Argentines have turned to stablecoins following the resignation of economy minister, Martin Guzmán, amid an ongoing economic crisis. They are reportedly purchasing between two and three times as many stablecoins as they would on a typical weekend.

Singapore-based crypto trading and lending platform Vauld has become the latest firm in the space to halt customer withdrawals amid market turmoil. CEO, Darshan Bathija, called the move a “difficult decision” as the company struggles financially over various factors including volatile markets.

Cryptocurrency lending firm BlockFi has announced it reached an agreement with FTX US, the U.S. division of the cryptocurrency exchange headed by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried on a revolving line of credit and a potential acquisition.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Argentines Turn to Stablecoins Amid Economic Crisis
• Crypto Lender Vauld Halts Withdrawals
• BlockFi, FTX Agree to Acquisition Terms
• Crypto Investment Products’’ AUM Reaches Record Lows

Argentines Turn to Stablecoins Amid Economic Crisis

Argentines have turned to stablecoins following the resignation of economy minister, Martin Guzmán, amid an ongoing economic crisis. They are reportedly purchasing between two and three times as many stablecoins as they would on a typical weekend.

Three major cryptocurrency exchanges have said that consumers were looking to hedge against a potential devaluation of the country’s fiat currency, the Argentine peso, which has seen its buying power plummet over the past year amid skyrocketing inflation.

Guzmán’s resignation saw the peso depreciate around 15% against the stablecoins DAI and USDT on several leading cryptocurrency trading platforms. The CEO of Argentina-based crypto exchange Ripio, Sebastian Serrano, was quoted saying that whenever there’s a similar story in the country, crypto “is the first market where Argentina starts to look for a price for the U.S. dollar.”

Argentine exchange Buenbit recorded a 300% rise in trading volume on Sunday, compared to the same day in previous weeks. Due to a lack of price references for the U.S. dollar during the weekend, most Argentine exchanges increased spreads between bid and ask prices to 18%.

Crypto Lender Vauld Halts Withdrawals

Singapore-based crypto trading and lending platform Vauld has become the latest firm in the space to halt customer withdrawals amid market turmoil. CEO Darshan Bathija called the move a “difficult decision” as the company struggles financially over various factors including volatile markets.

Partly triggered by the implosion of the Terra ecosystem, Celsius’ decision to halt withdrawals, and Three Arrows Capital going down, the platform has seen customers withdraw nearly $198 million since June 12,

Vauld has hired Kroll as a financial advisor and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP as legal advisors in India and Singapore, respectively. Bathija said:

"Our management remains fully committed to working with our financial and legal advisors to the best of our abilities to explore and analyse all possible options, including potential restructuring options, that would best protect the interests of Vauld's stakeholders.”

The platform is also in discussions with potential investors. The platform, formerly known as Bank of Hodlers, is backed by high-profile investors including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Pantera Capital.

BlockFi, FTX Agree to Acquisition Terms

Cryptocurrency lending firm BlockFi has announced it reached an agreement with FTX US, the U.S. division of the cryptocurrency exchange headed by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried on a revolving line of credit and a potential acquisition.

The lender’s CEO, Zac Prince, revealed on social media the deal represents a total value of $680 million and includes an “option to acquire BlockFi at a variable price of up to $240M based on performance triggers.”

The deal’s details were revealed after rumors suggested that FTX could be acquiring BlockFi for as little as $25 million. Prince denied these rumors before revealing the terms of the new deal for a $400 million revolving credit facility “which is subordinate to all client funds” and the acquisition option.

BlockFi’s CEO noted that to date the firm hasn’t drawn on this credit facility and has kept on operating normally.

Crypto Investment Products’’ AUM Reaches Record Lows

The total assets under management of cryptocurrency investment products reached record lows in June, with the AUM of all major crypto investment product types falling sharply. ETFs experienced the largest drop, declining 52.0% to $1.31bn.

Trust products, which have an 80.3% market share, fell 35.8% to $17.3 billion, while ETCs and ETNs fell 36.7% and 30.6% to $1.34 billion and $1.61 billion respectively.

Weekly outflows for Bitcoin-based products averaged an all-time high record of $161 million in June, while Ethereum experienced significant average outflows of $33.2 million per week.

Find out more via CryptoCompare’s latest Digital Asset Management Review.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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