Investments

DEX dev Uniswap Labs looks for new funding at unicorn valuation: Report

Uniswap had been previously in talks with NFT lending protocols, planning to tackle liquidity issues and the “information asymmetry” around NFTs.

Major decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap (UNI) is in the early stages of raising significant funds to further expand its decentralized finance (DeFi) offerings, according to a new report.

Uniswap Labs, a DeFi startup contributing to the Uniswap Protocol, is engaging with a number of investors to raise an equity round of $100 million to $200 million, TechCrunch reported on Sept. 30.

The startup is working with investors like Polychain and one of Singapore’s sovereign funds as part of the upcoming funding round, the report notes, citing two anonymous people familiar with the matter. According to the report, Uniswap would be valued at $1 billion, but the terms of the deal are subject to changes as the discussions around the round have not been finalized.

The new funding reportedly aims to bring more DeFi tools and nonfungible token (NFT) offerings to Uniswap. At the time of writing, Uniswap’s daily trading volumes amounted to $1.1 billion, or about 57% of all trading across global DEXs, according to data from DefiLlama. By comparison, Curve, the second-largest DEX after Uniswap by volumes, has about $205 million in daily volumes.

Five largest DEXes by daily trading volumes. Source: DeFi Llama

“Our mission is to unlock universal ownership and exchange,” Uniswap Labs chief operating office Mary-Catherine Lader reportedly said. “If you can embed the ability to swap value and have people join the community and exchange value with your project, or your company or organization — that’s a powerful way to allow more people to engage in this ownership,” she added.

Uniswap Labs declined to confirm or deny the report on the startup’s plans about the raise.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Uniswap has been in talks with multiple NFT lending protocols, targeting ambitious plans to tackle liquidity issues and the “information asymmetry” around NFTs. The Ethereum-based DEX has experienced a growing trend despite the bear market this year.

Related: Pantera plans to raise $1.25B for second blockchain fund: Report

Launched in 2018, ​​Uniswap completed its first-ever funding round from the American crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm in 2019. The company also closed a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz in 2020, with additional investments from firms like Paradigm, USV, Version One, Variant, Parafi Capital and others.

Bitcoin profitability for long-term holders declines to 4-year low: Data

The decline in profitability for long-term holders reached a level last seen during the peak of the bear market in 2018. However, the market bottomed and bounced back during the previous cycle.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) long-term profitability has declined to levels last seen during the previous bear market in December 2018. According to data shared by crypto analytic firm Glassnode, BTC holders are selling their tokens at an average loss of 42%.

Bitcoin long term holders. Source: Glassnode

The Glassnode data indicate that long-term holders of the top cryptocurrency selling their tokens have a cost basis of $32,000, meaning the average buying price for these holders selling their stack is above $30,000.

The current market downturn added to the declining profitability can be attributed to several macroeconomic factors. The BTC market still has a heavy correlation with the stock market, especially tech stocks, which are currently seeing an even bigger downtrend than crypto.

The rising inflation added to central banks’ failure to control it has also added to the pain of BTC investors. With much less to invest at their hands, traders and long-term holders are shifting to short-term profitability and less risky assets.

This was evident from the BTC miner sell-offs as well, BTC miners have historically been long-term holders in anticipation of a higher profit. However, the rise in energy costs, added to growing mining difficulty, has narrowed the profit margins of these miners, forcing them to settle for short-term profits.

Related: US Treasury yields are soaring, but what does it mean for markets and crypto?

Bitcoin miner balance has seen large outflows since prices were rejected from the local high of $24.5 thousand, suggesting aggregate miner profitability is still under a degree of stress. While the miner outflow has ranged between 3,000-8,000 BTC, however, market data indicate that a price decline to $18,000 could lead to a monthly outflow of 8,000 BTC.

Bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency, is currently trading in the $19,000-$20,000 range, struggling to conquer the $20,000 resistance despite multiple breakouts above it in the month of September.

Bitcoin miner’s net position change Source: Glassnode

The long-term holder profitability added with miner profitability has reached a multi-year low. However, the levels are quite similar to when the crypto market bottomed out during previous cycles.

Bitcoin is currently trading in the $19,000-$20,000 range, struggling to conquer the $20,000 resistance despite multiple breakouts above it in the month of September. The top cryptocurrency is currently trading at a 70% discount from its market top of $68,789 posted in November last year. 

MetaMask adopts custodial features for NFT-hungry institutional investors

The MetaMask Institutional wallet added Cobo NFT management to its growing list of custodial services for institutional investors.

Institutional investment is pouring into the crypto world, notably the nonfungible token (NFT) scene. In a reaction to the influx, MetaMask Institutional announced another addition to its custodial services offerings for institutional-level clients.

MetaMask’s partnership with NFT management and storage service Cobo aims to create a “one-stop platform” for large corporations dealing with digital assets.

Although MetaMask is a non-custodial wallet at its average user level, the institutional branch of the wallet has been adopting custodial partnerships in various countries around the world.

Tavia Wong, the director of marketing and business development for Cobo, told Cointelegraph that not only does custodianship provide asset protection, but for institutions specifically, custodianship becomes useful on an administrative level.

“Because of the high levels of users and different clearance levels, institutions require additional features to avoid internal failures and the consequences of negligence.”

While wallets like MetaMask have been deemed not as “user friendly” in the past, this addition to custodial offerings prioritizes usability for big investors.

Related: Institutional crypto custody: How banks are housing digital assets

The new integration allows institutional clients to designate roles  the company alongside internal collaboration tools. According to Wong, this enables user limits on buying, trading and selling as permitted by the administrator.

“With multisig access, it ensures that no single entity will be able to control all assets, removing any single point of failure.”

Nonetheless, the debate between noncustodial and custodial wallets still rages on.

With many in the space touting the slogan “not your keys; not your coins,” noncustodial wallets are often looked to for more security and financial autonomy.

However, as mainstream users without atechnical backgrounds continue to enter the space, custodial wallets often offer a more user-friendly environment. Some users even refute the aforementioned slogan in favor of greater accessibility for easy adoption:

Traditional financial giants like Société Générale, one of the largest investment banks in Europe, recently opened up crypto asset management services to provide its clients with an easy on-ramp.

Nasdaq also announced on Sept. 20 that it will offer crypto custodial services.

FTX, Binance and CrossTower are competing to buy Voyager Digital assets: Source

FTX and Binance reportedly seek to transition existing Voyager customers to their platforms whereas CrossTower has proposed to keep the existing Voyager platform and app.

Cryptocurrency exchanges FTX, Binance and CrossTower are competing to acquire beleaguered crypto lender Voyager Digital’s assets out of bankruptcy, according to insider sources. 

According to details published by former investment banker and angel investor Simon Dixon, the three exchanges are competing in an auction to acquire Voyager Digital, and have each proposed their own terms and conditions for the acquisition. The details, which were also posted to Reddit, suggested that FTX and Binance have each proposed roughly $50 million in cash for Voyager’s assets, though Binance’s dollar amount is higher. The cash amount would go toward “deficiency and other claims,” the source said.

Under these plans, current Voyager customers would receive their pro rata share of crypto assets and fully transition to the FTX and Binance platforms.

On the other hand, CrossTower has proposed keeping the existing Voyager platform and app, which means existing customers do not need to transition to a new platform once the deal is finalized. Under this plan, customers would also receive their pro rata shares of assets. CrossTower’s acquisition plan would also see the exchange share its revenue with Voyager customers for several years.

The sources that spoke with Dixon also revealed that regulation could play a significant role in who wins the auction as the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, recently warned FTX about operating without authorization. Meanwhile, in the United States, the Committee on Foreign Investment may be concerned about allowing Binance to acquire Voyager due to national security risks. 

Related: Voyager Digital assets auction set for Sept. 13 after being rescheduled from August

Voyager Digital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, joining a growing list of centralized finance firms to implode during the bear market. At the time, Voyager explained that the Chapter 11 filing was part of a reorganization plan that would eventually pave the way for clients to be able to reaccess their accounts.

FTX, Binance and CrossTower are competing to buy Voyager Digital assets — Source

FTX and Binance reportedly seek to transition existing Voyager customers to their platforms whereas CrossTower has proposed to keep the existing Voyager platform and app.

Cryptocurrency exchanges FTX, Binance and CrossTower are competing to acquire beleaguered crypto lender Voyager Digital’s assets out of bankruptcy, according to insider sources. 

According to details published by former investment banker and angel investor Simon Dixon, the three exchanges are competing in an auction to acquire Voyager Digital, and have each proposed their own terms and conditions for the acquisition. The details, which were also posted to Reddit, suggested that FTX and Binance have each proposed roughly $50 million in cash for Voyager’s assets, though Binance’s dollar amount is higher. The cash amount would go toward “deficiency and other claims,” the source said.

Under these plans, current Voyager customers would receive their pro rata share of crypto assets and fully transition to the FTX and Binance platforms.

On the other hand, CrossTower has proposed keeping the existing Voyager platform and app, which means existing customers do not need to transition to a new platform once the deal is finalized. Under this plan, customers would also receive their pro rata shares of assets. CrossTower’s acquisition plan would also see the exchange share its revenue with Voyager customers for several years.

The sources that spoke with Dixon also revealed that regulation could play a significant role in who wins the auction as the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, recently warned FTX about operating without authorization. Meanwhile, in the United States, the Committee on Foreign Investment may be concerned about allowing Binance to acquire Voyager due to national security risks. 

Related: Voyager Digital assets auction set for Sept. 13 after being rescheduled from August

Voyager Digital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, joining a growing list of centralized finance firms to implode during the bear market. At the time, Voyager explained that the Chapter 11 filing was part of a reorganization plan that would eventually pave the way for clients to be able to reaccess their accounts.

How crypto is playing a role in increasing healthy human lifespans

How can you add years to your life, and life to your years? Longevity science can help — and this is a concept that’s of particular interest to crypto pioneers.

Longevity Investors Conference

It’s a question that’s infatuated scientists for decades: how can we prolong life expectancy — giving humans everywhere more years of good health?

This field is known as longevity science, and within this industry, experts argue care which regards ageing as a normal but treatable ailment are rare — and of the approaches available, they can only be accessed by those who are highly educated and privileged.

Just some of the key tenets that govern this approach to medicine involve therapeutics, personalized medicine, predictive diagnostics and artificial intelligence. The goal is to eliminate a “one size fits all” attitude toward treatment, and ensure that therapies are customized to an individual’s unique medical profile. This can matter in many different ways — to the best method for tackling cancer, to the food we eat and our risk of heart disease.

And while predictive diagnostics offers an existing way of unlocking better patient outcomes, this often hinges upon using large amounts of anonymized data to determine what’s happened in the past, and how greater levels of success are achieved in the future.

Bizarrely, there are parallels between cryptocurrencies and longevity science. You could argue that this approach to medicine is currently where digital assets were back in 2013 — a time when crypto discussion was confined to online message boards, niche group chats and convoluted whitepapers. Longevity researchers are excitedly sharing their findings with one another — and collaboration is taking place across sectors. Experts are keen to ensure that anyone with an interest in this nascent field can get involved and contribute.

Educating the masses

As in the crypto industry, a big challenge that longevity science faces is education — and simply explaining this concept to the public. This is a journey that takes time, effort, money and patience.

Because of this, a dedicated event has been established so this cutting-edge concept can be discussed in an open forum. The Longevity Investors Conference is set to take place in Switzerland from Sept. 28-30. It’s being sponsored by Credit Suisse, and tickets can be paid for in cryptocurrency.

It’s being organized by Marc P. Bernegger. He’s a founding partner of Maximon — a Swiss company that invests and builds in longevity-focused companies. Bernegger explored Bitcoin in 2012 and told Cointelegraph: “There is room for everyone. We can all travel the same path but take different approaches. It’s still the same narrative.”

Just some of the items on the agenda include exploring the scientific meaning of longevity — and how this will affect individuals around the world in the long run. Discussions will also be held on how to cultivate investment in this fledgling space, and according to Bernegger, this is a field that’s of great interest to crypto enthusiasts.

The conference aims to build bridges, and highlight how scientists play a vital role in ensuring that we can all benefit from longer lifespans and a healthy retirement. While there are business opportunities to be found, investors face a challenge because they’re not from a scientific background. Likewise, bright minds often need an entrepreneurial perspective in order to bring their genius concepts to market.

Bernegger added: “There are a number of different perspectives — the entrepreneurs, the scientists, investors who bring money. They need a combination of everything. This sector appreciates new players. The more money there is, the more smart and serious people you have, the better. The industry is still finding itself. It is accessible now, and people are happy to help.”

Why crypto is a good match

It’s the science element that’s attracting early adopters of cryptocurrency to this space. The reason is simple: because many of these enthusiasts are forward looking, open minded and technology driven.

Describing the initial days of crypto, Bernegger explained: “They were all in for the technology. It was not just speculative. They saw the potential of a peer-to-peer solution, and now they see the potential with regard to ageing.” 

Indeed, blockchain technology also has the potential to enhance the quest to achieve longevity. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have already been established that are funding research to support and commercialize therapeutics. This approach also ensures that donors can vote on the future direction of research projects.

Even though the bear market has cast a long shadow over the crypto sector, many of those in this industry are firmly in the “BUIDL” phase. They’re using this opportunity to innovate, cultivate new products, and develop the trends that will drive the next bull run. Longevity science can be one of them — and according to Bernegger, pioneers know that paying close attention to health is far more important than the value of any token. 

We already know that the rate of ageing can be controlled, to some extent, by genetic pathways and biochemical processes. But in the coming decades, there are still so many questions to be answered — and dots to be connected — in the quest to improve our quality of life, and ensure that anyone can access it. 

The Longevity Investors Conference says attendance will be strictly limited to 100 hand-picked delegates, and they’ll be able to benefit from the insights of over 30 outstanding speakers. It’s a compelling opportunity to get to know the industry inside and out, all while establishing meaningful contacts with the best people in the field.

It’s going to take place in Gstaad, one of the most exclusive Swiss mountain resorts, in a “one-of-a-kind setting” within a plush, five-star hotel, and world-class speakers flying in to attend and present. This includes members of the Longevity Science Foundation Visonary Board.. This nonprofit recently entered into a partnership with The Giving Block — tapping into a vital stream of crypto philanthropy.

If you want to know how to add years to your life, and life to your years, this could be the most important conference you ever attend.

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you with all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor can this article be considered as investment advice.

NFT ecosystem attempts a bounce back amid bearish market sentiment

Supporting the uptrend, the number of NFT holders grew 32.24% over the past three months, as evidenced by data from NFTGo.

Over the past two years, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) gave the crypto ecosystem the boost it needed to grab mainstream attention — owing to the involvement of prominent artists and celebrities. Despite the enormous losses suffered by NFT investors following the ongoing 10-month-long bear market, however, the ecosystem showed sustainable signs of a comeback in the last two weeks.

Since Sept. 12, the performance of blue-chip NFT collections witnessed a steady growth, inching back toward the 10,000 Ether (ETH) that was lost in mid-August 2022, according to data by NFTGo.

The performance of blue-chip NFT collections. Source: NFTGo

On Sept. 20, the market capitalization, which is derived from the floor price and the trading price of NFTs, spiked nearly 16.5% at roughly 11.25 million ETH.

Market capitalization of NFT collections. Source: NFTGo

Reciprocating the market cap breach of the 11 million ETH mark for the first time in three months, the number of NFT holders grew 32.24% along the same timeline, as shown above.

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) currently contributes the highest volume at 9.25%, which is followed by popular NFT collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherdeed.

NFT market sentiment. Source: NFTGo

However, current market sentiment — calculated based on volatility, trading volume, social media and Google trends — remains cold as investors try to recoup their previous losses.

Related: Post offices adopting NFTs leads to a philately renaissance

NFT marketplace OpenSea launched the OpenRarity protocol to verify the rarity of NFTs within its platform.

The protocol aims to provide a reliable “rarity ranking” that would assist investors when considering purchasing NFTs.

Pantera Capital’s CEO suggests blockchain growth will continue despite economic turmoil

The venture capitalist predicted blockchain would perform based on its own fundamentals, similar to Amazon and Apple.

The economic landscape may seem dire at the moment, but it’s unlikely to affect blockchain development, according to Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead. In an interview for Real Vision on Thursday, the venture capitalist said that he believes blockchain technology will perform based on its own fundamentals, regardless of the conditions indicated by traditional risk metrics:

“Like any disruptive thing, like Apple or Amazon stock, there are short periods of time where it’s correlated with the S&P 500 or whatever risk metric you want to use. But over the last 20 years, it’s done its own thing. And that’s what I think will happen with blockchain over the next ten years or whatever, it’s going to do its own thing based on its own fundamentals.” 

During the first half of this year, Pantera Capital raised about $1.3 billion in capital for its blockchain fund, with a special emphasis on scalability, DeFi and gaming projects. “We’ve been very focused on DeFi the last few years, it’s building a parallel financial system. Gaming is coming online now and we have a couple hundred million people using blockchain. There’s a lot of really cool gaming projects, and there still are a lot of opportunities in the scalability sector,” he added.

Long-term optimism contrasts with the actual drop in venture capital in the industry, however. August saw the fourth consecutive month-on-month decline in capital to $1.36 billion, according to Cointelegraph Research data. The inflows represent a 31.3% drop from July’s $1.98 billion, with 101 deals closed in August, on an average capital investment of $14.3 million — a 10.1% decline from July.

The crypto winter was expected to spur consolidation in the sector, but recent numbers from Crunchbase revealed that only four deals with VC-backed crypto companies were concluded in the United States this quarter — a setback from the 16 transactions from the first quarter of the year.

Sandeep Nailwal, the managing partner at Symbolic Capital, explained that the bear market has pushed away even big players in the industry:

“Everyone was expecting M&A to take off in crypto as we headed into this bear market, but we haven’t seen that happen yet. I think the main reason for this is that the downturn hit the industry so fast and so intensely that even large companies poised as aggressive acquirers were so shell-shocked by the crash that they had to make sure their own balance sheets were in order before looking elsewhere for growth.”

The crypto exchange FTX does not seem to be affected by this problem. The company has reportedly engaged in talks with investors to raise $1 billion in new funding to finance additional acquisitions during the bear market. “We have been seeing valuations come way down from pre-summer highs and you have to think there are a lot of acquirers out there, especially in the CeFi space, looking at these low valuations and thinking to themselves that everything is on sale right now. FTX certainly felt that and they were extremely prudent in how they took advantage of these market conditions to fuel their growth,” said Nailwal. 

FTX’s investment arm announced earlier this month that it had acquired a 30% stake in asset management firm SkyBridge Capital for an undisclosed amount, and the Canadian crypto platform Bitvo was purchased by FTX in June.

In the opposite direction, e-commerce company Bolt halted plans to acquire Wyre, a crypto and payment infrastructure company, after announcing a $1.5 billion deal in April. Weeks before, the cryptocurrency investment firm Galaxy Digital decided to drop the acquisition of the digital asset custodian BitGo, citing a breach of contract.

BitGo filed a lawsuit against the crypto investment firm for terminating the acquisition, seeking more than $100 million in damages, and accusing Galaxy of “improper repudiation” and “intentional breach” of its acquisition agreement.

Lawyers for Celsius investors file motion to have interests represented in court

The legal team requested the court appoint a committee representing certain shareholders or the case could end up “inappropriately and inequitably skewed in favor of the customers.”

An international law firm representing groups of Celsius investors has filed a motion to appoint a committee to represent their interests in the crypto lending firm’s bankruptcy case.

In a Thursday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lawyers with the law firm Milbank requested the appointment of an “Official Preferred Equity Committee” to represent certain Celsius shareholders. According to the filing, the equity holders “urgently require their own fiduciary” for representation in court alongside Celsius debtors and an Unsecured Creditors Committee, or UCC.

“The need for a fiduciary to pursue the Equity Holders’ interests is particularly critical when one considers the practical realities of these cases: There are only two groups of real economic stakeholders — the retail customers and the Equity Holders,” said the court filing. “Not only is the UCC laser focused on maximizing value for the customers, without regard for the Equity Holders, but the Debtors also have made it abundantly clear that the UCC is their partner, and these cases are ‘all about the customer.’”

The legal team added:

“An estate fiduciary is needed to take the other side of this dispute before a plan of reorganization is proposed that violates the Bankruptcy Code […] An Official Preferred Equity Committee should be appointed now — and not after the fact — or these cases will be inappropriately and inequitably skewed in favor of the customers to the detriment of the Equity Holders.”

The shareholders included investors in Celsius’ Series B $750-million funding round from November 2021, one of the last before the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022. A hearing on Milbank’s motion will be held on Oct. 6 — the same day the court was scheduled to decide on a motion allowing Celsius to sell its stablecoin holdings to generate liquidity to help “fund the Debtors’ operations.”

Related: Celsius co-founder declares his equity is ‘worthless’ in court

Since filing for bankruptcy in July, Celsius has faced legal issues from many clients seeking to reclaim their funds. In August, a group of creditors filed a complaint aimed at recovering more than $22.5 million worth of crypto held in the lending firm’s custody service. However, the price of Celsius’ CEL token has roughly doubled since the Chapter 11 filing, from $0.78 to $1.54 at the time of publication.

Cointelegraph reached out to Milbank, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Coinsquare acquires publicly-traded crypto exchange CoinSmart

CoinSmart reported $16.7 million in gross revenue in 2021 as retail trading volumes soared during the Bitcoin bull market.

Canada’s crypto exchange landscape appears to be consolidating after Coinsquare, one of the largest digital asset trading platforms in the country, acquired CoinSmart for an undisclosed amount. 

On Thursday, Coinsquare announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to purchase all issued and outstanding shares of CoinSmart’s wholly-owned subsidiary Simply Digital. Once the deal becomes final, CoinSmart will hold a roughly 12% ownership stake in Coinsquare on a pro-forma basis.

Shares of the CoinSmart crypto exchange, which trade on the NEO Exchange, were up 67% on Friday, largely in response to the news.

The acquisition makes Coinsquare one of Canada’s largest crypto exchanges and expands its operational and business capabilities. Founded in 2014, Coinsquare has expanded its service offerings to include retail and institutional trading, crypto payment processing and digital asset custody.

CoinSmart was co-founded in 2018 by Justin Hartzman, who also served as the company’s CEO. Following the acquisition, Hartzman is set to join Coinsquare’s executive team.

As a publicly-traded company, CoinSmart discloses its financial statements quarterly. In its annual summary released on April 1, the company reported $16.7 million in gross revenue in 2021, an increase of 357% year-over-year. Retail trading volume grew by 875%, likely reflecting the Bitcoin (BTC) bull market of 2021.

Related: Canada’s new opposition leader is a Bitcoiner

Coinsquare is one of just two crypto exchanges operating in Canada to pre-register with their principal regulators as they work toward full compliance with securities laws. The pre-registration requirements were established by the Canadian Securities Administrators, or CSA, and allow crypto exchanges to remain operational while their full applications with CSA are being reviewed.

In an interview with Cointelegraph on the sidelines of the Futurist conference in Toronto in August, Coinsquare chief operating officer Eric Richmond explained that the crypto exchange registered with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, or IIROC, in November 2020.

Crypto adoption in Canada is on the rise, but like in other countries, participation is largely based on underlying market conditions. According to a KPMG survey, adoption is also growing within institutional circles due to crypto’s perceived upside and innovative potential.