Altitude, a DeFi lending platform, has successfully raised $6.1 million in a seed funding round, signalling a growing demand for innovative solutions in the decentralized finance (DeFi) lending sector. The funding highlights the urgency to address critical challenges within the space. Altitude distinguishes itself by automating dormant funds in overcollateralized loans, aiming to enhance capital efficiency. Despite lending being a dominant use case in DeFi, with over one-third of the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi apps by the end of 2023, over-collateralization remains a significant hurdle. Altitude's unique approach involves dynamically adjusting the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio in real-time, offering a solution to maximize capital efficiency while ensuring a secure liquidation risk profile. Having completed a $6.1 million seed round and with plans for expansion and integration with leading lending protocols, Altitude aims to transform the DeFi lending space.
Michiel Lescrauwaet, managing director at Tioga Capital, expressed optimism about Altitude's innovative approach, foreseeing it as a catalyst for the next phase of growth in the DeFi sector. The protocol's automation in managing collateralized debt includes reallocating excess collateral to generate income and collaborating with major DeFi lending protocols and yield aggregators. As Altitude moves towards a closed beta phase, available to whitelisted addresses before a broader launch, its focus on reducing the risk of liquidation or human error through real-time automation underscores its commitment to achieving optimal capital efficiency in the evolving DeFi landscape.
Senators J.D. Vance and Thom Tillis are urgently pressing SEC Chair Gary Gensler for a report on the January 9 breach of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's X account, formerly Twitter. Expressing significant apprehension, the senators emphasized concerns regarding the SEC's internal cybersecurity procedures, deeming the incident contradictory to the commission's mission to safeguard investors and maintain fair, efficient markets. The senators have set a tight deadline of January 23 for the SEC to submit a comprehensive report to Congress, citing the widespread confusion caused by the recent hack and invoking recently established rules on cybersecurity disclosures.
The breach involved a false tweet from the SEC's X account suggesting the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), leading to a brief period of excitement in the crypto community. However, the revelation of the compromise by Gensler underscored the SEC's vulnerability to cyber threats, sparking criticism about its lack of preparedness. An internal investigation by X confirmed the absence of two-factor authentication at the time of the breach, attributing the compromise to an unidentified individual gaining control over a phone number associated with the @SECGov account through a third party. With top-ranking government officials, including Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bill Hagerty, echoing the call for disclosure and vigilance against market manipulation, the incident has ignited broader discussions about cybersecurity in financial regulatory bodies.
Crypto lender Celsius, currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, has initiated steps to potentially reclaim funds from creditors who withdrew $100,000 or more in the three months leading up to the company's bankruptcy declaration on July 13, 2022. The bankruptcy administrators filed an intent on Jan. 9, notifying creditors of the possibility to recover part of the withdrawn funds from account holders with "withdrawal preference exposure" exceeding $100,000. Those falling under this category, who did not reject the reorganization plan, did not opt out of releases, and are not excluded parties, can settle their liability by paying 27.5% of the funds by Jan. 31, 2024. Failure to settle by the deadline may result in administrators addressing the withdrawal exposure through legal actions to recover the preferences received.
The filing outlines that account holders opting for settlement will receive a release of all avoidance actions and distributions under the reorganization plan. To settle, individuals need to submit an election form by Jan. 25 expressing their intent to make the settlement payment. On the other hand, those who do not settle by the deadline risk having their withdrawal exposure addressed by administrators, potentially facing legal actions to recover preferences received. Celsius, in late November 2023, granted eligible participants access to withdraw some of their cryptocurrency holdings and has been actively unstacking and withdrawing Ethereum in preparation for distributions to creditors, making up around 20.3% of the withdrawal queue, valued at approximately $266 million. The firm had previously announced a scaled-back post-bankruptcy strategy centred on Bitcoin mining, approved by the judge overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings in December 2023.
