Morgan Creek-backed blockchain equity loan platform Figure has completed a $1 billion “uncommitted” financing facility via blockchain, the firm announced in a press release on May 9. Custodied on Figure’s blockchain platform Provenance.io, the new facility was closed along with major global investment banking firm Jefferies and multi-billion dollar financial services company WSFS Financial Corporation. According to the press release, Figure has been working with Jefferies and WSFS for more than six months to deploy the recent financing facility, with WSFS Institutional Service participating as a member of Provenance and acting as trustee for Jefferies. Mike Cagney, CEO and co-founder …

Cryptocurrency lender Genesis processed $425 million in loans over the first quarter of 2019, according to a report released on April 25. The company’s Q1 Digital Asset Lending Snapshot revealed bitcoin (BTC) continues to dominate demand, comprising 68% of its loan portfolio. Lending in ether (ETH) almost halved to 3.6% compared with the last quarter, and XRP also slightly declined to 6.7%. Genesis, which began to offer USD lending as a pilot scheme towards the end of 2018, said demand for dollars remained strong in the first quarter, representing 10% of its active loan portfolio. The lender added that it …

BlockFi crypto wealth management and lending company now has over $53 million in client crypto assets under management. BlockFi announced the update in a blog post on April 23. In the announcement, BlockFi also states that it will implement some policy changes starting from May 1, 2019. Specifically, the company says that the minimum deposit to earn interest has been lowered. Bitcoin (BTC) balances of 0.5 BTC and more will begin earning interest on their deposits, while ethereum (ETH) deposits up to 250 ETH will earn 6.2% annual percentage yield (APY). BlockFi has previously amended some of its policies. In …

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency lending firm Dharma Labs announced that it has launched its service to the public in a Medium post published on April 8. As Cointelegraph reported in February, Dharma Labs has previously raised $7 million from big name investors, including Coinbase Ventures. Per the launch announcement, users can interact with the service with any wallet, and only Ethereum (ETH) and the decentralized stablecoin (DAI) are supported for the time being. The service is also reportedly non-custodial, and the users remain in control of the private keys granting access to the assets. The post explains that this has an …

A fintech company says it has reached several milestones that help crypto enthusiasts capitalize on the current bull market, as it complements its crypto lending service with wallets, blockchain integration and crypto-fiat conversions. YouHodler offers cash loans of up to $30,000 to consumers who are willing to use their cryptocurrency as collateral. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, this gives people the chance to unlock liquidity and access funds without selling their assets. The platform says suggestions from its community are instrumental in its ambition to unveil new features — and as a result, it is now accepting Stellar (XLM) as …

Crypto wealth management and lending company BlockFi has lowered the interest rates for their biggest cryptocurrency deposit accounts, according to an official blog post on March 22. BlockFi launched the BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIA), cryptocurrency accounts supporting Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC), earlier in March. The accounts initially offered a 6.2 percent annual interest paid monthly in crypto. The company’s further analysis showed that almost 75 percent of the clients have a balance of less than 5 BTC or 150 ETH, while the median account balance is $7,000. Per the recent announcement, balances of up to or including 25 BTC …

Dutch blockchain startup Finturi has secured 2 million euro ($2.2 million) to enable businesses to secure loans against invoices via blockchain tech, the company tweeted on March 12. Founded in September 2018, Finturi aims to help businesses finance invoices by linking them with financiers to borrow money against invoices, using blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report by startup-focused publication EU-Startups.com on March 11. Finturi has reportedly raised its first investment via an angel round led by NetSam Participaties BV, which evidently participated in an investment round for the first time, according to Crunchbase. Finturi’s blockchain-based invoice finance …

Crypto wealth management and lending company BlockFi has launched new cryptocurrency accounts supporting Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) bearing 6 percent annual interest paid monthly in crypto. The company announced the launch through a post published on its website on March 4. In July last year, crypto-focused merchant bank Galaxy Digital led a $52.5 million fundraising round for BlockFi. Furthermore, according to the March announcement, interest earned in BlockFi’s interest accounts compounds monthly resulting in an annual percentage yield of 6.2 percent. The accounts also reportedly are not entirely new, since they have been in private beta since the beginning …

A crypto lender offering instant loans in more than 45 fiat currencies says it has amassed more than 170,000 users — with $300 million processed over a seven-month period. Nexo enables consumers to deposit their crypto assets into a secure wallet and instantly access a flexible credit line via automated approval and without the need for credit checks. They can then spend this credit by card or withdraw it to a bank account with a same-day or next-day transfer without incurring hidden fees or foreign exchange commissions. The platform says its interest rates, which are deducted directly from a user’s …

A blockchain-based home equity loan platform, Figure, has raised $65 million from various major financial and venture capital firms, tech news site TechCrunch reports on Feb. 27. The firm, which was founded by SoFi founder and former CEO Mike Cagney, reportedly raised the funds from such majors as Morgan Creek, DCM, Ribbit Capital, Nimble Ventures and partners from DST Global. The recent investment bumps the total funds raised by the firm up to $120 million, according to TechCrunch. Cagney’s new firm, which reportedly has issued over 1,500 equity lines, is purportedly targeting older clients who are “cash light and rich …

A financial company is giving crypto holders the opportunity to take out cash loans while using their digital assets as collateral. YouHodler — whose name is inspired by the term “HODL” — says its product gives the community a way of accessing money without selling their investments. The platform offers loans from $100 to up to $30,000 — also payable in euros and Tether (USDT) — with a maximum loan-to-value of 80 percent, a ratio which YouHodler claims is one of the highest currently available in the industry. Six cryptocurrencies are accepted as collateral, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin …

San Francisco-based blockchain lending firm Dharma Labs has raised $7 million from big investors including Coinbase Ventures, as the company confirmed to Cointelegraph on Feb. 5. According to crypto news outlet The Block Crypto, Dharma Labs is planning to use the raised capital mostly for its Lever product, a platform providing instant margin loans for cryptocurrency traders and high-volume investors. Max Bronstein, head of the Dharma Labs marketing team, reportedly claimed that Lever represents a decentralized smart contract alternative to Genesis Global Trading. Genesis, a Bitcoin (BTC) over-the-counter (OTC) trading firm that was the first New York-based to acquire a …