Connect with us
DAPA Banner

Crypto World

Bitcoin enters the public bond market as Moody’s gives a first-of-its-kind crypto deal a rating

Published

on

Bitcoin enters the public bond market as Moody’s gives a first-of-its-kind crypto deal a rating

The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority is set to issue what appears to be the first rated bitcoin-backed bond of its kind, marking a step toward integrating crypto into traditional public finance.

The bonds received a provisional Ba2 rating from Moody’s Ratings, two notches below investment grade. They will be issued through the Business Finance Authority of the State of New Hampshire and are backed by bitcoin held as collateral, according to a press release.

“The Rated Bonds will be collateralized by a loan… backed by Bitcoin, a digital currency,” Moody’s said in its report.

The structure relies on bitcoin rather than cash flow from a business. Bondholders are repaid through the liquidation of BTC held in custody by BitGo, which will be sold if needed to meet interest and principal payments. The deal includes safeguards common in structured credit, including 1.6x overcollateralization and triggers that force liquidation if the loan-to-value ratio deteriorates.

Advertisement

Moody’s said its rating reflects “risks associated with the transaction’s collateral, structure and operation,” including bitcoin’s volatility. The agency used a 72% advance rate and short liquidation windows to model potential downside scenarios.

The bonds are limited recourse, meaning no public funds are at risk. “No public funds of the State of New Hampshire… may be used to pay amounts under the Rated Bonds,” Moody’s said.

That distinction matters. While the deal uses a state authority, it does not carry state credit backing. Instead, it resembles conduit or project finance, where the issuer serves as a pass-through.

Still, the structure places bitcoin into a part of the financial system where it has rarely appeared: rated debt issued through public channels.

Advertisement

The Ba2 rating places the bonds in speculative-grade territory, but also signals that credit agencies are developing frameworks to assess crypto-backed instruments.

The deal arrives as institutions continue to test ways to use bitcoin beyond trading or treasury holdings. The Labor Department on Monday proposed a rule following an executive order from President Donald Trump that directed regulators to expand access to digital assets in retirement portfolios, marking another step in that direction.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Crypto World

The Real Product of DeFi Is Volatility

Published

on

The Real Product of DeFi Is Volatility

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is often marketed as a parallel financial system built on transparency, efficiency, and permissionless access. Yet beneath these narratives lies a more fundamental driver—volatility. While traditional finance seeks to minimize instability, DeFi, in contrast, is structurally dependent on it. Volatility is not a byproduct of the system; it is, in many ways, the system’s core product.


Volatility as the Engine of Opportunity

At the heart of DeFi protocols such as Uniswap, Aave, and Compound lies a simple premise: market inefficiencies create profit opportunities. These inefficiencies are amplified by price fluctuations.

Without volatility, several foundational DeFi mechanisms would lose their purpose:

  • Arbitrage depends on price discrepancies across markets. Stable prices eliminate these gaps, leaving no room for profit extraction.
  • Yield farming relies on shifting capital toward higher returns, often driven by rapidly changing incentives and token valuations.
  • Liquidation cycles in lending protocols require price movements to trigger collateral thresholds.

In essence, volatility fuels the activity that sustains user engagement and capital flow within the ecosystem.


Liquidity Provision and the Cost of Stability

Liquidity providers (LPs) are often presented as passive participants earning fees. However, their returns are closely tied to market turbulence. In automated market makers (AMMs), price swings generate trading volume, which in turn produces fees.

Advertisement

Yet this comes with a trade-off: impermanent loss. In low-volatility environments, LPs may see reduced trading activity and lower fee generation, while still being exposed to potential downside risks. Ironically, the more stable the market becomes, the less attractive liquidity provision can be.

This dynamic reveals a critical tension: DeFi protocols require stability to build trust, but depend on volatility to remain profitable.


The Feedback Loop of Instability

DeFi does not merely react to volatility—it amplifies it. Mechanisms embedded within protocols often create feedback loops:

  • Price drops trigger liquidations, which further push prices downward.
  • Yield incentives attract capital rapidly, only for it to exit just as quickly when returns diminish.
  • Leveraged positions magnify both gains and losses, increasing systemic sensitivity to price changes.

These cycles are not anomalies; they are intrinsic to how DeFi systems are designed. Platforms like MakerDAO and Curve Finance attempt to introduce stability through collateralization and specialized liquidity pools, yet even they cannot fully escape the gravitational pull of broader market volatility.


Stability as a Narrative, Not a Foundation

Stablecoins and low-volatility pools are often positioned as solutions to DeFi’s chaotic nature. However, even these instruments rely indirectly on volatility elsewhere in the system. For example, maintaining a stable peg frequently depends on arbitrage incentives—again requiring price discrepancies to function effectively.

Advertisement

Thus, stability in DeFi is less a foundational property and more a constructed layer, supported by mechanisms that ultimately trace back to volatility.


Conclusion

The promise of DeFi is frequently framed around democratizing finance and reducing reliance on centralized institutions. While these goals are significant, they can obscure a more pragmatic reality: DeFi thrives on movement, not equilibrium.

Volatility is the fuel that powers arbitrage, sustains yield, and drives liquidations. Without it, the mechanisms that define DeFi would stall. Rather than viewing volatility as a problem to be solved, it may be more accurate to recognize it as the primary product being generated and consumed within the ecosystem.

Understanding this dynamic is essential for participants. Success in DeFi is not about avoiding chaos—it is about navigating it effectively.

Advertisement
REQUEST AN ARTICLE

Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto World

BitMEX Enables Off-Exchange Trading Via Zodia Custody

Published

on

BitMEX Enables Off-Exchange Trading Via Zodia Custody

BitMEX, a derivatives-focused cryptocurrency exchange, said it has secured a custody partner to enable asset segregation and trading with off-exchange assets.

The company announced Tuesday a partnership with Zodia Custody to allow traders to access derivatives while keeping collateral in segregated custody. The integration is immediately accessible via Interchange, Zodia Custody’s off-venue settlement solution.

BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz told Cointelegraph the move reflects lessons from past market failures, including the FTX collapse and the $1.4 billion Bybit hack, which exposed risks tied to unsegregated or compromised exchange-held funds.

“Cases like the FTX collapse and the Bybit hack are examples of how custody failures or security threats can put client funds at risk,” Lutz said.

Advertisement

Trading without prefunding the exchange

Under the integration, institutional and professional BitMEX clients can trade derivatives without transferring assets directly onto the exchange. Instead, collateral remains in Zodia’s segregated vault and is mirrored for trading execution.

This structure allows traders to maintain control of assets while accessing BitMEX’s derivatives, including perpetual swaps and futures. It also supports cross-collateral usage of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC).

Source: BitMEX

This setup is designed to improve capital efficiency for traders by removing the need to move assets between custody and exchange accounts. It also reduces operational risk tied to pre-funding workflows, which are common in traditional crypto trading models.

Custody is a core part of traditional finance markets

Zodia Custody, which launched in 2021 and is backed by Standard Chartered, is an institutional digital asset custody provider operating globally. The platform secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) authorization in Luxembourg in late 2025, enabling regulated services across the European Union.

BitMEX CEO noted that custody has long been a core element of traditional finance, becoming even more critical following collapses like FTX and security incidents like the Bybit hack.

Advertisement

Related: Zonda exchange says 4.5K BTC wallet inaccessible amid withdrawal crisis

“Custody is a core part of traditional finance markets, and recent cases like FTX and Bybit are clear examples of why it’s even more important in crypto,” Lutz said.

“As the industry matures, institutions are trading digital assets like any other asset — and should have access to the same services as they do in traditional markets,” he added.

Additional reporting by Felix Ng.

Advertisement

Magazine: Adam Back says current demand is ‘almost’ enough to send Bitcoin to $1M