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DAM Finance Closes $1.8M Pre-Seed Funding Led by DFG, Jsquare for Cross-Chain, Portfolio-Backed Stablecoin

Andrew MacGill
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DAM Finance Closes $1.8M Pre-Seed Funding Led by DFG, Jsquare for Cross-Chain, Portfolio-Backed Stablecoin

DAM Finance, a protocol for creating purchasing power from cross-chain token portfolios, closed a $1.8 million pre-seed funding round led by Digital Finance Group (DFG) and Jsquare this past week. The funding round will serve as a catalyst for development towards DAM’s mainnet launch, slated for later this year.

“DFG is a strong backer of the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystem, and DAM stands out from most of the multi-chain and cross-chain projects by showing its great competence in unlocking on-chain liquidity,” said James Wo, Founder and CEO of DFG. “We are also very confident about the coming launch of the dPRIME stablecoin. DFG will continuously support DAM to achieve a greater DeFi user experience.”

The DAM Finance protocol enables borrowers to deposit a variety of token baskets in a single transaction to mint dPRIME, a Polkadot and Kusama stablecoin on the smart contract platform Moonbeam. This innovation grants borrowers more flexibility to create purchasing power and vault maintenance while accommodating a broader range of blockchain-secured assets as collateral.

DFG, a global blockchain and cryptocurrency investment firm with over $1 billion in assets under management, and Jsquare, a research and tech-driven investment firm focused on facilitating blockchain mass adoption, lead the funding round for DAM. Rounding out the funding are contributions from Arrington Capital, Ledgerprime, D1 Ventures, 11-11 Capital, Stacker Ventures, and prominent angels within the Dotsama community.

The project’s core contributors all contain backgrounds in enterprise and public blockchains, asset management, and data science. This includes previous firms such as R3, Myria, Fidelity, Oak Hill Capital, EY, and IC Group. As a result, protocol risk management will be a major focus area for DAM.

“Our goal is to significantly improve upon the current DeFi borrowing experience by embracing the reality that web3 investors have increasingly diverse portfolios across multiple chains,” says Harrison Comfort, Co-Founder and Product Lead of DAM. “We are fortunate to have a group of backers led by DFG and Jsquare that can help us realize our cross-chain vision while also supporting our strong emphasis on risk management.”

Veteran Futures Trader Peter Brandt Makes Further Market Analysis for Shiba Inu (SHIB) 

Lele Jima
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Veteran Futures Trader Peter Brandt Makes Further Market Analysis for Shiba Inu (SHIB) 

Brandt believes Shiba Inu will dip drastically if its price drops below July lows.  

Veteran futures trader Peter Brandt has shared another chart for Shiba Inu (SHIB) coin for the second time this month. This time, the legendary trader suggests that the price of the meme-based cryptocurrency may plunge massively if it drops below its July lows of less than $0.00001.  

“Hey @jonbking check this chart out. A decline below July lows would not be pretty,” the veteran futures trader said. However, Brandt added that a surge in SHIB’s price above the level would “confirm the inverse.” Brandt noted that the head-and-shoulder pattern is absentia. 

Brandt’s Recent Interest in Shiba Inu

Brandt’s recent interest in Shiba Inu may come as a surprise to many given that he usually focuses on Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. 

As reported by TheCryptoBasic this week, Brandt stated that Shiba Inu would need to hold above its neckline support of 0.00001310, which indicates a buy signal. 

However, if the trend line is violated, Brandt said investors may have to sell the crypto asset to shield themselves from incurring significant losses. 

 

SEC Requests to File a 90-Page Reply Brief to Exclude 10 Ripple Experts’ Testimonies

Lele Jima
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SEC Requests to File a 90-Page Reply Brief to Exclude 10 Ripple Experts’ Testimonies

The commission wants to support its previous motion with a 90-page reply brief to exclude the testimonies of 10 Ripple experts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is requesting leave to file a lengthy reply to further support its omnibus (big) motion to exclude the testimonies of Ripple’s witnesses. 

According to the letter, the SEC wants to file a 90-page reply brief to exclude the testimonies of 10 Ripple experts. 

“The motion seeks to exclude or limit the testimony of 10 experts retained by Defendants, Ripple Labs, Chris Larsen, and Brad Garlinghouse,” the SEC noted in its letter. 

SEC Believes Its Request Is Lower Than the Requirement

It is noteworthy that the court had previously granted the commission’s request to file an opening brief of up to 120 pages in support of the motion to exclude Ripple experts’ testimonies. 

While the order did not specify a page limit for replies, the order, as well as the court’s individual practices in civil cases allows a 15-page limit for replies, the SEC stated. 

Based on this, the SEC is requesting to file a 90-page omnibus reply in support of its motion to exclude the testimonies of 10 Ripple experts. 

The SEC added that the omnibus reply it intends to file is 60 pages shorter than what it would have been if it chose to file a 15-page reply for each expert. 

Additionally, the 90-page omnibus reply the SEC seeks to file is also 30-page shorter than the number of pages the court granted the commission for its opening omnibus brief. 

Ripple Did Not Object But Makes Its Own Request

The Securities and Exchange Commission stated that Ripple did not object to its request. However, the blockchain company and its executives also want an 11-page limit for its reply brief to further support its motion to exclude the testimonies of five of SEC’s experts. 

In the same vein, the SEC does not object to Ripple’s request.  

“For these reasons, the SEC respectfully requests that the court grant this motion,” the Securities and Exchange Commission concluded. 

The development was shared on Twitter by attorney James K. Filan, a former U.S. federal prosecutor. 

U.S. Commercial Bank Sullivan Now Offering Bitcoin Services To Its Clients

Mark Brennan
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U.S. Commercial Bank Sullivan Now Offering Bitcoin Services To Its Clients

 

U.S. Commercial Bank Sullivan Bank Partners With Bakkt to Offer Crypto Services.


Sullivan Bank, a United States-based commercial bank registered under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt Holdings to offer crypto services to its customers. 

According to the announcement, the commercial bank plans to leverage Bakkt’s Crypto Connect innovation to enable its users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

The Crypto Connect innovation allows financial institutions like Sullivan Bank to provide crypto services to customers using its tools. 

Sullivan bank was established in 1895 the bank company offers its clients both commercial and lending options, and now, through the partnership with Bakkt, its customers can engage with cryptocurrencies. 

We are pleased to work with Sullivan Bank to offer their customers the option to buy bitcoin and ether in their trusted digital banking app. To make the experience seamless for Sullivan Bank and its customers, we provide the full strength of Bakkt’s platform, including compliance, tax reporting, educational resources, and customer care,” said Mark Elliot, head of marketing and sales at Bakkt. 

Under the partnership, Sullivan Bank’s customers can view their crypto balances alongside their checking and savings balances in one place. 

The company, however, warned that cryptocurrencies are not FDIC-insured and can lose value. 

Ethereum Sets Bellatrix Upgrade And Terminal Total Difficulty Values In Preparation For Final Merge Event

Albert Brown
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Ethereum Sets Bellatrix Upgrade And Terminal Total Difficulty Values In Preparation For Final Merge Event

 

Ethereum developers have scheduled the parameters for Bellatrix and Paris upgrades to be met during the upcoming network merge.


The long-awaited Ethereum Merge event is finally here. The merge is expected to usher in the era of PoS (Proof-of-Stake) system model on Ethereum 2.0. This follows a plan by Ethereum to move away from the energy-intensive PoW (Proof-of-Work) operating model.

According to a blog post sent out by Ethereum’s team, the merge event will happen in two phases, namely the Bellatrix upgrade followed by the Paris upgrade. The Paris upgrade is the ultimate event that will trigger the fork. However, each of the two upgrades will only happen after specific parameters are met. All public testnets have been successfully updated ahead of the merge slated for September.

The Bellatrix Upgrade

For the merge event to properly execute, it must first be deployed on Ethereum’s Beacon Chain with the Bellatrix upgrade. The Bellatrix upgrade is expected to occur on the Beacon Chain at epoch 144896 early on September 6.

The Paris Upgrade

Next will be the Paris upgrade, otherwise known as the Terminal Total Difficulty value, to be reached in order to trigger the hard fork that will usher in the Merge. This value is set at 58750000000000000000000 and is expected to be reached between September 10 and 20. In simple words, the TTD is the difficulty level of solving a problem that miners have to deal with to win a block reward. More miners on the network mean higher TTD due to competition. The vice versa is true.

Once the TTD value is achieved, the Beacon Chain validator will finalize the current block, after which the Merge event will be considered complete.

World Economic Forum (WEF) Shows Ripple As Official Partner

Mark Brennan
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World Economic Forum (WEF) Shows Ripple As Official Partner

 

Ripple (XRP) is being shown as an official partner of the World Economic Forum. 



The information was available on the international non-government organization website. According to the details contained on the WEF website, the WEF described Ripple as a company that is “doing for value what the internet did for information.” 

Ripple as partner on world economic forum
Image source: https://www.weforum.org/organizations/ripple

The WEF added that the Silicon Valley tech company is also dedicated to financial equity and efficiency. 

“Ripple is dedicated to creating powerful gains in financial efficiency, equity, and inclusion.

WEF further states:

Ripple is developing and enabling future use cases that will catalyze the new digital economy for governments, businesses, and consumers.”

A partnership between Ripple and the World Economic Forum was expected to happen soon after the blockchain company’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse spoke at the WEF 2022 panel discussion held in Davos, Switzerland. During the conference, Garlinghouse said several topics, including the state of cryptocurrency regulation in the United States. 

Upon further search, The Crypto Basic found that Ripple is included in the partner list.

Ripple in World Economic Forum Partner List
Image source: https://www.weforum.org/partners#R

It is not surprising to see Ripple labeled as a World Economic Forum partner. Ripple has earned quite a reputation in the global financial industry via its efficient payment solution, RippleNet. The solution has prompted many financial companies, including banks, to partner with Ripple to leverage the tech for real-time cross-border settlements. 

Some fintech companies that have tapped Ripple for cross-border settlements include Tranglo, SBI Asia, FINCI, the National Bank of Australia (NAB), the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), and a host of others. 

While Ripple relies on Tranglo to conquer the Southeast payment sector, the blockchain company hopes to dominate the Eastern Europe payment sector via its partnership with FINCI. 

Recall that in 2015, Ripple Labs announced they were named Technology Pioneers for their distributed ledger technology by World Economic Forum.

Over 340 Million Ripple (XRP) Worth $119M Shuffled Between Exchanges and Unknown Wallets in 24 Hours 

Lele Jima
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Over 340 Million Ripple (XRP) Worth $119M Shuffled Between Exchanges and Unknown Wallets in 24 Hours 

Large transfers of Ripple coins were recorded in the past day. 

Whale Alert, a cryptocurrency data provider that tracks the activities of large crypto investors, has shared transaction details of massive Ripple (XRP) transfers that took place in the last 24 hours. 

Details of the Transaction 

First, a total of 125 million XRP coins, worth approximately $42.84 million, were transferred from leading cryptocurrency exchange FTX to an unknown wallet. 

A few hours later, the whale cryptocurrency tracking service also observed the movement of 55 million XRP from an unknown wallet to an address on Bitstamp exchange. Whale Alert reported that the funds were worth $19.13 million at the time of the transaction. 

At the same time, Whale Alert also reported the transfer of large amounts of XRP to the tune of 43,013,078 (43.01 million), transferred from a Bitstamp address to an unknown wallet. The funds were valued around $14.96 million during the time of the transaction. 

The fourth large XRP transaction that took place in the last 24 hours involved an unknown wallet and a Bitso exchange’s address. 

Per Whale Alert, a total of 60 million XRP, worth around $20.87 million, were sent from an unnamed cryptocurrency wallet to an address on Bitso exchange. 

The most recent large XRP shuffling in the last 24 hours involved leading cryptocurrency exchange Bitso again. According to Whale Alert, 63.9 million XRP coins, worth approximately $22.31 million, were sent from the exchange to an unknown wallet. 

Over the last 24 hours, Whale Alert tracked the movement of 346,913,078 (346.91 million) worth $119.23 million at the current exchange rate. 

There has been a series of large XRP transfers in recent times. Large XRP transfers running to billions of dollars have been recorded this month alone. Interestingly, these transactions will continue to skyrocket following massive interest in Ripple-related services. 

Blockchain Financial Products Issuer Valour Rolls out Binance Coin (BNB) ETP On German Stock Exchange

Albert Brown
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Blockchain Financial Products Issuer Valour Rolls out Binance Coin (BNB) ETP On German Stock Exchange

Valour Rolls out Binance Coin (BNB) Exchange Traded Product (ETP).


Popular Swiss-based technology firm Valour Inc, which bridges the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance (DeFi), announced Wednesday that it is launching its Binance Coin (BNB) Exchange Traded product (ETP) on Börse Frankfurt, a German stock exchange. 

According to the announcement, the new product will start trading today, August 24, on the Frankfurt stock exchange. 

For clarity, an ETP is a particular type of financial product or securities that tracks underlying securities, an index, or a financial instrument that can easily be purchased on exchanges similar to stocks. 

In the case of the new Binance ETP with the tag “Valour Binance (BNB) EUR ETP (CH1149139672),” the product is designed to strictly track the price of BNB, the native token of the Binance Smart Chain network that powers all the activities within the protocol. 

The cryptocurrency is sitting among the top five most significant virtual currencies in the world, with a market capitalization of $47.8 billion, according to coinmarketcap data. 

Regarding the latest development, Russell Starr, the CEO of Valour, noted that the new Binance ETP product would enable investors to gain exposure to the product on Börse Frankfurt. 

“BNB is a dynamic digital asset. By offering exposure to this token on Börse Frankfurt, Valour is enabling investors to safely and securely gain exposure through a distinguished and reputable exchange. I am confident that our low fee model will drive interest in our Valour (BNB) ETP as more investors seek to diversify with digital assets,” he said. 

Since its launch in 2019, the company has offered ETP products traded on regulated exchanges like the Börse Frankfurt in Germany and Nordic Growth Market in Sweden. Some of its existing products include Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), Solana (SOL), and Bitcoin (BTC), the king of cryptocurrencies.

Crypto Platform Voyager Requests to Halt Lawsuit Against Its CEO and Mark Cuban

Lele Jima
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Crypto Platform Voyager Requests to Halt Lawsuit Against Its CEO and Mark Cuban

Voyager wants the court to stop investors’ lawsuits against the duo to protect its claims.


Leading digital asset company Voyager has requested that the court overseeing its bankruptcy filing should stop a lawsuit against its CEO Stephen Ehrlich and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. 

Legal news outlet Law360 reported recently that Voyager claimed the aggrieved investors are trying to circumvent litigation stay put in place after the crypto firm sought Chapter 11 protection. 

“It is obvious that the Robertson complaint simply attempts to circumvent the automatic stay while still charging the debtors with grievous wrongs,” Voyager said, adding: 

“If it were this easy to circumvent the automatic stay — merely by removing debtors as defendants in litigation and adding their CEO in their place — the stay would be rendered nullity.” 

Although lawsuits against companies in bankruptcy are automatically halted, the same does not apply to the company’s executives or other third parties. 

However, the court can choose to extend the temporary protection that the company has to its executive and other third parties.

According to Law360, Voyager has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles to stop the lawsuit against Ehrlich, as any claims against the CEO would also affect the company’s claims. 

Voyager urged the court to halt the lawsuit until a plan is in place in the Chapter 11 proceedings. 

The Lawsuit

Per a lawsuit filed two weeks ago, a group of Voyager investors alleges that both Ehrlich and Cuban made deceitful claims to lure unsuspecting investors. 

The plaintiffs include Pierce Robertson, Dan Newsom, Sanford Gold, Rahil Sayed, Christopher Ehrentraut, William Ayer, Rachel Gold, Anthony Dorn, Dameco Gates, Marshall Peters, Todd Manganiello, and Edwin Garrison. 

The investors allege that both Cuban and Ehrlich reached out to people to purchase Voyager’s “unregistered securities.” 

“Cuban and Ehrlich … went to great lengths to use their experience as investors to dupe millions of Americans into investing — in many cases, their life savings — into the deceptive Voyager platform and purchasing Voyager Earn Program Accounts (‘EPAs’),” excerpt of the complaint reads. 

Adam Moskowitz, the Plaintiffs’ attorney, told Law360 this week: 

“These forms of pleadings to delay our efforts are confusing — the debtor claims on one hand that these important and very serious allegations against Mark Cuban belong to them, but they also seek to delay any of our efforts.” 

Moskowitz assured that the Dallas Mavericks owner would not be given a pass for the role he played in luring investors to Voyager. 

Polygon Reveals That Merge Will Cut Down Ethereum’s Energy Consumption By 99.95%

Mark Brennan
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Polygon Reveals That Merge Will Cut Down Ethereum’s Energy Consumption By 99.95%

The Ethereum Merge will massively cut down Ethereum’s carbon footprint.


In a long thread on Tuesday, Polygon reveals that The Merge will cut Ethereum’s energy consumption by a whopping 99.95%, as it noted that users have nothing to worry about how The Merge will affect Polygon, stating that it is all good news for the Layer 2 solution.

“99.95%, That’s how much the switch to PoS will shrink Ethereum’s energy consumption, making Ethereum future-proof, just like Polygon. This lines up with our commitment to becoming a carbon negative chain by the end of 2022,” Polygon tweets.

The Merge represents Ethereum’s long-anticipated migration to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Developers predict that the upgrade, which would see Ethereum’s execution layer fused with the PoS Beacon chain, will take place on September 15.

As the milestone approaches, there have been various speculations about the impacts the transition will have on the performance of the Ethereum network. Consequently, in a blog post last Wednesday, developers had to clear up some misconceptions surrounding the long-anticipated upgrade.

The Polygon network addressing concerns about how the upgrade will affect the Layer 2 solution reiterated some of the clarifications brought by developers last week. Polygon emphasized that while The Merge reduced Ethereum’s carbon footprint and inflation, it does not address scalability and gas fee concerns.

According to Polygon, The Merge makes Ethereum more sustainable, arguably making it more secure, which benefits the scaling solution, just as the Ethereum network benefits from the scalability of Polygon. Moreover, Polygon notes that the Ethereum vision is to become a settlement layer for Layer 2 networks, ensuring that Polygon will always be essential to the scalability needs of users.

Notably, the statements from Polygon corroborate statements from Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin at EthCC, where he says Ethereum will, over time, become more resistant to change and more dependable. According to Buterin, more radical changes will be left to Layer 2 solutions.

It is worth noting that despite the crypto winter, Polygon has clinched many impressive milestones. The network has been tapped for several Web 3 partnerships and has seen a flurry of development activity, with data in Q2 2022 showing that about 1000 developers are joining the network daily.

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