Newsletter #9- Week Ending September 6th
Welcome back to our newsletter! This edition is a special one, because not only are we bringing you the latest in blockchain and digital assets news and a proprietary research report, we have a special announcement! We have formed a strategic partnership with Block Global, a leading, China-based, global blockchain media group. Read more about the partnership in our official statement here.
This week’s research report covers Total Outflow and Inflow in all Exchanges/Mining Pools, and is live on our site!
Bridging the Western and Asian DeFi Sector
Conflux, a Beijing-based blockchain protocol, has a new DeFi initiative, Open DeFi, which is a decentralized finance consortium seeking to bridge Western and Asian crypto/DeFi markets by expanding the possibilities for DeFi in Asia. To do this it will “act as an incubator for Chinese DeFi startups ‘on the brink of cross-border growth,’ as well as to help traditional financial institutions integrate DeFi”, according to Conflux global managing director, Eden Dhaliwal. We often talk about the importance of government approval and integration in our newsletters, and Conflux realizes this as well, as they have support from the Shanghai state government as well as the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee. And, as proof of traction, Open DeFi already counts Sequoia Capital, Blockpower Capital, and dForce (a DeFi protocol) among its members. Open DeFi, in its mission to bridge the Western and Asian DeFi/crypto markets and build the Asian market out, seems one to absolutely keep an eye on.
Chainlink Price Oracles
In other DeFi news, Synthetix, a DeFi protocol, will now be using Chainlink price oracles for all of their price feeds. The point of this is to achieve “fully decentralized governance”. Synthetix, for the uninitiated, “generates synthetic assets as tradable tokens on Ethereum, with prices for different Synths pegged to real-world assets, from crypto assets such as Bitcoin or Tron’s TRX tokens to currencies like British Pounds or Euros.” What sets this decision apart from other DeFi projects, is that instead of decentralizing governance early, Synthetix chose to test its protocol to control risk and ensure that its smart contract architecture was sound. With a strong infrastructure, mitigated risks, and price oracles as accurate as Chainlinks, Synthetix is no doubt a strong protocol to engage with.
Bitcoin Mining
Digital Currency Group (DCG), based in North America, announced their subsidiary Bitcoin mining firm, Foundry. One substantial function of Foundry is to serve “as a bridge between mining hardware manufacturers and capital.” This, according to Mike Colyer, CEO of Foundry, is meant to decentralize “infrastructure in the new digital economy, and… support the development and growth of mining operations- particularly in North America”. That is, Foundry will better avail the cryptocurrency mining and staking industry to institutional investors. This addresses the pain point of the mining industry being dominated by larger corporations, and truly promotes the ethos of decentralization shared by many in the cryptocurrency, digital assets sector.
tZero Introduces Zero Trading Fees
Last week we reported on the momentous news of the St. Regis Aspen opening 19% of its property to the secondary market as a tokenized security on the tZero ATS platform. This week, there is even more good news for anyone with their sights set on that security and, well, any other digital security on ATS, because tZero has just introduced zero trading fees for registered digital securities on their platform! The reason for this is quite simple, as according to tZero CEO Saum Noursalehi, they are “committed to fostering the industry adoption of digital securities and believe that free trading on registered digital securities will be a more compelling model for attracting broker-dealer subscribers and investors”. This is huge news for broker-dealers, and will take effect September 3rd of this year.
News from Our Partners at Fusang Exchange and SPiCE VC!
Earlier this week, our partners, Fusang, listed their first digital security on their exchange- SPiCE VC’s SPiCE token. What’s more, Protos, a tokenized hedge fund, will be joining SPiCE VC in listing their security token as they both stretch beyond the U.S. digital exchange to reach Asian investors. The strength of Fusang, and what makes this an important move for SPiCE VC and Protos, is that Fusang’s securities exchange license “allows it to act as a secondary market, as well as listing digital securities for the first time as a primary listing.” The investors that both companies are trying to reach can rejoice as well, as these two companies are quite established, and because they now have more options for trading and liquidity.
The Upshot:
- Beijing-based blockchain protocol Conflux has a new DeFi consortium, Open DeFi, which seeks to bridge Western and Asian markets.
- Synthetix, a DeFi protocol, will now solely use Chainlink price oracles.
- DCG, in an effort to decentralize the mining sector, has launched Foundry, a Bitcoin mining firm.
- tZero, in a push for industry adoption of digital securities, has introduced zero trading fees for registered digital securities on their ATS platform.
- Our partners at Fusang have listed their first digital security, SPiCE VC’s SPiCE token, on their exchange, along with another U.S.-based company, tokenized hedge fund Protos, to open both up to investors in Asia.
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About RedBlock
RedBlock Inc is a digital investment and fintech firm leveraging blockchain technology for asset digitization and management, from issuance to secondary liquidity. Its global network of capital market participants, including issuers, broker-dealers, secondary exchanges, funds, liquidity providers and custodians, are supported by its end-to-end blockchain-powered asset management platform. RedBlock also manages an investment fund to support companies in its ecosystem that align with its investment thesis. With a growing track record and pipeline, the RedBlock team hails from top tier global investment banks, venture capital firms and blockchain technology companies.
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