The DeFi lending and borrowing market has grown significantly in volume as new lending protocols continue to attract capital and NFT-backed loans become more popular. According to Dune Analytics, the top three platforms in terms of market capitalization are Aave, Maker, and Compound. These platforms, however, still are facing issues when it comes to collateral requirements and volatile digital assets. Hashstack Finance is a DeFi platform whose crypto-native lending protocol, called Open, is trying to provide a solution to collateral requirements, specifically the over-collateralization of loans. Hashstack announced on Monday the release of its closed beta testnet that enables the …

How can DeFi systems protect themselves from flash loan attacks? A large majority of DeFi hacks are flash loan attacks. Since the technology is new, vulnerabilities are not readily apparent and may require skilled developers to identify. Flash loan attacks can cost DeFi protocols and their users hundreds of millions. As such, safeguards must be put into place to ensure that a protocol is robust and sanitized. Despite being vulnerable to attacks, there are several preventive measures that DeFi systems can take to protect themselves: Decentralized pricing oracles to protect against slippage Contracts are left vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation …

It’s full steam ahead for El Salvador’s Bitcoinization. The next point on the orange agenda is in providing low-interest loans backed by Bitcoin (BTC) to small and micro-businesses. While the details of the BTC loans are currently not disclosed, Mónica Taher, an advisor for the government of El Salvador, was straight-talking in a Facebook Live Audio held yesterday. The discussion was called “Bitcoin loans with lower interest rates.” Paul Steiner the President of CONAMYPE (the national institute for small and micro-businesses) shared that the implementation of loans would work with the government-created El Chivo wallet. El Salvador's business landscape is …

Miami-based fintech startup Milo is introducing what it claims is the world’s first “crypto mortgage.” The digital bank will allow crypto investors to leverage their digital assets to purchase real estate in the U.S. At the moment, only customers wanting to use Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral qualify for Milo’s 30-year mortgage loan. Both American and International customers will be able to use the service to purchase real estate in the U.S. Milo’s website states: “Instead of selling your crypto for a down payment to qualify for a mortgage, a crypto mortgage lets you leverage your crypto to invest in real …

Genesis Global Capital has completed one of its first purely NFT-backed loans for $6 million to Meta4 Capital, a Miami-based Web3 focused investment management firm. This loan is notable not just for its amount but for solely using nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as collateral instead of including broader liquid collateral. Meta4 operates as an NFT VC backed by Andreessen Horowitz, specializing in acquiring presumed rare and historically significant NFTs. The proceeds of Genesis’ loan were used to finalize Meta4’s purchase of three NFTs part of Sotheby’s Metaverse “Natively Digital” October NFT auction: the $3.4 million record-setting gold Bored Ape Yacht Club …

Kraken founder and CEO Jesse Powell recently shared in an interview with Bloomberg News that the crypto exchange will launch a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace that will enable users to borrow funds against their NFTs. Powell explained that the company plans to enter the NFT space in early 2022 and hopes to add the feature to determine the liquidation value of an NFT and if it can be put up as collateral for a loan. “If you deposit a CryptoPunk on Kraken, we want to be able to reflect the value of that in your account," said Powell. "And if …

Nexo, the crypto borrowing and exchange platform, has launched an NFT Lending Desk in partnership with NFT hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. The new lending desk caters to over-the-counter, or OTC, clients to offer crypto credit backed by NFTs. Nexo is one of the first crypto lenders to allow customers to borrow stablecoins, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies using certain NFTs as collateral. The company stated that in its initial iteration, the service will accept Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks NFTs, with more collections on the way. Clients can also use issued lines of credit as a means of art …

Many people are moving to decentralized finance (DeFi) as it offers a superior user experience compared to traditional financial services. Decentralized lending and borrowing protocols enable lenders to easily earn interest on their assets, while borrowers can seamlessly access loans with variable or fixed terms. While decentralized lending and borrowing protocols are seeing increased traction, they still face a number of challenges as the blockchain ecosystem continues to mature. First and foremost, DeFi loans are typically overcollateralized, meaning users have to deposit a significant amount of excess collateral to help ensure that the loan will be paid back. Unfortunately, excess …

Douglas Rodriguez, president of the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, has dismissed fears that the country adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender will scupper plans for a $1.3-billion loan facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Rodriguez stated that the central bank does not see any risks associated with the Bitcoin Law even as it prepares to secure an extended loan facility from the IMF. Indeed, the central bank described El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law as only having “upside risks,” with Rodriguez stating that a BTC bull run could help the country’s economy expand by …

Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin issuer by market capitalization, has refuted the details of a Bloomberg story on its reserves holdings. In a Thursday report, Bloomberg journalist Zeke Faux made numerous claims against Tether, including that its chief financial officer Giancarlo Devasini has used the company’s reserves to make investments, that seem to contradict Tether’s public position that the holdings were fully backed at all times. In addition, Faux alleges that Tether has invested in Chinese firms and issued crypto-backed loans “worth billions of dollars.” According to the report, he was only able to confirm one bank in the Bahamas …

Marathon Digital Holdings, a United States-based crypto mining company, has secured a $100 million revolving line of credit with Silvergate Bank using USD and Bitcoin. According to information provided by Marathon Digital, the mining firm obtained the $100 million credit line from the crypto-friendly bank on Friday. The company will use the credit to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment and fund its mining operations. Marathon Digital said it expects Silvergate to renew the revolving line of credit annually after the initial one-year arrangement. In addition, Marathon Digital reported it had produced more than 1,252 BTC — roughly $59.5 million at …

Argo Blockchain has secured another loan agreement from Galaxy Digital LP with the mining firm’s Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral. According to an announcement by the London Stock Exchange on Friday, the new Bitcoin-backed loan agreement is to the tune of 18.05 million pounds (about $25 million). As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Argo entered into a prior BTC-backed loan agreement with Galaxy Digital for $20 million back in June. The United Kingdom-based Bitcoin miner will reportedly roll up both loans into one for a combined sum of $45 million. As part of the agreement, Argo will utilize the fresh capital influx …