Binance is aiming for its crypto industry recovery fund to be at least $1 billion. The fund would be used for the potential purchase of distressed assets in the industry, according to its CEO Changpeng Zhao.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is set to test its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a collaboration with three megabanks and regional banks. The pilot will start in the spring of 2023, and will see the Bank of Japan work with private banks to identify any problems with deposits and withdrawals.

Ethereum software firm ConsenSys, the firm behind the popular MetaMask wallet, has said it collects user data related to the on-chain wallet service. The revelation comes days after decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap made a similar update to its privacy policy.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Binance Aims for $1 Billion Crypto Recovery Fund
• Bank of Japan to Test Digital Yen With Country’s Megabanks
• MetaMask Creator ConsenSys Reveals It Collects User Data
• Genesis’ Role in the Market

Binance Aims for $1 Billion Crypto Recovery Fund

Binance is aiming for its crypto industry recovery fund to be at least $1 billion. The fund would be used for the potential purchase of distressed assets in the industry, according to its CEO Changpeng Zhao.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin, Zhao said that if $1 billion is not enough, the firm “can allocate more.” The CEO has been a key figure in the space over the last few months, cementing his position after the fall of FTX and its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Last week, Zhao said that Binance’s crypto industry recovery fund would help strong projects facing a liquidity squeeze, in a bid to curb the contagion from the collapse of FTX. Binance is set to soon publish a blog post on the fund after speaking to a number of industry players about it.

Zhao said the exchange will follow a “loose approach where different industry players will contribute as they wish.”

Bank of Japan to Test Digital Yen With Country’s Megabanks

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is set to test its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a collaboration with three megabanks and regional banks. The pilot will start in the spring of 2023, and will see the Bank of Japan work with private banks to identify any problems with deposits and withdrawals.

The pilot’s goal will also be to check whether the CBDC can operate during natural disasters and in areas without internet access. While the Bank of Japan did not name the three megabanks involved, it’s likely it was referring to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc.

The BoJ joined a growing list of central banks exploring CBDCs last year by developing a test environment for the digital yen while exploring basic functions like its issuance, distribution, and redemption.

Last year, a BoJ official said the central bank’s priority is to ensure a CBDC enables competition between private payment providers and is universally accessible to the public.

MetaMask Creator ConsenSys Reveals It Collects User Data

Ethereum software firm ConsenSys, the firm behind the popular MetaMask wallet, has said it collects user data related to the on-chain wallet service. The revelation comes days after decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap made a similar update to its privacy policy.

ConsenSys said that it collects some data related to user identification, such as contact details, profile information, and some other data. The firm added that when using Infura, which is the default remote procedure call (RPC) provider on MetaMask, it will collect users’ IP and Ethereum wallet addresses.

RPC is a protocol for requesting data and information from a program running on a third-party server. If a user switches to a different RPC on MetaMask, the financial data won’t be collected. Both Infura and MetaMask are products offered by ConsenSys.

Genesis’ Active Loan Book

The group currently in the spotlight for fears of its exposure to FTX is Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its subsidiaries, most importantly Genesis Trading and Grayscale Investments. Genesis Trading is predominantly an over-the-counter (OTC) trading counterparty, as well as a lending and borrowing firm. Both functions allow it to be a key component in the digital asset infrastructure.

As an OTC venue, Genesis facilitates large transactions while limiting their price impact on the market. As a borrower and lender, it can borrow and/or lend assets for a yield, thereby increasing the interest earned across the industry but also exacerbating the use of leverage.

Genesis has historically been one of, if not the largest originator of loans in the industry — having $12.5bn in active loans at the market peak in Q4 2021, down to $2.80bn at the end of Q3 2022, as shown by the Figure below.

Read more on CryptoCompare’s latest Market Spotlight blog post.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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