Read in the Digest:
- Crypto markets recover, EOS and Chiliz (CHZ) emerge biggest gainers
- NFT lending service Bend DAO initiates proposal to solve the liquidity crisis
- Samsung (KS:005930) and other South Korean firms file to launch crypto exchanges
- Crypto.com unveils multimillion-dollar stadium investment plan
- Blue Pepper set to launch the Dogecoin-Ethereum bridge in 2022
Crypto Markets Recover, EOS and Chiliz (CHZ) Emerge Biggest Gainers
After seven consecutive days of decline, the crypto market is beginning to show signs of recovery across the board. The top 20 cryptos are all in the green territory, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) gaining 1% and 3% over the last 24 hours.
The price recovery is most felt by Chiliz (CHZ), which has gained 21.3% over the last 24 hours to emerge as today’s biggest gainer. CHZ now trades at $0.2361 for the first time since mid-April.
The 24-hour price chart for Chiliz (CHZ). Source: CoinMarketCap
EOS (EOS), which has been rallying amidst the bearish market, joins Chiliz at the top with a gain of 16.7% in the last 24 hours. Thanks to the rally, the price of EOS has topped $1.89 for the first time since May.
The 24-hour price chart for EOS (EOS). Source: CoinMarketCap
Flipsider:
- While Bitcoin is showing signs of recovery, its 50-week and 100-week simple moving averages (SMA) have formed a bearish crossover for the first time since February 2019, hinting at further price fall.
Why You Should Care
The recent market downtrend was sparked by an increased correlation between the crypto and Asian equity markets.
NFT Lending Service Bend DAO Initiates Proposal to Solve Liquidity Crisis
Blue-chip NFT borrowing and lending platform BendDAO has initiated a proposal to solve its liquidity crisis. The protocol had on Monday announced that it had only 15 wrapped Ether (wETH) worth $23,715 to pay back lenders.
To stabilize the Bend ecosystem, the protocol has initiated a proposal to constrain the liquidation threshold for collateral to 70% of the loan value from 85% of the 15,000 ETH loan lent on the platform so far.
Secondly, the auction period for NFTs would be reduced from 48 hours to four hours, and the requirement for the minimum bid price of NFTs to be pegged to 95% of the floor price on OpenSea would be scrapped.
The protocol also seeks to reset interest rates from 100% to 20%. And lastly, the BendDAO treasury would be empowered to cover all the bad debts using revenue.
Flipsider:
- Even before BendDAO could execute its proposal, the ETH held by the protocol has fallen to 0 as fear of BAYC price crash grips the NFT market.
Why You Should Care
The rapid decline in the price of NFTs is one of the major factors why BendDAO plunged into its current liquidity crisis.
Samsung and other South Korean Firms File to Launch Crypto Exchanges
Seven large South Korean domestic companies under Korea Financial Investment Association have submitted applications for initial clearance to run a cryptocurrency exchange within the first half of 2023.
The local news report mentioned only Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Securities. Samsung Securities, a subsidiary of Samsung Futures Inc., attempted to develop and operate a security token platform in 2021 but failed due to inexperienced staff.
According to the report, Samsung Securities is now researching the most effective ways to enter the blockchain business via security tokens. Mirae is South Korea’s largest investment bank and brokerage firm, with $648 billion in assets under management.
If approved, the crypto exchanges of these seven firms are expected to debut in the first half of 2023. In addition to offering crypto services, Mirae is reported to also introduce other blockchain-based platforms, including nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
Flipsider:
- On Monday, the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced that staking rewards, cryptocurrency, hard-forked assets, and airdrops will be subject to a gift tax.
Why You Should Care
The rising institutional interest from South Korean firms follows the election of Yoon Suk-Yeol, who promised to deregulate crypto as president of the country.
Crypto.com Unveils Multimillion-Dollar Stadium Investment Plan
Crypto.com, an exchange popular for its promotion through the sports industry, has announced a multimillion-dollar investment deal with AEG Sports to comprehensively renovate the Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center.
While Crypto.com did not reveal the exact size of the “nine-figure investment,” the deal will see Dan Meis and Ron Turner, the original architects of the Staples Center, return to redesign the new state-of-the-art stadium.
The stadium will have two major LED screens and visible ribbon boards to advertise Crypto.com. In addition, the stadium will also feature a VIP lounge and a multi-level Tunnel Club.
Crypto.com and AEG Sports have expressed their desire to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure the arena is considered a state-of-the-art stadium.
Flipsider:
- Crypto.com has announced that the staking reward of its CRO token has been dropped from 10% to 8% per annum while also reducing trading fees by 80%.
Why You Should Care
Sports has been one of Crypto.com’s biggest business channels and hopes to bring new business opportunities to the company through this renovation.
Blue Pepper Set to Launch the Dogecoin-Ethereum Bridge in 2022
Blue Pepper has announced that the new Dogecoin-Ethereum bridge is on track to launch before the end of 2022. Blue Pepper has called the bridge a “fully low-cost decentralized two-way bridge” inspired by the WBTC design.
According to Blue Pepper, the Dogecoin-Ethereum bridge is being developed based on Vitalik Buterin’s Scrypt hash validation mechanism in Serpent, which the Ethereum founder published in 2015.
The bridge will create a wrapped version of DOGE that would allow users to “use smart contracts, Defi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and more.” Blue Pepper’s bridge uses a centralized custodian BitGo, the custodian for the wrapped version of Bitcoin.
The Dogecoin Foundation and MyDoge will join Blue Pepper and BitGo as the genesis members of the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) responsible for governing the protocol.
Flipsider:
- While the creator of Dogecoin, Billy Markus, hopes the bridge works, he has said that he won’t be held responsible for any DeFi-related activity.
Why You Should Care
The new Dogecoin-Ethereum bridge will increase the utility of Dogecoin, granting users access to all the DeFi functionalities of the Ethereum chain.