Financial services giant Fidelity Investments has filed several trademark applications in the United States to host Web3 products and services, including a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace and financial investment and crypto trading services in the metaverse.

Decentralized finance protocol Defrost Finance suffered a $12 million exploit earlier this week, and has now reported the hacker behind the larger part of the exploit has returned the stolen funds.

Cryptocurrency lender Nexo has terminated discussions on a potential acquisition of its rival crypto lender, Vault, which has until January 20 to present a restructuring plan to creditors. The deal fell through after six months of dialogue.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Fidelity to Launch NFT Marketplace and Financial Services in Metaverse
• Defrost Finance Reports Return of Stolen Funds
• Crypto Lender Nexo Ends Takeover Talks With Troubled Rival Vauld
• Assets Returns Year-to-Date

Fidelity to Launch NFT Marketplace and Financial Services in Metaverse

Financial services giant Fidelity Investments has filed several trademark applications in the United States to host Web3 products and services, including a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace and financial investment and crypto trading services in the metaverse.

The firm could offer various investment services in virtual worlds, including mutual funds, retirement funds, and retirement planning. It could also provide metaverse-based payment services, including electronic bill payments and fund transfers.

The filings also show that Fidelity could launch crypto trading and management services in the metaverse and wallet services. They read:

“Electronic wallet services in the nature of electronic storage and processing of virtual currency for electronic payments and transactions via a global computer network; digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency digital token.”

Fidelity also outlines that it could offer educational services in the metaverse through classes, workshops, seminars, and conferences.

Defrost Finance Reports Return of Stolen Funds

Decentralized finance protocol Defrost Finance suffered a $12 million exploit earlier this week, and has now reported the hacker behind the larger part of the exploit has returned the stolen funds.

The protocol said in a blog post that it will soon start scanning blockchain data “to find out who owned what prior to the hack in order to return them to the rightful owners,” adding:

“As different users had variable proportions of assets and debt, this process might take a little.”

The protocol was exploited using a flash loan, which was used to drain funds out of its V2 product. A second, larger attacker used the owner key to exploit V1. Analysts at security firm Peckshield, citing “community intel,” said the exploit could have been a rug pull.

Crypto Lender Nexo Ends Takeover Talks With Troubled Rival Vauld

Cryptocurrency lender Nexo has terminated discussions of  a potential acquisition of its rival crypto lender Vault, which has until January 20 to present a restructuring plan to creditors. The deal fell through after six months of dialogue.

In an email Vauld founder and CEO Darshan Bathija sent to the firm’s creditors, he says that discussions with Nexo “have unfortunately not come to fruition.” The firms had been in discussions since early July, when Vauld halted client withdrawals after facing a liquidity crunch.

In a letter to Vauld creditors, Nexo cited “challenges” during the talks, including “defamation” and the “spread of misinformation on social media.” The firm added it remains “dedicated to offering the creditors the most favorable recovery path forward,” and to “working for the benefit of the creditors and to support the development of the blockchain ecosystem.”

The agreement was partly blocked over Nexo’s recent announcement it will phase out service in the US. Vauld said more than 40% of its US customers wouldn’t have access to the benefits of the acquisition.

Assets Returns Year-to-Date

When we examine average daily returns, we see that, like year-to-date returns, negative average daily returns were more common so far this year, with some exceptions including Optimism’s OP, Trust Wallet’s TWT, and Bitfinex’s LEO.

These assets experienced growth due to their own unique storylines throughout the year. For instance, TWT saw significant returns in November following the collapse of FTX, which motivated users to own a token linked to a self-custodial wallet.

Read more on CryptoCompare’s latest Market Spotlight.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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