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credit

Ripple Extends $75M Credit Facility to Gemini as Exchange Pursues IPO

by admin August 19, 2025

Gemini’s long-awaited IPO filing drew fresh attention to payments giant Ripple, with the exchange disclosing a $75 million credit line from the company alongside a steep financial loss.

In documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Aug. 15, Gemini revealed a $282.5 million net loss for the first half, an almost seven-fold increase from the $41.4 million shortfall a year earlier. Revenue fell to $67.9 million from $74.3 million.

The filing puts Gemini, which plans to use the ticker “GEMI” on Nasdaq, in line to become the third crypto exchange to trade publicly in the U.S. after Coinbase (COIN), which debuted on Nasdaq in 2021, and Bullish (BLSH), the owner of CoinDesk, whose shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange a week ago.

Ripple’s role in the listing stood out. In the filing, Gemini said it entered a credit agreement with Ripple Labs in July granting access to up to $75 million in loans, with the option to extend the facility to $150 million if certain metrics are met.

Each drawdown must be at least $5 million and carries interest of either 6.5% or 8.5%, secured against collateral.

In addition, once borrowing surpasses the initial $75 million, requests can be denominated in Ripple’s dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin. As of the filing date, however, no borrowings had been drawn under the facility

The credit deal with Gemini puts RLUSD directly in the mix as a settlement option for a major U.S. trading platform — an early indication that Ripple wants its stablecoin to compete alongside the two market leaders, Tether's USDT and USDC, issued by Circle Internet (CRCL).

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August 19, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

BTC Miner Boosts Credit Facility With COIN

by admin June 24, 2025

Bitcoin mining firm Hut 8 (HUT) said on Tuesday that it expanded its bitcoin-backed credit facility with Coinbase Credit to $130 million, up from $65 million.

The amended agreement also comes with a fixed interest rate of 9% versus the previous floating rate of between 10.5% and 11.5%. The maturity of the facility was extended to July 16, 2026.

“This facility has been an efficient source of capital on our balance sheet,” said Sean Glennan, Hut 8’s chief financial officer. “The combination of improved terms and collateral and borrower protections reflects our conviction that risk discipline is essential to building a resilient and efficient capital structure.”

Unlike many traditional loans, this one is secured by bitcoin holdings. Coinbase, however, is restricted from rehypothecating the collateral, a measure that limits counterparty risk. The credit line also includes a limited recourse clause, further shielding Hut 8.

The company said it will use the additional $65 million in capital to pursue expansion efforts.

HUT shares are higher by 7.7% on Tuesday alongside gains for most of the bitcoin mining sector.

Hut 8 operates a network of mining and data infrastructure assets across North America, with over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of energy capacity under management.

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June 24, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Keeta teams up with SOLO to launch a blockchain-native credit bureau

by admin June 5, 2025

Real-world tokenization project Keeta plans to offer digital asset holders access to credit services, including mortgages and small business loans, through a new platform built for blockchain-native financial identity.

With crypto and blockchain adoption on the rise, Keeta Network (KTA) has announced the upcoming launch of PASS, a verified financial identity platform. The initiative is a collaboration between Keeta and SOLO, a credit data infrastructure provider, according to a press release published on June 5.

According to the Keeta team, the PASS platform is designed as a bank-grade, blockchain-native credit bureau with features including Know Your Customer, Know Your Business, and verifiable credentials for income and crypto asset holdings. These tools are intended to allow banks and lenders to extend services to crypto-native users by leveraging PASS’s on-chain visibility to underwrite credit.

“As digital asset adoption accelerates, Keeta’s blockchain is the first to tackle the scale and regulatory overhead for an on-chain credit bureau, opening the door for lending, borrowing, mortgages, stablecoin payments, and more,” Ty Schenk, chief executive officer and founder of Keeta, said in a statement.

Schenk emphasized that PASS is built to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the digital asset ecosystem.

“This is the first time that a blockchain network has made real-world financial credentials, like income, assets, and identity, verifiable, tokenized, and trusted for lending,” Georgina Merhom, founder of SOLO, noted.

Keeta, backed by former Google chief executive & chairman, Eric Schmidt, is a blockchain network with built-in compliance framework. The project is eyeing traction in the real-world asset tokenization industry currently on fire across the globe.

Global businesses and institutions can now tokenize any assets to tap into blockchain’s massive potential, with the sector growing rapidly in 2024 to currently sit at over $23 billion.

The rollout of Keeta’s on-chain credit system in partnership with SOLO will occur in phases. Verified financial profiles are expected to go live in the summer of 2025, with additional features, including a lending marketplace, stablecoin-based loan origination, and bank integrations, planned for subsequent release.

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June 5, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Tokenized private credit breaks the $13 billion barrier

by admin June 1, 2025

The tokenized private credit market is quietly emerging as one of the fastest-growing sectors in real-world assets (RWA), with over $13.3 billion in assets under management.

Once the domain of institutions, private credit is now moving on-chain, driven by platforms like Figure and Tradable, and attracting backing from heavyweights like Apollo, BlackRock, and Franklin Templeton.

As asset managers race to bring traditionally illiquid debt markets onto blockchain rails, tokenization is reshaping how credit is accessed, managed, and traded—offering both retail and institutional investors a new gateway into the $3 trillion private credit universe.

Figure and Tradable

Figure, a company that has received investment from Morgan Creek Capital, Apollo, and Ribbit Capital, has over $12 billion in assets. It also runs a marketplace for Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) and helps clients borrow against their homes.

Tradable is the second-biggest player in the tokenized private credit industry. It boasts over $1.8 billion in on-chain assets. Backed by Parafi, Matter Labs, and Victory Park Capital, Tradable helps asset managers to tokenize their assets.

Tradable also helps individuals to participate in the private credit industry that has long been reserved to institutions. Other top players in the tokenized private credit industry are Maple (SYRUP), Pact, Mercado Bitcoin, and Centrifuge (CFG).

Tokenizaed Private credit assets | Source: RWA

Large companies in the private equity industry are getting interested in the tokenized private credit sector. Apollo Global, which has over $641 billion in private credit assets, has already launched the Apollo Diversified Credit Securitize Fund or ACRED in January.

Similarly, companies like VanEck, Franklin Templeton, and BlackRock have all launched tokenized assets. BlackRock’s BUIDL has crossed over $3 billion in assets, while Franklin Templeton’s FOBXX fund has over $706 million in assets.

Private credit industry is growing

The private credit industry is one of the fastest-growing areas in finance. A report by the Alternative Investment Management Association estimated that the market crossed the $3 trillion asset, a figure that is continuing to grow.

The sector has grown mostly in the United States where many companies have turned to private credit specialists for financing. These firms are seeking to diversify their borrowing away from banks.

Subsequently, some of the biggest banks have launched their private credit funds. Goldman Sachs created the Capital Solutions Group, a business that will provide direct lending solutions. Most recently, State Street partnered with Apolo to launch a new private credit solution.

Tokenized private credit is one of the fastest-growing areas in the RWA industry, which collectively holds $23.10 billion in assets. Over 113,350 investors hold RWA assets.

The other top fields in the RWA industry are stablecoins, US Treasuries, commodities, and institutional funds. Tokenized stocks could be the next big thing after Kraken tokenized over 50 stocks in May.

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June 1, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Maple Finance taps Cantor for Bitcoin-backed credit

by admin May 27, 2025

Maple Finance has closed the first tranche of a Bitcoin-backed financing facility from global investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.

The deal is part of Cantor’s $2 billion Bitcoin financing initiative, which also included a facility for FalconX. The program aims to provide institutional leverage against Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, reviving confidence in crypto lending after collapses like Celsius and BlockFi in 2022.

“This financing facility through Cantor enables Maple to accelerate its growth and expand its reach as a provider of digital asset credit,” said Sidney Powell, CEO and Co-Founder of Maple, in a note to crypto.news.

The company positions itself as a crypto-native asset manager with institutional experience, targeting rising demand for regulated crypto credit access.

It’s time to ‘unlock Bitcoin’s full potential’

Cantor, now active in several crypto-focused ventures—including a partnership with Tether and SoftBank to launch Bitcoin accumulator Twenty One Capital—views this initiative as a strategic move to scale digital asset finance.

“We are excited to unlock Bitcoin’s full potential and continue bridging the gap between traditional finance and digital assets,” said Michael Cunningham, Head of Bitcoin Financing at Cantor.

Anchorage Digital served as custodian on the Maple Finance (SYRUP) transaction, ensuring regulated settlement and storage of the Bitcoin collateral.

Crypto-backed lending markets are showing signs of recovery, with total outstanding loans rebounding to $36.5 billion by Q4 2024, up from a post-crash low but still under the 2021 peak of $64.4 billion, according to Galaxy Research.

Maple’s participation in Cantor’s facility signals renewed momentum in institutional crypto lending, driven by structured financing and renewed market confidence.

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May 27, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Thailand Eyes Crypto-Linked Credit Cards, Revised Digital Asset Rules

by admin May 27, 2025

In brief

Thailand is exploring plans to allow tourists to pay in crypto via linked credit cards.
The country is also considering merging its separate legislation covering digital assets and conventional securities.
Thailand has been exploring similar frameworks in its tourism and crypto hubs for some time.

Thailand is actively exploring legislation that would allow both tourists and citizens to spend their digital assets via linked credit cards.

According to English-language Thai publication The Nation, the country’s Ministry of Finance is aiming to streamline transactions for visitors. Under the new plans, sellers will receive their payment in local currency as usual, without necessarily being aware that the buyer utilized crypto.

The Ministry is reportedly already in conversations with the country’s central bank, the Bank of Thailand (BOT), to pilot the system before a wider rollout. In addition, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira unveiled several other pro-crypto measures at the event in Bangkok on Monday.

Chunhavajira said the government plans to merge the legal frameworks governing the country’s “capital market” and its “digital asset market.”

At present, these are governed by two separate pieces of legislation: the Securities and Exchange Act and the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses.

The officials said the aim is to enable investors to “transfer funds between the two markets more conveniently, thereby accommodating modern investment behaviors.”

Thailand eyes crypto tourism

The move shouldn’t come as a big surprise—Thailand has been trialing these types of crypto payments in specific regions for quite some time.

In January, the government trialed a crypto payments program on the island of Phuket, a major regional crypto hub with high tourist numbers. Meanwhile, small communities such as the Huay Phueng district of Kalasin province have adopted Bitcoin payments en masse, with more than 80 local businesses in the area accepting the cryptocurrency.

Initiatives like these come as the country, which relies heavily on tourism, has been combating recent declines in visitor numbers, amid a smaller number of Chinese tourists and a comparatively stronger local currency.

Meanwhile, other Asian nations are exploring how crypto-friendly infrastructure can boost tourism. The small Himalayan country of Bhutan recently added crypto payments across its entire tourist ecosystem, enabling payments for everything from flights to street food, courtesy of a partnership with Binance Pay.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.

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May 27, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Civitai Turns to Crypto After Credit Card Processor Ban Over AI Explicit Content

by admin May 27, 2025

In brief

Civitai now accepts crypto payments for its Buzz tokens after its credit card processor dropped support over AI-generated NSFW content.
Supported coins include USDC, USDT, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and others—though Bitcoin is excluded due to high fees.
The move highlights growing financial pressure on NSFW and AI platforms, echoing trends seen in the adult content industry.

Civitai, the world’s biggest repository of generative AI models, introduced crypto payments this month after losing its credit card processor over AI-generated explicit content, offering support to purchase Buzz—the platform’s virtual, non-Web3 tokens.

The AI model-sharing site now accepts USDC, USDT, Litecoin, Ethereum, TRON, Solana, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu through payment processor NowPayments. Bitcoin was excluded due to high transaction fees.

“We’re excited to introduce crypto payments for Buzz. This gives you a secure and convenient way to get the Buzz you need,” Civitai wrote in its implementation guide, published on May 22.

The platform recommends USDC on the Base network, which charges no gas fees and processes transactions in 15-25 seconds. However, any crypto transaction is valid and does not need to be conducted through Coinbase.

Users can complete transactions within minutes, with Buzz typically available immediately after blockchain confirmation. The system supports most Ethereum-compatible wallets, though Civitai recommends Coinbase for simplicity.

Civitai charges a $1 flat fee for crypto purchases, significantly lower than traditional payment processing costs.

“We use a secure processor to handle Crypto payments, and your wallet info is never stored on Civitai’s servers,” the company explained.

The crypto rollout came after Civitai’s credit card processor terminated service on May 23.

“Recent policy updates were insufficient to satisfy the former processor,” the company stated, adding that they continue negotiations with new credit card providers willing to work with NSFW content under specific guidelines.

Pressures abound

This is not the first time payment processors have hit an NSFW business.

Civitai joins a growing roster of adult entertainment businesses that have embraced crypto to circumvent payment processor restrictions. The shift reflects systemic challenges facing NSFW platforms with traditional financial services.

Pornhub is probably the most popular case of crypto adoption in the adult industry—and it happened after losing Visa and MasterCard support in December 2020. The platform now primarily accepts Bitcoin for premium services with 29 other options available through the crypto payments processor Aylo.

However, LiveJasmin began accepting Bitcoin in 2015, becoming one of the first major adult sites to embrace crypto. The webcam platform cited Bitcoin’s “decentralized, anonymous nature” as appealing to privacy-focused users, according to press releases from the time.

SpankChain launched SpankPay, a dedicated cryptocurrency payments processor for adult content providers.

The blockchain-based platform used to offer low-fee transactions is specifically designed to address traditional finance restrictions facing the adult industry.

However, also due to regulatory pressures, the team shifted its focus from building products to advocacy and strategic collaborations last week.

Payment processors frequently restrict NSFW businesses due to regulatory pressures and reputational concerns.

Mainstream providers like PayPal, Stripe, and Square typically ban adult content entirely, while Visa and MasterCard allow member banks to refuse such business, often labeling the business as “high risk.”

And this is the case for AI content, too.

“Some payment companies label generative-AI platforms high risk, especially when we allow user-generated mature content, even when it’s legal and moderated,” Civitai said in a previous blog post. “That policy choice, not anything users did, forced the cutoff.”

Civitai’s 3.2 million users can now purchase Buzz using crypto while the platform searches for new credit card processors.

The company recently implemented stricter content policies, banning real-person likeness content to comply with the U.S. Take It Down Act and European Union AI Act.

The Take It Down Act, signed this month, makes publishing non-consensual intimate imagery punishable by up to three years in prison. The law requires platforms to remove such content within 48 hours of notification.

“We’re now facing an increasingly strict regulatory landscape—one evolving rapidly across multiple countries,” Civitai wrote in explaining its content policy changes.

The platform removed celebrity deepfakes, fan-art depictions, and other types of kinks to maintain compliance with new legislation.

Reactions to the adoption of crypto as the savior of the business have been mixed, with some users praising the move while others are skeptical.

Some users have turned to archiving content through communities like r/CivitaiArchives and alternative platforms. The majority of the user base remains loyal until now.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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May 27, 2025 0 comments

Crypto Trends

Private Equity Giant Apollo Global Private Credit Fund Set for Tokenization on Solana (SOL)

by admin May 20, 2025

A tokenized version of a major private credit fund managed by Apollo will arrive on Solana’s

decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, bringing traditional financial instruments closer to the fast-growing network.

The launch, orchestrated by lending platform Kamino Finance with support from tokenization specialist Securitize and DeFi risk advisor Steakhouse Financial, aims to make the Apollo’s Diversified Credit Securitize Fund (ACRED) token the first of its kind to be available for on-chain borrowing and leverage on Solana. The token’s debut is pending on completing an audit, Kamino said.

The ACRED token, launched in January, offers exposure to Apollo’s private credit strategies and is issued under Securitize’s regulated token framework. ACRED will also be the first token on Solana using Securitize’s sToken standard, with more assets expected to follow later, Securitize said.

The product underscores a growing appetite in crypto for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. RWAs—traditional instruments such as funds, bonds or real estate—are being brought onto blockchain rails to reduce friction in investing, improve access and transparency, and allow for programmable use in DeFi protocols. In practice, this means investors can use RWAs as collateral to borrow against, yield farming, or plug into automated investment strategies.

“The value of tokenization really comes into play when these assets are integrated into DeFi, and new products and strategies are developed around them,” says Reid Simon, head of DeFi and credit solutions at Securitize.

Despite Solana’s fast-growing DeFi market, RWAs are yet to take off on the chain. According to RWA.xyz, Solana hosts $330 million worth of RWAs, small compared to the network’s nearly $9 billion DeFi market size. It’s also trailing rival layer-1 network Ethereum’s $7 billion real-world asset market. But with large players in tokenization stepping in, backers of the launch see this as a tipping point.

“Solana has experienced explosive consumer growth in recent years, but below the surface we are seeing enormous interest from institutions and asset issuers,” said Marius Ciubotariu, co-founder at Kamino, “Finally, the industry is in a position to not only bring these assets on-chain, but to provide genuine use-cases.”

Through Kamino’s Multiply product, users will be able to leverage ACRED for yield strategies—automatically looping the asset to increase exposure while managing collateral and borrow levels through Solana-native smart contracts. That’s a similar offering to what Gauntlet introduced on Polygon in late April.

“Building on off-chain credit assets in a composable way is the sort of long-term investment we believe can help catalyze further growth of DeFi in Solana,” said adcv, co-founder of Steakhouse Financial.

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May 20, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Stocks flat as Moody’s downgrades U.S. credit, S&P 500 rally stalls

by admin May 20, 2025

U.S. stocks were little changed Monday as investors reacted to Moody’s Ratings stripping the U.S. of its last triple-A credit grade and lawmakers advancing a tax bill expected to add significantly to federal deficits.

The S&P 500, coming off a five-day winning streak, rose slightly, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.01%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, with support from a rebound in UnitedHealth Group shares.

Moody’s late Friday downgraded U.S. debt to AA1, citing “persistent, large fiscal deficits” and higher interest costs.

The move came as the House Budget Committee approved a tax-and-spending plan from President Trump that would extend cuts and boost spending, raising deficit projections.

The 10-year Treasury yield briefly spiked to 4.56%, its highest level in over a month, before pulling back to 4.46%. Yields on 30-year Treasurys touched 5% before settling near 4.95%. The dollar index fell 0.7%, while gold jumped 1.5% to $3,235 an ounce.

Tech stocks, which led recent gains, traded mixed. Tesla dropped 2% following last week’s 17% rally. Apple slipped 1.5%, while Nvidia, Alphabet, and Meta also declined. Microsoft and Amazon edged higher.

Bitcoin is surging

Bitcoin (BTC) surged to $105,400, lifting shares of Strategy 3%. Palantir, AMD, and Super Micro Computer each fell over 2%.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned that the full economic impact of tariffs had yet to be felt, while Fed officials signaled no immediate changes to interest rates amid ongoing uncertainty.

Global markets were mixed. European stocks rose slightly, while Asia saw losses. The European Union cut its growth outlook, and Diageo forecast a $150 million hit from tariffs.

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May 20, 2025 0 comments