Cega Finance has launched a dual currency strategy to unlock yield opportunities for the liquid staking ecosystem, with returns earmarked at 22%+ APY for stETH or ETH holders.
As part of this, it is collaborating with Ethereum blockchain-based liquid staking solution Lido to capitalise on the rapidly expanding liquid staking market and continued growth of Ethereum.
We're pioneering a new era in DeFi by introducing Dual Currency, integrating one of the most sought-after structured products with yield-bearing DeFi tokens - Arisa Toyosaki, Cega
According to Cega, the liquid staking ecosystem has grown 106% in the last year and is showing no signs of slowing down. More than a quarter of all ETH in circulation is staked, and a third of that is directly in Lido. Lido’s stETH market alone, currently valued at over US$16 billion, represents the emergence of a new capital market structure.
A major problem in the billion dollar liquid staking market today is lack of yield opportunities for stETH holders, limited to around ~3% APY without delving into leveraged or higher-risk strategies.
Cega’s new Dual Currency product aims to solve this by offering DeFi investors a way to earn at the highest stETH and ETH yield in the market of 22%+ real yield through options trading.
‘We're pioneering a new era in DeFi by introducing Dual Currency, integrating one of the most sought-after structured products with yield-bearing DeFi tokens,’ said Arisa Toyosaki (pictured), CEO & Co-Founder at Cega.
Since launching in 2022, Cega has become the leading provider of on-chain structured investments by building products that earn investors safer, higher real yields through exotic options. Over US$300 million in volume has been transacted to date on the Cega platform.
Valour readies ripple tracker
Crypto native technology company DeFi Technologies has announced that its exchange-traded product (ETP) subsidiary Valour ETP is planning to launch a ripple (XRP) ETP on a European exchange in early December 2023.
The Valour Ripple XRP ETP will be targeted at investors seeking to gain exposure to XRP, the native cryptocurrency in ripple's ecosystem, via their bank or broker. XRP has a market cap of US$31.6 billion and ranks fifth among all cryptocurrencies globally.
‘The introduction of the Ripple (XRP) ETPs by Valour is a significant expansion of our product offerings,’ said Marco Infuso (right), chief sales officer of Valour. ‘Adding XRP to our suite of products caters to the growing demand for diverse digital asset investments in European markets. These ETPs provide European investors with access to leading cryptocurrencies, aligning with our commitment to democratising and pioneering the digital asset market for traditional investors.’
Ripple XRP is a key player in the digital currency space, known for its use in facilitating rapid and low-cost international money transfers. Operating on RippleNet, XRP serves as a bridge currency in ripple's payment network, allowing for flawless currency exchanges worldwide.
This has positioned XRP as a preferred choice for financial institutions seeking efficient alternatives to traditional cross-border payment methods, added Infuso.
Valour plans to list additional traditional and physically backed crypto ETPs in the coming months.
Valour's existing product range includes Valour uniswap, cardano, polkadot, solana, avalanche, cosmos, binance, enjin, bitcoin carbon neutral and Valour Digital Asset Basket 10 ETPs. Valour's flagship products are Bitcoin Zero and Ethereum Zero, the first fully hedged, passive investment products tracking bitcoin and Ethereum.
Bybit introduces knockout-like crypto play
Bybit, the world's third-largest crypto exchange by volume, has launched of a new structured financial product designed to help users accumulate their crypto holdings during periods of low market volatility.
The new Bybit Discount Buy operates similarly to a knockout option, with a cap on the price level that works in the holder's favor. Unlike knockout options, the new product will not expire worthless, and users will have the option to purchase the desired cryptocurrency at a price lower than the market price at the time of order placement.
The structure of the Discount Buy operates in two scenarios. If the settlement price is greater than or equal to the knockout price users will receive their principal plus annual percentage rate (APR) in USDT.
However, if the settlement price is lower than the knockout price, users can purchase their desired cryptocurrency at the purchase price.
‘The launch of Discount Buy further demonstrates Bybit's commitment to providing users with innovative and user-friendly financial products," said Ben Zhou (right), co-founder and CEO of Bybit, adding that the product is ideal for users who believe the current asset price is low and want to accumulate the asset at an even better price.
‘This product is particularly favorable when the market is stable,’ said Zhou.
HSBC to roll out custody service for tokenised securities
HSBC will soon debut a digital assets custody service for institutional clients who invest in tokenised securities.
Partnered with Metaco, a Swiss enterprise tech firm backed by Ripple, the custody service will go live in 2024 and will complement HSBC Orion, the UK bank’s platform for issuing digital assets, as well as a recently introduced offering for tokenised physical gold, according to the bank’s statement.
‘We’re seeing increasing demand for custody and fund administration of digital assets from asset managers and asset owners, as this market continues to evolve,’ said Zhu Kuang Lee (right), chief digital, data and innovation officer, securities services at HSBC.
Adrien Treccani, CEO and founder of Metaco, said in the statement that its institutional platform Harmonize, which integrates with financial institutions’ existing systems, will be critical to ‘how issuers and investors interact, as capital markets and assets in general continue to be represented on distributed ledgers’.
HSBC’s latest development in the tokenisation space came after the same month when it successfully tested the use of tokenised deposits in intra-group payment transactions with Ant Group.
The tokenisation and custody service space has seen a growing interest from worldwide institutions. In September, Deutsche Bank partnered with Taurus, a Swiss-based digital asset infrastructure provider, to leverage custody and tokenisation technology to manage cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets and digital currencies. In June, the Monetary Authority of Singapore expanded Project Guardian to ‘test the potential of asset tokenisation across more financial asset classes’.
Velvet takes leap in onchain asset management
Velvet Capital has launched Velvet Capital v2, the next iteration of its infrastructure targeted at crypto hedge funds, digital asset managers, family offices, and individual investors alike.
With the backing of Binance Labs and other top VCs, Velvet Capital has built a comprehensive DeFi operating system to enable anyone looking to create, manage, and launch on-chain funds, structured products, and tokenised portfolios.
The platform led by Vasily Nikonov (right) offers a ‘streamlined and user-friendly platform’ that allows for the optimal management of DeFi interactions from a single interface. Users can now earn yields through lending, staking or providing liquidity across various assets and ecosystems.
The new Velvet Capital v2 platform offers users the ability to create, manage and launch on-chain products and portfolios with just a few clicks; and access a comprehensive ecosystem of digital assets and gain exposure to many different crypto assets in a few clicks.
Velvet Capital v2's has been designed to help maximise returns from lending, staking and providing liquidity. To celebrate the launch, Velvet Capital is offering to earn double airdrop rewards on the first US$5 million in total value locked (TVL), which can be tracked daily using the platform’s airdrop calculator.
Since its inception, Velvet Capital has been an incubation success of Binance Labs. The platform's growth has been nothing short of remarkable, with over 1,600 active users and more than $700,000 in TVL, quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing platforms within the BSC ecosystem - with omnichain aspirations the future is bright.