Solana Pay to go agt Apple Pay? ??; FTX buys Liquid to build digital asset trading powerhouse ??; Convicted scammer leads a popular DeFi protocol? ??
Linas Beliūnas
Reinventing Finance 1% at a Time ?? | Scaling Digital Asset Infrastructure ?? | The only newsletter you need for Finance & Tech at ??linas.substack.com?? | Financial Technology | FinTech | Artificial Intelligence | AI
In case you missed it, I've launched a?daily newsletter?on all things where Finance meets Technology. Delivered every morning, it is the only newsletter you need to keep a pulse, and most importantly - make sense, of FinTech.
3 stories with 3 takeaways, things worth watching, and money moves focus on the things that matter for the industry professionals and practitioners like myself. Easy to read, digest, and see the bigger picture, it saves time and most importantly - allows to stay ahead. Always.
Check it out here????
Last week (31 January - 4 February) was another hot week in the world of Blockchain & Cryptocurrency. In fact, it might be the hottest week this year... We will hence look at Solana launching Solana Pay to go head-to-head against Apple Pay & the likes; FTX acquiring Liquid to build a digital asset trading powerhouse; how a convicted scammer is leading a popular DeFi protocol, and other interesting news and developments.
Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in Blockchain & Crypto sector last week. Let’s connect the dots.
Solana launches Solana Pay to go against Apple Pay & the likes? ??
The news ???Solana Labs co-developed new open-source software, dubbed?Solana Pay,?that enables merchants to accept crypto payments through the Solana network.
The USP ???Solana Pay works with any Solana-native (SPL) token and does not charge a commission on?payments. Customers only need to pay Solana network fees, which have historically been below 1/100th of a penny.?That’s not too shabby!
The adoption ???Checkout.com, Circle, and Citcon currently support Solana Pay and ecosystem wallets Phantom and Slope.
?? THE TAKEAWAY
Opportunities & risks.?Little to know fees obviously sound great, but can this be enough for Solana Pay to make a difference in consumer payments? As with Qlub, we again get back to consumer habits. That’s the biggest struggle, and since it’s crypto-related, the adoption might be slightly harder. Furthermore, we also have to think about the merchants that might enable this option, and their state of play is a bit complicated. Plugging into Solana Pay through a third-party like Checkout.com, they might pay a minimal service charge. That could be a blocker. Looking at the bigger picture, one must note that Solana has seen its fair share of hiccups lately. Continued network slowdowns could set back their overall and Solana Pay vision, though the potential to penetrate the B2B market as well as leverage their Solana-native USDC, is definitely worth watching.
FTX buys crypto exchange Liquid to further build digital asset trading powerhouse ??
The news ???Crypto giant?FTX?has acquired Japanese crypto exchange?Liquid Group?to serve Japanese customers through its new subsidiary, CoinDesk reported.
The deal is expected to close in March, according to a?press release ?on Wednesday. The companies did not disclose the acquisition value. In April 2019, Liquid's valuation was over $1B.
The USP ???For the starters, let’s have a quick refresher on FTX.
Though it was only founded in 2019, FTX quickly has established itself as the third-largest global crypto exchange. More surprisingly, FTX was the fastest-growing crypto exchange last year: its trading volume spiked by 600%, outstripping its closest competitor Huobi by over 200%.
Its trading volume now only trails first- and second-place Binance and Coinbase.
FTX’s user base has also grown by 60% since October, while average trading volume ticked up 40%.
Investors have hence rewarded its impressive growth with several mega-rounds: it netted some $1.8B across three raises over the last 6 months.
A history ???It’s important to note that FTX & Liquid already have a history. The Japanese exchange lost over $90M in a hack in August 2021, after which FTX gave it a $120M loan. FTX will now integrate its products and transfer all existing Japanese users to Liquid. The user transfer will take effect on March 30.
But what’s next for the FTX??Read the takeaway:
领英推荐
?? THE TAKEAWAY
Further focus on expansion & growth ???We must remember that the Liquid acquisition comes almost immediately after FTX has closed its $400M Series C round on Monday at a $32B valuation. It only illustrates that the company now has deep pockets that will help it finance further growth and a large-scale marketing push to offset the global slowdown in crypto-trading volume. We can also remember that earlier FTX also acquired Quoine, one of 30 exchanges registered with Japan's Financial Service Agency (FSA), which holds a Type I Financial Instruments Business license for trading securities and derivatives. Looking at the bigger picture, slightly harsher market conditions in crypto are almost ideal for companies like FTX that can take advantage by acquiring smaller players while scooping up their customer bases and technology.
Convicted scammer is leading a popular DeFi protocol?! ??????
The news ???A co-founder of the doomed crypto exchange?QuadrigaCX?has been helping to run a decentralized finance protocol called?Time Wonderland.
Michael Patryn had also previously pleaded guilty to credit card fraud, burglary, grand larceny, and computer fraud — and had spent 18 months in U.S. federal prison. It has now emerged that he is?0xSifu, and was serving as the treasury manager for Wonderland, which is based on the Avalanche blockchain.
More on this ???Wonderland's co-founder Daniele Sestagalli has now asked him to step down from this position — and admitted that he had known about Patryn's past for a month, writing in a blog post:
"I am of the opinion of giving second chances, as I have mentioned on Twitter. I’ve seen the community very divided about my choice of maintaining him as the treasury manager after finding out who he was and his past."
Freefall ???The bombshell has wreaked havoc on the value of Wonderland's token TIME, which has plunged by?57%?in the past 7 days. Overall, it has lost nearly 95% of its value since ATH.
?? THE TAKEAWAY
Risk vs. Reward.?The recent developments and findings of Wonderland yet again illustrate how nascent is the decentralized finance space in general. Everybody likes massive APYs, yet few do proper research to evaluate the risks and unlock the potential red flags. Furthermore, this also shows how risky is the overall DAO space, especially when there are little to no DAO mechanisms in place (i.e. TIME is primarily controlled by its co-founders). Zooming out, these and similar developments leaves many questioning the DeFi industry as a whole.
Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds??
Money Moves??
Continue reading by subscribing to?Linas's Newsletter.?You will receive fresh news about FinTech, Blockchain & Crypto with hot takeaways every day.
P.S.?You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:
***
About: I am?a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading the company's expansion into Europe, I'm an active member of the FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.
If you've enjoyed this piece, don't hesitate to press like, comment on what you think, and share the article with others. Let's spread the knowledge together!