Tomorrow CryptoCompare will reveal the 2021 Exchange Benchmark and the latest digital asset exchange rankings in a live webinar with some of the top trading venues.

Decentralized finance protocol Alpha Homora was exploited on Saturday for $37.5 million worth of Ethereum’s ether and stablecoins.

Counterpoint Global, a $150 billion unit of Morgan Stanley Investment Management that has racked up wins in mutual-fund rankings, is exploring whether bitcoin would be a suitable option for its investors.

Deutsche Bank has reportedly joined the ranks of large financial institutions exploring cryptocurrency custody, and may offer high-touch services to hedge funds looking to invest in the asset class.

Sponsored: Defiqa is pleased to announce that its DFI Token Presale is live! The presale started on February 1 and will end on April 1 or until tokens are sold out. After the presale, the DFI token will be listed on Uniswap.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• $150 Billion Unit of Morgan Stanley May Bet on Bitcoin
• Deutsche Bank to Reportedly Offer Crypto Custody Services
• DeFi Protocol Alpha Homora Exploited for $37.5 Million
• Sponsored: Join Defiqa’s Presale Today - 84,000 tokens on the line

Join CryptoCompare Live Tomorrow with Kraken, Coinbase, Gemini, Bitstamp and The Block

How has the exchange ecosystem evolved since CryptoCompare launched the first Exchange Benchmark in 2019? Has the influx of institutional interest in digital assets changed the game for trading venues? What factors make an exchange outrank its competitors?

Tomorrow CryptoCompare will reveal the 2021 Exchange Benchmark and the latest digital asset exchange rankings in a live webinar with some of the top trading venues.

Register now to find out live which exchanges received an AA grade and hear panelists weigh in on the state of crypto exchanges in 2021.

Live Q&A to follow the panel - please bring your questions for the panelists!

$150 Billion Unit of Morgan Stanley May Bet on Bitcoin

Counterpoint Global, a $150 billion unit of Morgan Stanley Investment Management that has racked up wins in mutual-fund rankings, is exploring whether bitcoin would be a suitable option for its investors.

Moving to buy bitcoin would require approval from regulators, and would further lend legitimacy to the flagship cryptocurrency, which has been seeing its price rise over the last few weeks amid growing corporate adoption. BTC has now attracted hedge fund moguls including Alan Howard and Paul Tudor Jones, as well as companies like Mastercard and Bank of New York Mellon.

Last week, electric car maker Tesla invested $1.5 billion into the flagship cryptocurrency. Corporate adoption started growing after PayPal started letting users buy, sell, and hold crypto on its platform last year.

Led by Dennis Lynch, Counterpoint Global has been expanding with a simple-sounding mantra of betting on unique companies whose market value can increase significantly. Some believe bitcoin is a right fit. The group oversees 19 funds, five of which delivered gains above 100% last year.

Deutsche Bank to Reportedly Offer Crypto Custody Services

Deutsche Bank has reportedly joined the ranks of large financial institutions exploring cryptocurrency custody, and may offer high-touch services to hedge funds looking to invest in the asset class.

According to a little-noticed report by the World Economic Forum, the Deutsche Bank Digital Asset Custody prototype is looking to develop a “fully integrated custody platform for institutional clients and their digital assets providing seamless connectivity to the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

In a page on the report, Germany’s largest bank says it plans on creating a trading and token issuance platform, potentially bridging traditional banking services with cryptoassets, and managing cryptoassets and fiat holdings in one platform.

Deutsche Bank said it aims to “ensure the safety and accessibility of assets for clients by offering an institutional-grade hot/cold storage solution with insurance-grade protection.” It hasn’t mentioned specific cryptocurrencies or tokens.

The bank’s platform would be launched in stages and would eventually allow clients to buy and sell cryptoassets via a partnership with prime brokers, issuers and exchanges. The bank said it would provide some services “such as taxation, valuation services and fund administration, lending, staking and voting, and provide an open-banking platform to allow onboarding of third-party providers.” 

DeFi Protocol Alpha Homora Exploited for $37.5 Million

Decentralized finance protocol Alpha Homora was exploited on Saturday for $37.5 million worth of Ethereum’s ether and stablecoins.

The exploit involved the use of CREAM Finance’s Iron Bank service, which allows uncollateralized loans to trusted smart contracts. An exploiter coded a contract that tricked Alpha Homora into believing it was one of their own contracts, and used this privilege to trick CREAM into lending out $37.5 million worth of stablecoins.

To get a loan from the Iron Bank, a user either needs a treasury large enough to cover the credit, Cover Protocol insurance large enough to cover the credit, or Nexus Mutual insurance large enough to cover the credit. Alpha Homora’s treasury holds $1.6 billion in ALPHA tokens.

The funds in its treasury will be used to pay off the debt. Alpha has reportedly patched the loophole that allowed the hacker to exploit it, and is working to investigate the stolen funds. The team reportedly already “have a prime suspect.”

Join Defiqa’s Presale Today - 84,000 tokens on the line

Defiqa is pleased to announce that its DFI Token Presale is live! The presale started on February 1 and will end on April 1 or until tokens are sold out. After the presale, the DFI token will be listed on Uniswap.

The DFI token will open the doors to the Defiqa ecosystem, which integrates traditional banking services on decentralized blockchain technology – like yield farming or lending markets.

This means moving funds and accessing financial services will be safer and faster. There are no third parties managing your assets on the blockchain, and Defiqa’s security is designed to withstand attacks. 

How to join the token presale

The DFI token presale is ongoing on both Defiqa’s official website and Bounce.finance, and covers 40% of the crypto’s 210,000 token supply. All you need to enter the presale is a MetaMask wallet and some ETH.

To offer the chance to try it to as many crypto enthusiasts possible, the team decided to release their tokens in three phases, with the price price being lower the sooner you join:

• Phase 1 – 40,000 DFI will be distributed at a price of 0.025 ETH per token;
• Phase 2 – 25,000 DFI will be distributed at a price of 0.029 ETH per token;
• Phase 3 – 19,000 DFI will be distributed at a price of 0.031 ETH per token.

It’s important to note that every phase requires at least a 0.1 ETH purchase.

About the team

Defiqa’s team consists of various specialists in crypto, FinTech, capital markets, and cybersecurity, who have been continuously improving their projects since early 2020 to expand DAO capabilities.

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