BlockFi

Bears hibernate during the coldest months, but there’s nowhere to hide from a bear market during a crypto winter. As the entire sector faces what looks to be a long stretch of uncertainty, young founders must find a way to keep the funds flowing. But how? This timely topic is why we’re thrilled that industry veterans Flori Marquez, founder and COO at BlockFi; Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder and CEO at Alchemy; and John Wu, president of Ava Labs, will join us onstage for a panel discussion called “Fundraising in Crypto…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working to get some cryptolending companies properly registered if they operate more as investment firms, the head of the Wall Street regulator told CNBC in an interview on Thursday. SEC Chair Gary Gensler also said it was up to large financial institutions to decide whether they want to include crypto options in their portfolios for clients, but that the risks of crypto tokens need to be made public. "We have focused on this area because many of these firms...may well…

Image: SIVStockStudio (Shutterstock)The number of crypto lending platforms that actually let users take their crypto home with them is getting progressively smaller. One company even reported its users were draining their accounts of close to $198 million in total over the past three weeks.CoinLoan announced Monday it was putting a big hold on users’ abilities to withdraw most of their crypto assets. That same day, Vauld essentially gave its customers a paternal pat on the head, telling them “it’s for your own good,”…

Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX is taking advantage of rampant instability in the crypto lending market to assert itself while propping up major institutions. The company’s U.S.-based arm has a deal in place with troubled crypto lender BlockFi that gives them the option to buy the startup, recently valued at $2 billion, for up to $240 million based on the startup’s performance. BlockFi CEO Zac Prince did not disclose what the low end of the deal could look like in a thread disclosing the term sheet on Twitter. This…

FTX is swooping in to buy crypto lender BlockFi for pennies on the dollar, sources told CNBC.The term sheet is almost over the finish line and expected to be signed by the end of the week, according to three sources, who asked not to be named because the deal discussions were confidential. FTX is expected to pay roughly $25 million, one source said, 99% below BlockFi's last private valuation. Another person with direct knowledge of the deal pegged the price closer to $50 million. Jersey City, New Jersey-based BlockFi was…

Leading crypto change is reportedly acquiring a stake in the beleaguered crypto lending firm BlockFi, as the crypto industry faces meltdown.According to Wall Street Journal, FTX is currently in discussions with BlockFi regarding the stake in the firm.The acquisition talks came as BlockFi secured a $250 million line of credit from FTX, which the crypto industry largely recognised as a "bailout.""BlockFi does not comment on market rumours. We are still negotiating the terms of the deal and cannot share more information at…

Tracy Wang / CoinDesk: Leaked investor call: BlockFi backer Morgan Creek Digital aims to raise $250M to counter FTX's BlockFi bailout, since it could wipe out BlockFi shareholders — FTX's $250 million credit facility offer - if inked as initially proposed - stood to effectively wipe out all BlockFi shareholders … Tracy Wang / CoinDesk: Leaked investor call: BlockFi backer Morgan Creek Digital aims to raise $250M to counter FTX's BlockFi bailout, since it could wipe out BlockFi…

Wall Street Journal: Sources: FTX is in talks to acquire a stake in BlockFi but no equity agreement has been reached; FTX gave the crypto lender a $250M credit line this week — FTX gave crypto lender a $250 million credit line this week — Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried has become a lender of last resort to his beleaguered industry. Wall Street Journal: Sources: FTX is in talks to acquire a stake in BlockFi but no equity agreement has been reached; FTX gave the crypto lender…

With no central bank willing to come to the rescue, beleaguered crypto companies are turning to their peers for help.Billionaire crypto boss Sam Bankman-Fried's companies has signed deals to bail out two firms in as many weeks: BlockFi, a quasi-bank, and Voyager Digital, a digital asset brokerage.FTX, Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, agreed Tuesday to provide BlockFi with a $250 million revolving credit facility. Bankman-Fried said the financing would help BlockFi "navigate the market from a position of strength."Sam…

Crypto was all the rage in 2021. This week, it came crashing down.The tailspin started late Sunday. One of the largest crypto lending platforms, Celsius Network LLC, unexpectedly told customers that it was pausing all withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts due to extreme market conditions. Celsius customers panicked, and people with money in other crypto platforms started to wonder if they would be next. The anxiety spread quickly. Prices for bitcoin and ether tumbled about 15% on Monday and…