Celsius, one of the largest CeFi lenders in blockchain finance, has announced a $30M sum of wrapped eth to Maple Finance in their first move of CelsiusX, the company’s newest addition, a DeFi-specific focus of their company. The pool will be held on Maple Finance, a DeFi provider of undercollateralized lending for institutional borrowers. They also offer fixed income opportunities for lenders.
“We are a technology platform for credit experts to run lending businesses and are in constant consultation with regulated and listed firms,” Sidney Powell, the co-founder and CEO of Maple Finance toldThe Defiant. “Our infrastructure is built to scale and support institutions across CeFi, DeFi, and TradFi.”
The tussle between DeFi and CeFi has been an ongoing schism in the crypto finance space. Believers of DeFi want the autonomy as account holders to choose where their assets are being lent out and at what terms, while CeFi believers think that institutions should have that power.
With Celsius making this investment into Maple, it shows that the two schools of thought can merge into one financial philosophy of a blend of DeFi and CeFi, rather than compete and argue which one is more morally and economically sustainable.
From Celsius’ perspective, it looks like CelsiusX is a product offering to get more users on their platform. “We are excited to use Maple’s DeFi rails to provide efficient access to capital for blue-chip crypto institutions,” said Alex Mashinsky, the CEO of Celsius to The Defiant. “Celsius will draw on its deep experience in underwriting and look forward to welcoming new borrowers this year and beyond.”’
According to Powell, Maple has originated more than $768M worth of loans since launching in May of last year. He also claims that the company currently has $654M worth of assets in their protocols.
Mashinsky even told The Defiant names of specific companies that were the first to be approved for funds. Leading algorithmic crypto market maker Wintermute, the digital asset venture capital firm Framework Ventures, and cryptocurrency trading firm Amber have apparently already been approved as some of the inaugural borrowers by Celsius.
As the digital asset market is making its way through Arab markets, the (United Arab Emirates) UAE has tried desperately to recruit cryptocurrency companies to call Dubai their Middle Eastern home. Despite its efforts, it seems to be losing to its tiny, little known neighbor, Bahrain.
Binance, one of the world’s largest and heavily trafficked crypto exchange platforms, recently got the green light to take the steps to become a fully regulated, centralized crypto exchange in Bahrain; a huge win for the UAE’s biggest crypto hub threat.
Bahrain is an archipelago nation of 83 islands, 33 of them being man-made. It’s a cash rich country with lax finance laws and a legacy crypto financial infrastructure. This combination may provide a haven for crypto companies who are trying to host business outside of heavily regulated western markets.
In a chat with CNN, one crypto CEO praised the country as a potential landing spot for the Arab crypto hub.
“Unlike the UAE, [Bahrain] has banking regulation for crypto in place, and that is why crypto companies in the region are setting up there,” said Talal Tabbaa, the CEO of CoinMENA, an exchange licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) told CNN.
As a resident of the UAE, Tabbaa spoke on his home country’s lack of organzation when it comes to creating a crypto infrastructure and guideline for operation in the country’s financial system.
“If banking [in the UAE] was sorted, then Dubai could be the number one destination for crypto,” said Tabbaa.
The CBB allows digital assets as an official method of payment. They also allow banks to use crypto exchanges so that their account holders can withdraw and deposit their money simply. Unlike other countries, the responsibilities of establishing a crypto market is up to the banking system in Bahrain, not securities regulators. El Salvador, the country who has hedged all bets on Bitcoin, is currently the only nation to recognize the digital asset as a legal tender.
Bahrain’s financial sector makes up 17% of GDP outside of oil. After creating crypto processes in banking back in 2019, they set themselves apart from other nations around the Gulf that were looking to push their cities as digital asset friendly.
Countries around the world have reacted to crypto’s emergence on their financial markets differently. China banned all crypto currency transactions, the UK banned Binance’s operations in their country, and the US has been rumored to come out with overhauling regulations on a wild-west style market in the states.
In a recent chat with Bloomberg, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that his company would accept crypto payments in the future, but expressed hesitancy because of the environmental impact that comes with Bitcoin mining. Noting that there is legitimate value of certain digital assets, Khosrowshahi said that its the environmental side effects on top of the cost of exchanging currencies that are causing the world’s largest rideshare app hesitancy in accepting them.
“I think right now what we see with Bitcoin and some of the other cryptos is that they are quite valuable as a store of value,” Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg. “The exchange mechanism is expensive, it’s not great for the environment. As the exchange mechanism becomes less expensive, becomes more environmentally friendly, I think you will see us lean into crypto a little bit more.”
The process of Bitcoin mining has been under scrutiny lately. New York City mayor Eric Adams, who took his first paycheck as mayor in Bitcoin, has voiced his concerns about the environmental impact of digital assets. Washington has also followed in Adams’ footsteps, as just last week they launched a formal investigation into the true impacts of crypto mining on the environment.
Tesla also stopped taking Bitcoin last year in one of the first corporate halts of accepting the currency because of its environmental impact. Just like Uber, Tesla’s Techno-king Elon Musk said the company will start again in the future, presumably when the environmental impacts are less substantial.
Apparently, top-brass at Uber is talking about crypto currency a lot. Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg that conversations around accepting crypto, particularly bitcoin, were happening “all the time.”
Italian car maker Alfa Romeo announced they are utilizing blockchain technology in their new electric vehicles, verifying service records done by Alfa Romeo technicians with NFTs. This incorporation of blockchain technology is validating whether or not work done to a vehicle was done by an Alfa Romeo technician.
The NFTs will be exclusive to the Alfa Romeo Tonale, a plug-in hybrid SUV that is set to launch at the end of 2022.
“Digitalization is a key enabler of our metamorphosis,” Francesco Calcara, Head of Marketing at Alfa Romeo, said in a briefing about the company’s new models. “[The NFTs] will sustain the residual values of our models as we are the first in the market to adopt this next-generation technology.”
Residual values are what the car manufactures determine their cars will be worth on the used car market in years to come. When leasing, this is the optional-buyout price of the car after the lease is complete. If a solid record of Alfa Romeo service can be held on the blockchain, customers will be more likely to pay more for a used Alfa Romeo, thus making their residual values higher and their predictions more accurate.
The innovation provides a solution in the auto industry to the long time problem of manufacturers dealing with work done by outside mechanics. When things aren’t covered by warranty, customers will quickly turn to local or third party mechanics to get the work done at a cheaper rate. When this is done on vehicles that are leased or financed with the intention of trading in, car manufacturers are taking in vehicles that have a misleading service history.
The NFTs will create a database of exactly when, where, and what type of work was to be done on particular Alfa Romeo vehicles. If a customer or potential buyer wants to verify work done on the car was done by an Alfa Romeo certified technician, they can ask to see the NFTs associated with the work.
The announcement is a great marketing move, as crypto and auto communities haven’t found a reason to mesh as of yet. After announcing that the company will shift to all electric cars by 2027, Alfa Romeo may be trying to make a name for themselves as the ‘crypto car’ down the road.
