The biggest crypto news and ideas of the day |
Were you forwarded this newsletter? Sign up here. Don't want this newsletter? Unsubscribe |
|
|
Apollo Unveils Tokenized Credit |
Apollo, an investment firm with over $730 billion in assets under management, is offering investors a new tokenized private credit fund with the help of security token specialist Securitize.
Accessed via the Apollo Diversified Credit Securitize Fund (ACRED) feeder fund, the token is the first public on-chain offering for accredited investors of Apollo and also the first integration for Securitize with the Solana blockchain, as well as with Ink, a layer-2 network built by the Kraken crypto exchange. Ethereum, Aptos, Avalanche and Polygon are also initial launchpads for the tokenized fund. Apollo Diversified Credit Fund, which has more than $1.2 billion in managed assets, invests in corporate direct lending, asset-backed finance as well as performing, dislocated and structured credit, the firm said. The fund delivered an 11.7% return in 2024 compared with around 4.5% on U.S. Treasuries.
Christine Moy, a partner leading digital assets, data and AI strategy at Apollo, said the fund was chosen because it has a daily subscription and daily net asset value (NAV) structure that’s well suited for seamless and efficient blockchain-based markets. “For those that are trying to build a diversified portfolio on-chain, it serves as a higher yielding complement to stablecoins, tokenized treasuries and money market funds,” Moy said in an interview. “But it’s also a diversifier to the more volatile crypto native yield products that are out there. So it can help complete the picture of the different assets you would need in an on-chain diversified portfolio.” There’s been something of a rush among traditional finance firms to tokenize so-called real world assets (RWAs), with blockchain-based versions of U.S. Treasuries being the largest and most liquid market to emerge. As of 2023, global private credit assets under management reached approximately $2.1 trillion, a fourfold increase from a decade earlier, according to Securitize. Private credit tokens are less common, but they open up a new space for on-chain assets, said Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo. “Private credit is an area that’s been exploding of late, and we have been among the pioneers in this area of tokenization having already launched a top-tier private credit fund token with Hamilton Lane,” Domingo said in an interview. “Private credit with a higher yield is a good complement to treasuries especially in a scenario with interest rates coming down.” Securitize is the tokenization partner of BlackRock and the digital transfer agent for the asset manager’s BUIDL money market fund token. For Apollo, Securitize is using its partnership with Wormhole, a developer platform that allows different blockchain networks to communicate with each other, to offer a multichain approach out of the gate. |
|
|
XRP Ledger DEX Books $400 Million |
Swap volumes on XRP Ledger’s decentralized exchange (DEX) crossed the $400 million mark in January as the network gains traction among larger players, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a community call on Wednesday. Volumes average over $17 million daily this month, with over $1 billion since its 2024 launch. The rapid expansion of the XRP Ledger's DEX was one of the key reasons that made 2024 “one of the most monumental years for Ripple," Garlinghouse said, alongside the "early but promising traction" of Ripple's US dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, along with multiple filings for proposed XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Since November, the speculative optimism among traders has been that a crypto-friendly Trump administration could benefit tokens and products linked to U.S.-based companies, such as Ripple and its closely related XRP. XRP Ledger's DEX is built directly into the blockchain's functionality rather than being a separate application or smart contract on top of the blockchain, which is often the case with other blockchain-based DEXs (such as Uniswap or Pancakeswap). It uses an order book system where users can place both limit and market orders for XRP and other assets issued on the XRP Ledger. These assets can include tokens or IOUs for various currencies or commodities. |
|
|
Avalanche Upgrade Cuts Fees 75% |
The cost of using Avalanche, a DeFi-focused smart-contract blockchain, has slumped since the implementation of the Avalanche9000 upgrade on Dec. 16, sending the number of transactions up by more than a third.
Since the upgrade, the proof-of-stake blockchain's usage fees known as gas have averaged roughly 75% less than in the months beforehand, data from Flipside and Bitquery show. The number of transactions has increased by 38% to an average of 354,691 a day. Avalanche, the world's fifth-largest smart-contract blockchain by the market value of its native token AVAX, boasts of a multichain structure of C-Chain, which handles smart contracts, P-Chain for managing staking and validator coordination and X-Chain for processing asset transfers. The upgrade comprised seven improvement proposals, including ACP-125, which lowered the base fee to run smart contracts on the C-Chain to 1 nAVAX from 25 nAVAX. One nAVAX is a billionth of an AVAX. The upgrade also replaced the hefty validator fee of 2,000 AVAX with a monthly subscription of 1 to 10 AVAX, opening doors for projects of all sizes to introduce layer 1 (L1) protocols on Avalanche.
The goal of the upgrade was to make every component of the Avalanche tech stack cheaper by reducing C-Chain fees and removing capital requirements for L1 validators, Stephen Buttolph, Ava Labs' chief protocol architect, told Decrypt in November. |
Czech National Banks Adds BTC |
Could Bitcoin (BTC) soon find its way on to the balance sheet of a European central bank? That possibility took at least a small step forward on Thursday after the board of the Czech National Bank (CNB) approved a proposal to consider investing reserves in other assets. Put forth by the central bank Governor Aleš Michl, the proposal was to study investing the bank's reserves in "additional asset classes." In an interview with the FT earlier this week, though, Michl had made clear his interest in this exercise was in possibly adding bitcoin as a reserve asset. "My goal is to diversify the portfolio, so if bitcoin is good [for that], then let’s have it," said Michl. "Based on the results of the analysis, the Bank Board will then decide how to proceed further," the CNB said in its Thursday statement announcing the approval. "No changes will be implemented in this area until then." Not everyone in power in the Czech Republic approves of the idea of exploring bitcoin as a reserve option. “The central bank should symbolize stability," the country's Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura told reporters on Thursday." If you look at bitcoin trading, it’s definitely not a stable asset." Michl's proposal was also noted by the European Central Bank (ECB), whose President Christine Lagarde took time out of her press conference today to say she's confident bitcoin won't be entering the reserves of any of the European Union central banks. The Czech Republic does not use the euro but the country is in the EU. The CNB did not comment on the particular assets it's considering. |
The Takeaway: Don't Shut Out the People |
By John Deaton: Last week, through Executive Order, President Trump took a significant step toward reshaping the future of digital assets by establishing a Crypto Council led by investor and entrepreneur David Sacks. This Executive Order, coupled with the recent reversal of SAB 121 – an ill-conceived policy that made it prohibitively difficult for banks to custody crypto assets – demonstrates that the new administration is serious about removing barriers to crypto adoption. This council represents a golden opportunity to undo significant damage inflicted on the crypto industry during the Biden Administration. Instead of regulatory hostility, Trump’s Crypto Council can help chart a path toward innovation, responsible oversight, and, most importantly, the protection of the customers and retail investors who helped him win the election. While the involvement of major crypto companies like Coinbase, a16z, and Ripple is crucial, the council should not be composed solely of industry giants. For too long, retail investors, the backbone of the crypto revolution, have been ignored, exploited, or outright attacked, not only by the Sam Bankman-Frieds of the world but by the very regulatory agency designed to protect them. If the new administration is serious about fostering fair and effective crypto policy, it must include a voice for the everyday American. The Need for Retail Representation During the past four years, the Biden administration, through officials like Senator Elizabeth Warren and former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, waged an unfair war against the crypto industry. Chokepoint 2.0 proved to be a coordinated effort to cut crypto companies off from the banking system, restricting access to essential financial services. It crippled innovation in the U.S., sending customers and retail investors offshore into the hands of Bankman-Fried. Gensler’s regulation-by-enforcement approach left entrepreneurs and investors alike navigating an unpredictable and hostile regulatory environment. I witnessed firsthand how these reckless policies harmed retail investors. As an attorney working pro bono, I represented 75,000 XRP holders in the Ripple case and submitted the thousands of affidavits from retail investors ultimately cited by Judge Analisa Torres in her landmark decision. I also served as amicus counsel in other critical cases, including LBRY and Coinbase, standing up for those who lack the resources to lobby Congress or fight back against government overreach. The newly established Crypto Council must not make the mistake of becoming an exclusive club of industry elites. It must include advocates for retail investors, people who have been in the trenches and understand the real-world consequences of policy decisions. It is one thing to speak in abstract terms about market structure and innovation. It is another to stand alongside individuals whose financial futures depend on fair and transparent regulations. While the national conversation has recently focused on things like a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, this administration has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass meaningful crypto legislation that fosters growth while ensuring investor protection. It must act quickly because the midterm elections will be here before we know it. A Call for Inclusive Governance The Crypto Council will only be as effective as the voices it includes. If it becomes just another gathering of industry executives and venture capitalists, it will fail in its mission to create fair and inclusive policy. Retail investors and those who use digital assets for payments, remittances, savings and investment deserve a seat at the table. They are not only stakeholders in this industry but also voters who played a pivotal role in electing this administration into office. Their interests must be prioritized, not just the interests of powerful institutions. As someone who has dedicated my career to fighting for everyday Americans, I urge David Sacks, Bo Hines, and the administration to ensure that the Crypto Council represents all voices, not just the loudest and wealthiest. If we get this right, we can establish the United States as a global leader in digital asset innovation while safeguarding the rights of the people who make this industry possible. Clear, predictable regulation will not only help retail investors but also drive innovation and economic growth in the U.S. For too long, promising crypto projects have fled overseas due to regulatory uncertainty. A well-designed legal framework will bring these innovators back, ensuring that the U.S. remains at the forefront of financial technology. This is our chance to build a framework that fosters trust, fairness, and economic opportunity while embracing an America First Agenda. Please, let’s not waste it.
Read the full op-ed at CoinDesk.com
|
|
|
|
