applications. This creates opportunities for financial institutions to offer new innovative products to their clients while enhancing their efficiency and risk management", according to the press release.
4 | Binance’s NFT Marketplace Adds Support for Bitcoin NFTs
Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace said Tuesday it’s planning to add support for Ordinals, or Bitcoin NFTs later in May, though an exact date was not announced. Binance NFT, which already supports NFTs on Ethereum, Polygon and its native BNB Chain, plans to expand its offerings by allowing traders to purchase Ordinals on the Bitcoin network. Collectors can soon buy and sell inscriptions, or NFTs created on the Bitcoin network, expanding the reach of the nascent Ordinals ecosystem.
https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/05/09/binances-nft-marketplace-adds-support-for-bitcoin-nfts/
5 | Tether attestation shows $1.5B worth of Bitcoin in reserves
Stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) said it holds $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) in its reserves — equating to 2% of its total reserves. The stablecoin issuer further revealed that it held $3.39 billion in precious metals like gold. This accounts for 4% of its total reserves. A further breakdown of the reserves – provided by the company for the first time – showed the company had its reserves in overnight repo and corporate bond allocations. Tether said the majority of its investments, about 85%, are being held in cash, cash equivalents, and other short-term deposits.
https://cryptoslate.com/tether-attestation-shows-it-has-1-5b-worth-of-bitcoin-in-reserves/
6 | OpenAI CEO in ‘advanced talks’ for $100M Worldcoin funding
OpenAI boss Sam Altman is reportedly in “advanced talks” of securing $100 million funding for Worldcoin, a project aimed at creating a collectively owned and globally distributed cryptocurrency. A Financial Times report published on May 15, which cited sources with knowledge of Worldcoin’s funding talks, stated that the $100 million will be sourced from a mix of “existing and new investors.” When it was first revealed to the world, the startup boasted a Series A funding round led by a16z, with investors that also included Digital Currency Group and Coinbase Ventures as well as former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/worldcoin-advanced-talks-100-m-funding
7 | Ethereum’s Beacon Chain updated after finality issues
Ethereum core developers rolled out patches for Prysm Labs and Teku clients in response to two Beacon Chain finality issues in 24 hours. The Beacon Chain serves as the consensus layer for the Ethereum network. On May 11, Ethereum developers reported that the Beacon Chain was experiencing problems confirming transactions. Although new blocks could be proposed, an unknown issue prevented their finalization. The outage lasted around 25 minutes. A similar issue occurred on May 12, preventing block finalization for over an hour. Finality was unable to be reached for three and eight epochs, said the Ethereum Foundation in a statement shared by an Ethereum consultant on Twitter. The issue “appears to have been caused by high load on some of the Consensus Layers clients, which in turn was caused by an exceptional scenario.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-s-beacon-chain-is-updated-after-finality-issues
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