Crypto Three Things (5/3)

The below content and projections are the opinion of the authors. Any conclusions or takeaways are their own. This should not be considered as investment advice. Investing involves the risk of loss and returns are not guaranteed.

1) VanEck announces first NFT collection to showcase the tokens’ real-world utility

• A 1,000-piece NFT collection will follow the adventures of “Hammy,” a Metaverse character based on Alexander Hamilton, the first US Treasury Secretary.
• The NFTs will be divided into three tiers, offering perks ranging from early access to research to exclusive invitations to events.
• In a move away from viewing the NFTs as speculative investments, VanEck states that holders “must not attempt to obtain an NFT if you plan to sell or transfer it.”

Titan’s Takeaway: VanEck’s efforts to steer the community away from acquiring NFTs purely for speculation is a notable effort to emphasize the technology’s value as a community-building tool. In November 2021, the New York-based asset management firm launched one of the four Bitcoin futures ETFs permitted by the SEC.

2) Argentina’s largest private bank sets up cryptocurrency trading services

• Buenos Aires-based Banco Galicia is adding Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, and XRP to its trading desk.
• The new digital asset trading tools are being developed in partnership with crypto wallet firm Lirium.
• While customers can buy and sell directly on the bank’s platform, they cannot withdraw to external wallets.

Titan’s Takeaway: Banco Galicia’s move to offer crypto assets and act as a custodian is the latest tie-up between traditional financial institutions and the fast-emerging digital asset space. We expect this move to fuel a broader inclusion trend that could give Argentinian citizens more crypto investment opportunities.

3) DeFi hack drains $77M from crypto lending platforms Rari Capital and Fei Protocol

• Multiple pools were attacked after a hacker exploited a reentrancy vulnerability in Rari’s lending protocol.
• Existing funds on the network “should be safe” from further attacks, Rari said in a statement.
• Fei, which merged with Rari last year, is offering a $10M bounty to the hacker or anyone who returns the remaining user funds.

Titan’s Takeaway: The breach is another case of a poorly secured DeFi network being targeted by bad actors. In the context of continued market expansion, we believe crypto security will keep up with accelerating project growth as companies accept they cannot make any trade-offs along the way.