π MUST READS |
Tokenized Treasuries Are Soaring |
Last month, we covered a new project, Backed Finance, which is an on-chain treasury management solution that tokenizes securities to provide attractive yields. In plain English, Backed allows users to invest in traditional assets like Treasuries or even popular equities like Google or Apple with their crypto. |
This was intriguing to us because while yields on stablecoins are lower than treasuries at the moment, there are numerous advantages to holding assets on-chain, including that itβs a 24/7 market with limited barriers to entry. |
Backed provides the best of both worlds by taking the strong yields from traditional assets and putting them on-chain. |
Well, it appears we werenβt the only people fascinated by on-chain treasuries. As it turns out, demand for on-chain treasuries is soaring, with the market-cap of tokenized money market funds now sitting at a robust $500 million, 4x what it was last year. |
Some of the notable projects in this niche include: |
Franklin Templetonβs Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, which now has $276 million in assets Ondo Financeβs OUSG tokenized product, which has swelled up to $132 million in assets Matrixdockβs SBT, which contains $72 million in funds |
Overall, this is all part of a wider trend toward the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). This is a use-case that TradFi entities like JP Morgan and Bank of America are in love with, and itβs a topic that CoinSnacks contributor Stephen has covered extensively (here, here, and here). |
Itβs not hard to see why so many people are attracted to tokenized RWAs: it solves issues existing in both crypto and traditional finance. |
For crypto, tokenizing an RWA gives a steady source of yield and provides crypto with the βrealβ asset that many feel it currently lacks. While for TradFi, tokenized assets spice these boring investment objects up with some much-needed liquidity, flexibility, and dynamism. |
For these reasons, tokenized RWAs will likely continue to grow, especially if the yields in DeFi remain inferior to those found in TradFi. |
|
SPONSORED |
The Death of the Petrodollar |
China and Russia just agreed on using the Chinese Yuan for trade amongst each other as well as other countries. Even India just ditched the U.S. dollar and will trade in Rupees with multiple countries going forward. And more recently, China and Brazil reached an agreement to settle trades in each other's currencies. The critical takeaway: If the U.S. dollar is replaced as the world's currency, it could have disastrous effects on America's ability to borrow money and pay back their debts. |
In light of these developments, gold is expected to boom. Here's the No. 1 way to play it for just about $5 >> |
|
π DEEP DIVES |
Binance Accused Of Commingling User Funds |
Itβs been an interesting ~12 months for cryptoβs largest exchange, Binance: |
They were exposed for having questionable ties to the always controversial Justin Sun. They were under investigation by the SEC for a wide range of possible transgressions. They were accused of serving as a conduit for the laundering of $2.35 billion in illicit funds. Their deal to acquire Voyager blew up, and the SEC began poking around Binance.US. Paxos was ordered to stop issuing Binanceβs BUSD stablecoin. And the CTFC is on their case as well. |
Now, we have yet another interesting report on Binance, this time coming from their frequent antagonist Reuters. |
Commingling Of Customer Funds The use of βcomminglingβ and βcustomer fundsβ in the same sentence sends shivers down the spine of anybody who had money in FTX. |
If Reuters is to be believed, it happened at Binance as well. |
According to sources with knowledge of Binanceβs financial dealings and bank records from 2020 and 2021 seen by Reuters: |
Billions of dollars and commingling happened almost daily This commingling happened in a CZ (Binanceβs CEO) controlled account at the now defunct Silvergate bank Binance then converted these funds into their BUSD stablecoin |
The motives behind these moves were two-fold: |
To hide money from the tax man To get money out of banks, which CZ distrusted |
Commingling user funds is extremely illegal and obviously wouldnβt help their case with the regulators. So, as is to be expected, Binance vehemently denied the charges. |
| Patrick Hillmann @PRHillmann | |
| Let me explain just how desperate a journalist @Reuters is to publish a negative story. The whole base of their story this morning, is that when users purchased BUSD (Paxos) from Binance, they were taken to a transaction page that had the term βdepositβ on it. Users were making aβ¦ https://t.co/oeacIOXJ4V | | May 23, 2023 | | | | 812 Likes 207 Retweets 174 Replies |
|
|
FUD or Facts? In crypto, where there is smoke, there is often fire. And when considering the FTX blowup, all the concerning stories surrounding Binance, and the fact that they βmistakenlyβ mixed user funds earlier this year, this smoke is reaching forest fire levels. |
So, we will leave you with the same advice we always give as it pertains to Binance: |
|
|
SPONSORED |
FedCoin is REAL (and coming soon)β¦ |
In what could be the worst kept secret inside the D.C. Beltway, a Fed-backed digital dollar β a.k.a. βFedCoinβ β recently finished testing. |
And now, as a major dollar-destroying event approaches (on July 1)β¦ Every American should be making this one crucial move, ASAP. |
Click here to learn more Β» |
|
Apple Softens Their Stance On Crypto |
When most people think about Apple and all of the ways it makes money, they think of the flashy iPhones, Macs, and other gadgets. |
What most donβt realize though is that Apple makes a huge percentage of their total revenue β perhaps more than 20% β from the App Store. The total amount is unknown as Apple has gone to great lengths to hide the exact number. |
Apple knows they wield great power through the App Store, and theyβve used this power to make tens of billions of dollars in yearly revenue, mainly from the infamous 30% cut of all in-app purchases (which tech companies such as Epic Games have tried and failed to get rid of). |
Unfortunately for us crypto enthusiasts, theyβve also used this power to arbitrarily keep web3 apps out of the App Store. This was confirmed by former App Store director Phillip Shoemaker, as he stated that βApple had a problem with crypto from day one. They thought it was a Ponzi schemeβ. |
This harsh attitude toward crypto has been apparent throughout the last decade: |
Coinbase was banned from the App Store for an entire year Last December, Apple severely limited how NFTs could be used in apps Apple blocked the Coinbase Wallet app because they wanted to collect 30% on any gas fees accrued by NFT transfers, which is an impossible ask |
But, for whatever reason, it appears the tide is turning with Apple making two major crypto App Store moves in the last week. |
First, they allowed the blockchain game Axie Infinity to launch their Axie Infinity: Origins card game on the App Store in a select number of countries across Latin America and Asia in anticipation of an eventual global release. Next, they allowed users of the crypto fitness app Stepn to trade their Stepn NFTs without having to leave the app or use an external marketplace. |
Although both apps will still have to pay Appleβs crushing 30% tax, this is undoubtedly great news for the industry. Stepn COO Shiti Manghani even believes this is the biggest thing currently happening in crypto. |
| Shiti | Weβre Hiring! @shitirastogi | |
| The biggest thing is happening in web3 right now! π₯ https://t.co/UuXkOfctSM | STEPN | Public Beta Phase VI @Stepnofficial STEPN Integrates Apple Pay π We are thrilled to announce that #STEPN is the first blockchain gaming app to secure a landmark integration with Apple Pay, breaking down the barrier to entry for Web3 π« How it works β€΅οΈ [1/6] https://t.co/wCeVzjLoHE |
| | May 22, 2023 | | | | 116 Likes 18 Retweets 8 Replies |
|
|
The reason is simple: mainstream adoption. |
Phones account for more web traffic than desktops, and the App Store is one of the worldβs most popular application marketplaces. If crypto, the supposed currency of the internet, is to truly take off, it needs to capture this market. |
These developments, combined with the freeing of the Uniswap mobile wallet last month, are huge steps in the right direction. |
|
TWEET OF THE WEEK |
| Gabor Gurbacs @gaborgurbacs | |
| Replying to@gaborgurbacs | US Treasury cash reserve left: $68.3 Billion Tether AUM: $83 Billion ππππ | | May 23, 2023 | | | | 57 Likes 3 Retweets 3 Replies |
|
|
|
Other Content You Might Enjoy |
How To Figure Out If You Should Start Mining Bitcoin Bitcoin Payments App Strike Expands to More Than 65 Countries From Three Fred Wilson to 'double down' on web3 investing amid regulatory pressure Ledger plans to accelerate open source work in wake of Recover backlash SEC believes Filecoin (FIL) is a security Crypto hacks down 70% in Q1 2023 Bitcoinβs Correlation to Big Tech Near Lowest Since 2021 Emails, Chat Logs, Code and a Notebook: The Mountain of FTX Evidence RIP Metaverse |
|
How did you like today's email? |
β‘β‘β‘β‘β‘ Love itβ‘β‘β‘ Ehh, could be betterβ‘ Do better next time |
|
ABOUT COINSNACKS |
Launched in December 2017, CoinSnacks is home to the longest continuously running crypto newsletter. Each week, we publish our cryptoasset musings to an audience of ~60,000 crypto enthusiasts and investors. |
In a space flooded with new projects, research, and narratives, the average investor may feel overwhelmed or confused. CoinSnacks offers a solution by doing the digging for you, so you don't have to spend hundreds of hours sifting through the noise. |
|
REACH OUR AUDIENCE |
If youβre a brand interested in partnering with CoinSnacks to find your next customers, parter, or ally, weβd love to hear from you. Learn more here. |