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What is a Bitcoin-backed loan and how to get one? — TradingView News

Financial Block Staff

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Bitcoin Price Tied to Binance Vs Coinbase Battle, Quant Reveals – TradingView News

Bitcoin-backed loans are an innovative twist on traditional loans, merging them with the world of cryptocurrencies. These loans allow Bitcoin holders to use their digital assets without selling them, providing a unique route to access liquidity. The proliferation of crypto lending platforms has streamlined the process, making these loans increasingly accessible.

What is cryptocurrency lending?

Cryptocurrency loans are revolutionizing the way individuals interact with digital assets, providing exciting new ways to borrow and invest with cryptocurrencies. At the heart of this system are lenders who deposit their cryptocurrencies on lending platforms to earn high interest, surpassing traditional savings accounts due to market volatility.

Borrowers, on the other hand, have access to capital without liquidating their cryptocurrency holdings. By providing collateral, usually in the form of other cryptocurrencies, borrowers can obtain loans in stablecoins or fiat currencies, freeing up liquidity while retaining ownership of their assets.

A key driver of this innovation is the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, which use smart contracts to automate the lending process, eliminating the need for intermediaries and improving transparency and security. Showcasing the potential of DeFi to transform financial services, platforms like Aave, Compound and MakerDAO have become leading players in this space.

In DeFi, lending Bitcoin (BTC) typically involves the use of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), which is compatible with smart contract networks such as Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon or Solana, allowing users to participate in decentralized loans.

Types of Crypto Loans

Crypto loans are typically offered as collateralized loans, meaning that users’ crypto holdings back them. Much like a mortgage or car loan, the collateral can be seized as payment if users fail to repay their loan.

Some platforms impose overcollateralization, allowing users to borrow only up to a specific percentage of their deposited collateral. In oversized loans, the value of the collateral exceeds the value of the loan, which can secure better loan terms by reducing the risk for the lender.

On the other hand, unsecured loans, also called unsecured loans, do not require any collateral. Loan approval processes depend on factors such as a history of responsible credit use and timely payments. Cointelegraph

When using cryptocurrency as collateral, users have two main options. First, centralized finance (CeFi) lending involves borrowing money from a cryptocurrency or blockchain company that operates similarly to traditional financial institutions controlled by a private central authority, providing more stability and security.

Second, DeFi loans allow borrowers to access funds through decentralized blockchains. Run by an open source network instead of a single entity like a bank or government, DeFi products allow users to directly manage their digital assets. However, lenders can take steps to secure the loan if necessary.

Understanding Bitcoin-backed Loans

Bitcoin-backed loans operate under collateral management principles and provide a secure gateway for users to leverage Bitcoin’s collateral value and access fiat or stablecoins. This financial route is revered for its security, with Bitcoin’s comparative stability compared to other crypto assets and its ability to unlock the highest loan-to-value (LTV) threshold, second only to stablecoins.

The LTV ratio measures the loan amount relative to the appraised value of the asset purchased. This is a key metric for lenders to assess risk, with lower LTV ratios generally indicating lower risk.

A multitude of platforms in the CeFi and DeFi space support Bitcoin-backed lending. These platforms often adhere to custody and security standards that align with the philosophy of Bitcoin holders, prioritizing robust security measures.

Among the myriad of options available, some native Bitcoin solutions manifest as lending products built on layer 2 Bitcoin networks like Stacks. These products inherently rely on the security of the Bitcoin network while providing some degree of autonomous access to Bitcoiners.

How to get a Bitcoin-backed loan

Before obtaining such a loan, borrowers should understand the collateral management process, loan eligibility criteria, potential consequences of default, and available refinancing options.Cointelegraph

Step 1: The borrower applies for a loan

Borrowers start by applying for a loan through a platform specializing in Bitcoin-backed loans. During the loan application process, they provide details of the collateral, which is usually Bitcoin, and specify the desired loan amount.

Step 2: Borrower deposits Bitcoin into a lending platform’s crypto wallet

After approval, the borrower deposits the specified amount of Bitcoin into a crypto wallet provided by the lending platform. This Bitcoin is held in escrow for the duration of the loan, serving as collateral.

Step 3: The lending platform determines the LTV ratio

The platform then evaluates the valuation of the Bitcoin collateral assets and determines the LTV ratio, which sets the maximum loan amount relative to the collateral value. For example, if a borrower deposits $10,000 worth of Bitcoin and the LTV ratio is 50%, they can borrow up to $5,000.

Step 4: Loan disbursement process begins upon approval

Once the loan is approved, the loan disbursement process begins, with the borrower receiving the approved amount in the currency or stablecoin of their choice. Meanwhile, Bitcoin collateral remains secure in the platform’s wallet. The borrower makes regular interest payments throughout the life of the loan, usually monthly. The interest rate depends on several factors, including the loan amount, the borrower’s creditworthiness and market conditions.

What happens to Bitcoin collateral if a borrower misses a loan payment?

When the borrower repays the principal amount plus accrued interest, the Bitcoin collateral is returned to their wallet. However, if the borrower fails to repay the loan on time, options to refinance the loan may be available. In this case, the lending platform may issue a margin call, requiring the borrower to deposit additional Bitcoin or risk having their collateral liquidated to cover the outstanding balance.

Benefits of Bitcoin-backed Loans

It is essential to weigh both the benefits and risks before considering Bitcoin-backed loans. An important advantage lies in the preservation of Bitcoin holdings. Users do not need to sell their Bitcoin to access cash. This allows them to retain ownership of their digital assets and potentially benefit from future price increases while meeting their current financial needs.

Additionally, crypto loans often offer faster approval processes than traditional loans, providing quick access to funds, which can be particularly beneficial in emergency situations where immediate liquidity is needed to meet financial obligations or opportunities.

Another advantage is the global accessibility and flexibility of Bitcoin loans, which are available worldwide, regardless of geographic location or credit history. Users enjoy the freedom to select loan amounts, goals and repayment options, allowing them to access liquidity based on their financial needs and individual financial situation.

Additionally, lending Bitcoin on cryptocurrency platforms can offer users attractive interest rates, often higher than traditional savings accounts. Additionally, borrowing against one’s Bitcoin holdings can provide tax benefits by bypassing capital gains taxes due to the sale of Bitcoin, thereby optimizing users’ financial approaches while reducing tax liabilities.

Risks associated with Bitcoin loans

First, the inherent market volatility and price swings of Bitcoin can be dramatic, which creates risk for Bitcoin-backed loans, potentially leading to the liquidation of collateralized Bitcoin if its value falls below a predefined threshold. Bitcoin price fluctuations can significantly impact loan repayment obligations, requiring borrowers to develop prudent risk management strategies.

Second, Bitcoin loan interest rates are subject to market fluctuations, exposing borrowers to increased borrowing costs if interest rates increase over the life of the loan. Variability in interest rates can affect overall loan affordability and impact borrowers’ financial stability over time.

The evolving regulatory landscape introduces ambiguity around Bitcoin lending, creating uncertainty in legal, accessibility and service conditions. As regulations evolve, the availability and terms of Bitcoin loans may be affected. Borrowers must stay informed of these developments and adapt their strategies to effectively manage potential impacts.

Cryptocurrencies are not insured by traditional institutions, which can result in loss of collateral in the event of hacking or lender insolvency. Additionally, entrusting Bitcoin holdings to lending platforms exposes borrowers to risks such as fraud, insolvency and security breaches. It is crucial to select reputable platforms with robust security measures and transparent policies to effectively mitigate platform risks. Due diligence and thorough research can help borrowers identify reliable platforms and minimize the likelihood of adverse outcomes.

Lenders may require additional collateral or liquidation of assets if cryptocurrency values ​​fall below specific thresholds. Margin calls can occur suddenly and require borrowers to take immediate action to maintain their loan-to-value ratios, which could lead to asset liquidation or additional collateral requirements.

Finally, the inability to trade or transact crypto assets while holding outstanding loan balances may pose problems if prices decline, limiting access to or efficient use of collateralized assets and limiting the ability of borrowers to respond to changing market conditions or financial needs.

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We are the editorial team of Financial Block, where seriousness meets clarity in cryptocurrency analysis. With a robust team of finance and blockchain technology experts, we are dedicated to meticulously exploring complex crypto markets with detailed assessments and an unbiased approach. Our mission is to democratize access to knowledge of emerging financial technologies, ensuring they are understandable and accessible to all. In every article on Financial Block, we strive to provide content that not only educates, but also empowers our readers, facilitating their integration into the financial digital age.

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DeFi

Haust Network Partners with Gateway to Connect to AggLayer

Financial Block Staff

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Haust Network Partners with Gateway to Connect to AggLayer

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 1, 2024, Chainwire

Consumer adoption of cryptocurrencies is a snowball that is accelerating by the day. More and more people around the world are clamoring for access to DeFi. However, the user interface and user experience of cryptocurrencies still lag behind their fundamental utility, and users lack the simple and secure access they need to truly on-chain products.

Haust Network is a network and suite of products focused on changing this paradigm and bringing DeFi to the masses. To achieve this goal, Haust Network has announced its far-reaching partnership with bridgeseasoned veterans in rapidly delivering revolutionary blockchain utilities for projects. The Gateway team empowers blockchain developers to build DAOs, NFT platforms, payment services, and more. They drive adoption of crypto primitives for individuals and institutions around the world by helping everyone build their on-chain presence.

Gateway specializes in connecting sovereign blockchains to the Aggregation Layer (AggLayer). The AggLayer is a single unified contract that powers the Ethereum bridge of many disparate blockchains, allowing them all to connect to a single unified liquidity pool. The AggLayer abstracts away the complexities of cross-chain DeFi, making tedious multi-chain transactions as easy for the end user as a single click. It’s all about creating access to DeFi, and with Polygon’s technology and the help of Gateways, Haust is doing just that.

As part of their partnership, Gateway will build an advanced zkEVM blockchain for Haust Network, leveraging its extensive experience to deploy ultra-fast sovereign applications with unmatched security, and enabling Haust Network to deliver its products to its audience.

The recently announced launch of the Haust Wallet is a Telegram mini-app that provides users with access to DeFi directly through the Telegram interface. Users who deposit funds into the wallet will have access to all standard send/receive services and generate an automatic yield on their funds. The yield is generated by Haust Network’s interconnected network of smart contracts, Haustoria, which provides automated and passive DeFi yielding.

As part of this partnership, the Haust Network development team will work closely with Gateway developers to launch Haust Network. Gateway is an implementation provider for Polygon CDK and zkEVM technology, which the Haust wallet will leverage to deliver advanced DeFi tools directly to the wallet users’ fingertips. Haust’s partnership with Gateway comes shortly after the announcement of a high-profile alliance with the Polygon community. Together, the three will work to build Haust Network and connect its products to the AggLayer.

About Haust Network

Haust Network is an application-based absolute liquidity network and will be built to be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Haust aims to provide native yield to all users’ assets. In Telegram’s Haust Wallet, users can spend and collect their cryptocurrencies in one easy place, at the same time. Haust operates its network of self-balancing smart contracts that interact across multiple blockchains and then efficiently funnel what has been generated to Haust users.

About Gateway

bridge is a leading white-label blockchain provider that offers no-code protocol deployment. Users can launch custom blockchains in just ten minutes. They are an implementation provider for Polygon CDK and have already helped projects like Wirex, Gnosis Pay, and PalmNFT bring new utility to the crypto landscape.

About Polygon Labs

Polygon Laboratories Polygon Labs is a software development company building and developing a network of aggregated blockchains via the AggLayer, secured by Ethereum. As a public infrastructure, the AggLayer will aggregate the user bases and liquidity of any connected chain, and leverage Ethereum as the settlement layer. Polygon Labs has also contributed to the core development of several widely adopted scaling protocols and tools for launching blockchains, including Polygon PoS, Polygon zkEVM, and Polygon Miden, which is currently under development, as well as the Polygon CDK.

Contact

Lana Kovalski
haustnetwork@gmail.com

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DeFi

Ethena downplays danger of letting traders use USDe to back risky bets – DL News

Financial Block Staff

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Ethena downplays danger of letting traders use USDe to back risky bets – DL News
  • Ethena and ByBit will allow derivatives traders to use USDe as collateral.
  • There is a risk in letting traders use an asset partially backed by derivatives to place more bets.

Ethena has downplayed the dangers of a new feature, which will allow traders to put up its synthetic dollar USDe as collateral when trading derivatives, which are risky bets on the prices of crypto assets.

While allowing users to underwrite their trades with yield-bearing USDe is an attractive prospect, Ethena said there is potential risk in letting traders use an asset partially backed by derivatives to place even more derivatives bets.

“We have taken this risk into account and that is why Ethena operates across more than five different sites,” said Conor Ryder, head of research at Ethena Labs. DL News.

The move comes as competition in the stablecoin sector intensifies.

In recent weeks, PayPal grown up the amount of its stablecoin PYUSD in circulation 96%, while the MakerDAO cooperative plans a rebrandingaiming to increase the supply of its DAI stablecoin to 100 billion.

US dollar growth stagnates

It comes as Ethena has lost momentum after its blockbuster launch in December.

In early July, USDe reached a record level of 3.6 billion in circulation.

That figure has now fallen by 11% to around 3.2 billion.

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New uses for USDe could boost demand for Ethena’s products.

This is where the new plan, announcement Tuesday with ByBit, one of its partner exchanges, is coming.

Ethena users create USDe by depositing Bitcoin or Ether into the protocol.

Ethena then covers these deposits with short positions – bearish bets – on the corresponding asset.

This creates a stable support for USDe, unaffected by price fluctuations in Bitcoin or Ether.

Mitigate risks

While using USDe as collateral for derivatives trading is proving popular, it is unclear what the effects will be if the cryptocurrency market experiences major fluctuations.

Using derivatives as collateral to place more bets has already had disastrous effects.

In June 2022, Lido’s liquid staking token stETH broke its peg to Ether following the fallout from the Terra collapse.

Many traders who used looping leverage to increase their stETH staking yields were liquidated, creating a cascade that caused the price of Ether to drop by more than 43%.

Ethena Labs founder Guy Young said: DL News His office and his partners have taken many precautions.

Ethena spreads bearish bets supporting the USDe across the five exchanges it partners with.

According to Ethena, 48% of short positions supporting USDe are on Binance, 23% on ByBit, 20% on OKX, 5% on Deribit, and 1% on Bitget. website.

In doing so, Ethena aims to minimize the impact of an unforeseen event on a stock market.

The same theory applies to the distribution of risks across different supporting assets.

Fifty percent of USDe is backed by Bitcoin, 30% by Ether, 11% by Ether liquid staking tokens, and 8% by Tether’s USDT stablecoin.

Previous reviews

Ethena has already been criticised regarding the risks associated with USDe.

Some have compared USDe to TerraUSD, an undercollateralized stablecoin that collapsed in 2022.

“It’s not a good design for long-term stability,” said Austin Campbell, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School. said as the USDe launch approaches.

Young replied to critics, saying the industry needs to be more diligent and careful when “marketing products to users who might not understand them as well as we do.”

Ethena has since added a disclaimer on its website stating that USDe is not the same as a fiat stablecoin like USDC or USDT.

“This means that the risks involved are inherently different,” the project says on its website.

Tim Craig is DL News DeFi correspondent based in Edinburgh. Feel free to share your tips with us at tim@dlnews.com.

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DeFi

Cryptocurrency and defi firms lost $266 million to hackers in July

Financial Block Staff

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Crypto companies, defi lost $266m to hackers in July

In July 2024, the cryptocurrency industry suffered a series of devastating attacks, resulting in losses amounting to approximately $266 million.

Blockchain Research Firm Peck Shield revealed in an X post On August 1, attacks on decentralized protocols in July reached $266 million, a 51% increase from $176 million reported in June.

The most significant breach last month involved WazirX, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which lost $230 million in what appears to be a highly sophisticated attack by North Korean hackers. The attack was a major blow to the stock market, leading to a break in withdrawals. Subsequently, WazirX launched a program in order to recover the funds.

Another notable incident involved Compound Finance, a decentralized lending protocol, which suffered a governance attack by a group known as the “Golden Boys,” who passed a proposal who allocated 499,000 COMP tokens – valued at $24 million – to a vault under their control.

The cross-chain liquidity aggregation protocol LI.FI also fell victim On July 16, a hack resulted in losses of $9.73 million. Additionally, Bittensor, a decentralized machine learning network, was one of the first protocols to suffer an exploit last month, loming $8 million on July 3 due to an attack targeting its staking mechanism.

Meanwhile, Rho Markets, a lending protocol, suffered a $7.6 million breach. However, in an interesting twist, the exploiters research to return the stolen funds, claiming the incident was not a hack.

July 31, reports The Terra blockchain protocol was also hacked, resulting in a loss of $6.8 million across multiple cryptocurrencies. As crypto.news reported, the attack exploited a reentrancy vulnerability that had been identified a few months ago.

Dough Finance, a liquidity protocol, lost $1.8 million in Ethereum (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC) to a flash loan attack on July 12. Similarly, Minterest, a lending and borrowing protocol, saw a loss of $1.4 million due to exchange rate manipulation in one of its markets.

Decentralized staking platform MonoSwap also reported a loss of $1.3 million following an attack that allowed the perpetrators to withdraw the liquidity staked on the protocol. Finally, Delta Prime, another decentralized finance platform, suffered a $1 million breach, although $900,000 of the stolen funds was later recovered.



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DeFi

The Rise of Bitcoin DeFi: Then and Now

Financial Block Staff

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The Rise of Bitcoin DeFi: Then and Now

The convergence of Bitcoin’s robust security and Layer 2 scaling solutions has catalyzed the emergence of a vibrant DeFi ecosystem.

By expanding Bitcoin’s utility beyond simple peer-to-peer payments, these advancements have opened up a new frontier of financial possibilities, allowing users to participate in decentralized lending, trading, and other complex smart contract operations on Bitcoin.

Read on to learn about the rise of Bitcoin-based decentralized finance and how the space has expanded to accommodate a new generation of native assets and features.

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What is DeFi?

Decentralized finance (DeFi) represents a paradigm shift in financial services, offering internet-based financial products such as trading, lending, and borrowing through the use of decentralized public blockchains.

By implementing blockchains, smart contracts, and digital assets, DeFi protocols provide financial services through a decentralized ecosystem, where participants do not have to deal with intermediaries when transacting.

What is Bitcoin DeFi?

The inherent limitations of the Bitcoin mainchain in supporting the intricacies of decentralized finance have created the need to develop smart contract-based Layer 2 solutions.

Additionally, the advent of the Ordinals protocol in 2023, which facilitated the emergence of fungible token standards such as BRC-20 and Runes, catalyzed the growth of DeFi on the Bitcoin blockchain.

This expansion in protocol diversity has broadened the applications of the world’s leading cryptocurrency network beyond the core base-layer use cases around value preservation and transactional capabilities.

Therefore, Bitcoin DeFi has become a nascent sector within the digital asset market, after previously being a missing essential part of the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Bitcoin DeFi in its early days

Integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) concepts into the Bitcoin ecosystem has been a journey of innovation and perseverance. Early attempts to bridge the gap between Bitcoin’s fundamental simplicity and DeFi’s complexities have spawned pioneering projects that, while laying essential foundations, have also encountered significant obstacles.

Colored coins

Colored coins represented an early foray into tokenizing real-world assets on the Bitcoin blockchain. By leveraging the existing network to track ownership of assets ranging from stocks to real estate, this approach highlighted Bitcoin’s potential as a platform beyond digital currency. However, scalability and practical implementation challenges have limited its widespread adoption.

Counterpart

Building on the colored coins, Counterparty has become a platform for creating and trading digital assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), on Bitcoin.

The introduction of popular projects like Rare Pepe NFTs has demonstrated the growing appeal of digital collectibles. However, constraints around user experience and network efficiency have hampered its full potential.

These early experiments, while not fully realizing their ambitions, served as valuable stepping stones, informing Bitcoin DeFi’s subsequent developments. Their challenges highlighted the need for more sophisticated infrastructure and protocols to harness the full potential of decentralized finance on the Bitcoin network.

Bitcoin DeFi Today

Today, building DeFi applications on Bitcoin is primarily done in the realm of Layer 2 (L2) networks. This architectural choice is motivated by the limitations of Bitcoin’s base layer in supporting complex programmable smart contracts.

Bitcoin’s original design prioritized security and decentralization over programmability, making it difficult to develop sophisticated DeFi protocols directly on its blockchain. However, the recent emergence of protocols like Ordinals, BRC-20, and Runes, while not DeFi in their own right, has sparked possibilities for future DeFi-like applications on the main chain.

In contrast, L2 solutions offer a scalable and programmable environment built on Bitcoin, enabling the creation of various DeFi products.

By expanding Bitcoin’s capabilities without compromising its core principles, L2s have become the preferred platform for developers looking to build DeFi applications that encompass trading, lending, staking, and more.

Leading L2 networks such as Lightning Network, Rootstock, Stacks, and Build on Bitcoin provide the infrastructure for these efforts. Some of these L2s have even introduced their own native tokens to the network, further expanding Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem.

Essentially, while Bitcoin’s core layer presents challenges for DeFi development, its security and decentralization have provided a foundational layer for the innovative L2 landscape to thrive.

Bitcoin Layer 2 offers a promising path to building a robust and thriving Bitcoin-based DeFi ecosystem that offers trading, staking, lending, and borrowing. All you need is a DeFi Wallet like Xverse to access the new world of decentralized financial services secured by Bitcoin.

Conclusion

The integration of DeFi principles into the Bitcoin ecosystem, primarily facilitated by Layer 2 solutions, marks a significant evolution in the digital asset landscape.

Building on the foundational work of pioneers like Colored Coins and Counterparty, the industry has evolved into more sophisticated platforms like Rootstock, Stacks, and Build on Bitcoin to create a thriving Bitcoin-powered DeFi ecosystem.

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