Kategorie: Crypto Markets

Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has revealed that it wrote off its investment in Celsius. The Quebec-based pension fund had made an investment of $150 million (CAD$200 million) in the embattled crypto lender.

CDPQ manages approximately $303 billion (CAD$392 billion) in assets. It made the revelation of writing off the Celsius investment while giving its six-month (first half of the year) returns report, where the pension fund revealed that it made an average return of -7.9%.

Why did CDPQ write off its Celsius investment?

CDPQ CEO, Charles Emond said that the decision to write off the investment followed quite an extensive due diligence that involved experts and consultants. He also added that the decision was out of prudence saying that the fund had “arrived too soon” while the cryptocurrency sector was in transition.

CDPQ made the Celsius investment last October during a $400 million investment round that was led by the pension fund and WestCap Group.

But in recent developments since the Terra Luna crisis that plunged Celsius into a financial crisis, Celsius has been battling to remain afloat. It even filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in July after halting withdrawals due to worsening market conditions and arising liquidity problems. And in a petition filed by the Law firm Kirkland & Ellis on Sunday shows that the crypto lender (Celsius) could become bankrupt by October.

Celsius currently owes depositors about $2.8 billion in crypto that it is currently holding since halting withdrawals. However, Celsius is currently implementing a restructuring plan that includes setting up another Bitcoin mining plant to ensure it returns to financial stability.

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Floki Inu revealed in a tweet thread that it has once again partnered with ApeSwap to allow its users to purchase its native token FLOKI at a discount via their new sustainable liquidity mining (SLM) program.

The tweet read:

“We’re excited to partner with @ape_swap to allow users to purchase FLOKI at a discount using their new sustainable liquidity mining (SLM) program.”

Floki Inu’s SLM program

Floki Inu’s team revealed that the sustainable liquidity mining program uses yield-bearing NFTs called Treasury Bills. Users can buy these Treasury Bills using Liquidity Provider (LP) tokens and receive FLOKI tokens at a discount.

To create liquidity, users will then be required to sell the Treasury Bills.

The SLM program is designed to allow users to purchase FLOKI tokens at a discount while also providing a way for Floki Inu to create protocol-owned liquidity sustainably and in a cost-effective manner.

To participate in the program, users should visit the Treasury Bill page on ApeSwap and choose “Floki-BNB Bill.” You can then go ahead and create a liquidity protocol by selecting “Get LP.”

The SLM programs provide an opportunity for FLOKI lovers to add to their bags at a discounted price.

It is worth noting that this is the second time that Floki Inu is partnering with ApeSwap for the SLM program.

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• Kraken CEO Jesse Powell says he still hopes it is possible for Bitcoin price to rally in 2022, even as he acknowledges the risks of fresh downsides.
• Powell had predicted the last rally could have seen ‘Bugatti for1 BTC’ purchases.
• Bitcoin currently trades around $23,680.

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell says he is still bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) and that given, he still fancies buying a Bugatti with one BTC. He would not bet against the flagship cryptocurrency, he told “Bloomberg Crypto” in an interview.

Powell also commented on the US Treasury’s sanctions against crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash, seeing the move as “unconstitutional” and a “knee jerk reaction” following recent turmoil in crypto. 

According to him, there is going to be a constitutional challenge to the sanctions.

Bitcoin can rally higher in 2022, Powell says

In 2021, as Bitcoin price rallied, Powell told Bloomberg that by the end of the year, one BTC would be able to buy Lambo – alluding to the realisation of the Crypto Twitter phrase ‘when lambo’ for when one Bitcoin would buy a Lamborghini. He also predicted that the end of 2022 would see ‘one bitcoin per Bugatti’.

But Bitcoin peaked at just above $69,000 in November last year before closing 2021 around $46,000. The bearish extension into 2022 saw the flagship crypto asset plummet to lows of $17,600 in June, and currently trades below $23,680 after another rejection at the $25k level.

Despite this, a bullish Powell believes it’s still possible for Bitcoin to rally as the year ends for the Lambo and Bugatti dream to come true. However, he does not want to hold his hopes out, especially after what unfolded in 2022.

“I wasn’t expecting all of this crazy, craziness in the macro environment,” he stated, noting that this doesn’t mean he is now bearish.

“I’m still very bullish. I bought Bitcoin again at $18,000 so I’m happy to ride it all the way back up. I’m still very bullish in the long run. You know, the fundamentals keep improving so I would never bet against Bitcoin,” he explained.

Powell’s comments come as the crypto industry looks to exit the rough terrain that has characterised the last several months.

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Enjinstarter, the next-gen blockchain gaming launchpad focused on growing the Enjin ecosystem and the metaverse, announced sponsorship of Coinfest Asia, the first-ever crypto, web3, blockchain, and NFT festival on the continent. It is taking place on August 25 and 26 in Bali, Indonesia. 

Uniting regulators, developers, industry leaders 

Coinfest Asia is taking place just weeks prior to the G20 summit in Bali with the theme of The Future. It will bring together entrepreneurs, regulators, developer communities, and industry leaders to share regional opportunities and global insights. 

Supported by Coindesk, CoinGecko, industry associations 

The event will be held at a casual beachside venue in Bali. It is hosted by Coinvestasi, the leading crypto medium in Indonesia.

It is officially supported by CoinGecko, Coindesk.com, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, and Singaporean and Indonesian blockchain associations.

A vast, untapped market 

Southeast Asia, in particular, is home to a vast, emerging crypto market that remains untapped. The mission of the organizers is to redefine the future of crypto, including Web3. 

To buy tickets, register online and follow on-screen instructions to complete the signup process. There are no travel restrictions or requirements for traveling to Bali at the moment. 

Web3 workshop to hone skills

There will also be a Web3 workshop presented by BlocksWellDone and Blockchain Talent ID. It aims to kickstart Web3 developers’ journey and help them improve their skills. 

Developers can submit their portfolios at the event’s official website. Thirty developers will win free tickets. 

Other event sponsors include Fireblocks, Pintu, 1inch Network, Asset Management Digital Group, Solana, Tezos, Coinstore, etc.

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Yuga Labs has finally released the much-awaited intellectual property (IP) licensing agreement for CryptoPunk and Meebits NFT collections.

Yuga Labs purchased the two NFT collections from Larva Labs in March. The move allows the NFTs holders to use their NFTs to create projects and products since although Yuga Labs owns the IP rights, it will now license these rights to the NFT holders.

Initially, the previous Meebits and CryptoPunk collection owners Larva Labs retained the intellectual property rights to the collections and the NFT holders could now use commercialize their NFTs. This had attracted a lot of criticism with one holder selling their CyptoPunk in protest.

Yuga Labs IP licensing agreement

The intellectual property licensing agreement released by Yuga Labs confers full commercialization rights to NFT holders allowing them to create commercial projects and products based on their NFT holdings. It puts Meebits and CryptoPunks holders on the same level as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT holders.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s holders did not have much of a problem since Yuga Labs naturally has IP licensing agreements for its NFT collections contrary to Larva Labs. As a matter of fact, some BAYC NFT holders like Seth Green and Andy Nguyen have already used the IP in projects.

Seth Green has launched a show based on the recently returned Ape that according to his words was “kidnapped” in March. Andy Nguyen, who on the other hand is a restaurateur, opened a Bored Ape-themed restaurant called “Bore & Hungry” in Los Angeles in June.

Issues around IP rights of NFT collections

NFT collection creators across the board have taken different approaches to how they hand IP rights.

A popular NFT brand Moonbirds, for example, was in the headlines earlier this month after it switched to a public domain usage model that allows anyone to commercially use and reproduce art from Moonbirds and Oddities collections. Following the decision, Moonbirds and Oddities NFT holders took to social media complaining that they had invested in the project believing that they had exclusive rights to the NFTs they had purchased.

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