DeFi DeBrief #25: Is contagion over? 🧐

 

Welcome to issue #25 of the DeFi DeBrief, your weekly digest of the biggest news in DeFi.

TL;DR:

  • DCG reaches agreement
  • Binance stops USD bank transfers
  • Revolut adds crypto staking

 

Onwards 👇

 

TAKE NOTE

DCG reaches initial agreement with main creditors 😅

Digital Currency Group (DCG) was seen as the biggest contagion risk following the FTX fallout.

If DCG collapsed, the crypto market could have been in for more pain. So the fact that the conglomerate (including its subsidiary Genesis) has arrived at an in-principle agreement with its major creditors on a restructuring plan is welcome news.

The plan involves the following: 

  • The winding down of Genesis’ loan book
  • The sale of the bankrupt Genesis entities
  • The refinancing of outstanding loans where DCG borrowed from Genesis

 

Customers at the likes of Gemini Earn will receive a similar kind of deal, meaning many with funds locked in proceedings could soon get their bags back.

Now, onwards.

Why should you care?

Contagion from 2022’s capitulations still weighed on the market.

Bringing the saga to something of a close is an essential step towards moving on. With DCG on more solid ground, the worst could be over.

At least — that’s the hope.

 

IN THE HEADLINES

Binance suspending USD bank transfers this week 👀

If the DCG news is positive, here’s a reason to stay wary. Binance just announced it would temporarily suspend US dollar bank transfers from February 8th. Now, the move will only affect 0.01% of monthly active Binance users.

Moreover, buying and selling crypto remains unaffected (while the suspension won’t affect Binance.US). Still, the move raises a few questions, so hold the champagne until we know what comes next.

IN THE HEADLINES

Online bank Revolut says ‘Yes!’ to crypto staking 💥

Challenger-bank-turned-finance-heavyweight Revolut will roll out crypto staking in the UK and across the European Economic Area. Users will be able to stake Polkadot, Tezos, Cardano, and Ethereum, with yields up to 11.65%. 

Revolut was one of the first digital banks to add crypto services back in 2017. In October last year, it started allowing customers to spend crypto using a debit card. And now, they’ll be able to earn interest in crypto, too.

 

TAKE FIVE

Five short reads catching our eye this week:

  1. Was Celsius just a Ponzi scheme?
  2. Will a Bitcoin NFT boom spark the next bull?
  3. Is someone (still) propping up the BTC price?
  4. Why GTX could cause the next crypto blowup
  5. What’s this FUD on Huobi Global?

 

TEMPERATURE CHECK 🔥

  • BTC: $23,217.75 (0.45%, 7 days)
  • ETH: $1,677.32 (6.25%, 7 days)
  • TVL in DeFi: $49.58bn (4.34%, 7 days)
  • Fear & Greed: 58 (greed)

*Data last updated at 08:00 on 8th February.

 

TWEET CHECK 🐦

 

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