THORChain Hits $10 Billion in Monthly Volume as Bitcoin Maxis Debates Security. The decentralized liquidity protocol said March brought record monthly trading volumes, while some Bitcoin Maxis still have reservations about lending on the protocol. Decentralized liquidity protocol THORChain has reached over $10 billion in total monthly trading volume for the first time in history. However, Bitcoin BTC $70,226 maximalists disagree about whether the platform offers enough security to potential borrowers. In a March 27 post about the protocol were a safe option. Bet on Bitcoiners who want to earn more in the form of liquid assets.
However, Bitcoin analyst Dylan Le Clair dismissed Krueger's claims. A bitcoin-collateralized loan based on the exchange rate of an altcoin to give you a loan with “0% interest with no liquidation risk” is simply a risk conversion,” Le Clair said. THORChain is a decentralized liquidity protocol that facilitates the native exchange of assets across blockchains. The protocol offers interest-free loans for major crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ether ETH $3,564 and requires no liquidations or fixed expiration dates. As part of the latest protocol update on January 30, collateral requirements for Bitcoin and Ether were reduced from 400% to 200%, allowing users to borrow half of the total value of the assets provided.
On March 10, analyst Chris Blec described THORChain's zero-settlement lending model as “interesting,” but pointed out two major drawbacks to the concept. The first was that investors took the more obvious risk of lending their Bitcoin to a protocol that could otherwise crash or fall victim to an exploit, which THORChain already did in 2021, even though the funds were returned. Second, investors rely on a central provider not to change its terms at a later date, putting their loans at risk. Notably, THORChain was forced to shut down its mainnet twice in 2023 due to reports of potential security flaws in the protocol.
Fidelity Submits S-1 to US SEC for Ethereum Spot ETF Including Staking Feature
Fidelity filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 27 to create a $3,578 Spot Ether (ETH) Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). As expected from a previous presentation, the ETF will allow Fidelity to pledge a portion of the ETH it holds. Fidelity Digital Asset Services, affiliated with sponsor FD Funds Management, would act as custodian of the trust's ETH. Pursuant to the S-1, the Trust intends to establish a program to secure a portion of its assets through one or more staking infrastructure providers. There would be risks of loss, including 'cutting penalties,' and liquidity risks during the settlement of the bet.
Additionally, staking awards would be treated as income to the fund for tax purposes, causing investors to experience a taxable event without an associated distribution from the trust. The application does not specify the expected fees for the ETF. In the event of a spin-off, the custodian bank decides which chain will support the fund. There are many other risks associated with the ETF. Possible reasons for dissolution of the trust include regulatory actions such as the SEC's determination that the fund is an investment company under the 1940 U.S. Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission determining that the Fund is a commodity pool under the Commodity Exchange Act, and the determination that the Fund is a money services business under the Commodity Execution Network rules of the US Treasury Department Financial Crimes.
The SEC is reportedly investigating the Ethereum Foundation, which analysts say could hurt the ETH ETF's chances of timely approval. There was also political opposition to the ETH-ETF revelation. The Ethereum blockchain is also under a 51 percent attack, in which a malicious actor could take control of the network through a majority vote. Lido DAO is the largest ETH staking pool with 31.5% of all ETH stakes. Analysts said the launch of a spot ETF could reduce the influence of DAOs but could create new concentration risk depending on how ETFs distribute their ETH among participants. The SEC has postponed the approval deadline for other ETH ETFs to May 23rd. There are eight ETH spot ETF applicants awaiting a decision from the SEC.
DePIN platform peaq secures $15M in pre-launch round
Germany-based blockchain startup Peaq has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Generative Ventures and Borderless Capital. Layer 1 platform Peaq, which focuses on decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), has announced a $15 million funding round ahead of its mainnet launch in May. The round was led by Generative Ventures and Borderless Capital, with participation from Spartan Group, HV Capital, CMCC Global, Animoca Brands, Moonrock Capital, Fundamental Labs, and other investors. Behind the Peaq network is the Berlin startup EoT Labs, founded in 2017 by Leonard Dorlöchter, Max Thake, and Till Wendler.
The Peaq blockchain applies decentralization to infrastructure and physical systems with the goal of building an Economy of Things network. DePIN uses blockchain technology to incentivize people to build, own, and manage real-world physical infrastructure, thereby distributing control across a network and avoiding centralization in the hands of a single organization. Initiatives from various industries are exploring use cases for DePIN, such as energy systems for peer-to-peer energy trading, supply chains, telecommunications for Internet access, and data storage for secure data management.
The startup offers DePIN with modular DePIN features, which are ready-to-use features that allow DePINs to build and deploy their projects on the blockchain. Features available for projects include a machine tokenization platform and a DePIN Accelerator program. In 2021, Peaq raised nearly $2.7 million in a seed round. The additional funds will primarily be used to expand its ecosystem and further develop solutions for developers. They will continue to work on expanding the ecosystem, which will benefit from increased funding for the Ecosystem Grant Program and further development of the modular functions of Peaq SDK and DePIN.
