Cryptocurrency hedge funds managed around $3.8 billion last year, up from $2 billion in 2019, and are increasingly betting on decentralized finance (DeFi), according to a report from PwC and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA).

Popular cryptocurrency exchanges Huobi and OKEx have reportedly started blocking Chinese customers from accessing some of their services, days after the Chinese government vowed to crack down on bitcoin mining and trading.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) project DeFi100, built on top of the Binance Smart Chain, has seemingly exit scammed, running with investors’ money and disappearing.

Sponsored: Invictus Capital, the alternative investment firm offering a range of dollar-denominated backed blockchain-based investment funds, has so far offered investors unparalleled returns. In the last year the top-performing funds, Crypto20 and Crypto10 Hedged, have achieved an increase of 979% and 441% respectively, and the Invictus Margin Lending (IML) fund boasted an industry-leading performance of 20% APY.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Crypto Hedge Funds Are Betting on DeFi
• Huobi and OKEx Limit Services to Chinese Customers Ahead of Gov Crackdown
• Crypto Project DeFi100 May Have Exit Scammed
• Daily Movers – MATIC, XLM, VET
• Sponsored: Learn Moare About Invictus Capital’s $10,000 Giveaway

Crypto Hedge Funds Are Betting on DeFi

Cryptocurrency hedge funds managed around $3.8 billion last year, up from $2 billion in 2019, and are increasingly betting on decentralized finance (DeFi), according to a report from PwC and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA).

The report, co-authored by Elwood Asset Management, reveals 3% of cryptocurrency hedge funds use decentralized exchanges, with 16% using Uniswap, 8% 1inhc, and 4% SushiSwap. Chainlink’s LINK token was included in 30% of hedge fund investment, Polkadot’s DOT in 28%, and Aave’s AAVE in 27%.

The total value locked on the decentralized finance space has seen explosive growth over the last few months, hitting $60 billion on the Ethereum blockchain recently. Some traditional hedge funds like Steven Cohen’s Point72 are reportedly also taking an interest in DeFi as part of their crypto-focused investment strategy.

Ethereum’s native ETH token was in 67% of crypto hedge funds’ investments, second only to Bitcoin itself. 42% of the funds were involved in staking, 33% in lending, and 24% in borrowing. On average, these funds returned 128% in 2020, versus 30% in 2019.

The percentage of crypto hedge funds with over $20 million in assets under management reportedly increased in 2020 from 35% to 46%.

Huobi and OKEx Limit Services to Chinese Customers Ahead of Government Crackdown

Popular cryptocurrency exchanges Huobi and OKEx have reportedly started blocking Chinese customers from accessing some of their services, days after the Chinese government vowed to crack down on bitcoin mining and trading.

According to Decrypt, Huobi said that it temporarily ceased crypto derivatives trading for “customers in certain markets” in a bid to “protect the interests of investors.” Huobi Pool, the company’s mining pool service, is also preventing Chinese customers from buying and storing miners to “focus on the expansion of our overseas presence.”

An OKEx spokesperson said it will temporarily delist its own OKB token for Chinese users on its peer-to-peer platforms at 2 PM UTC+8, without providing a specific reason for the move. Both platforms, it’s worth noting, left China after the government banned crypto exchanges in 2017.

The restrictions come after major payments associations in China, the National Internet Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association, and the Payment and Clearing Association of China, reconfirmed their commitment to upholding regulations from 2017 preventing financial institutions from dealing with crypto.

Crypto Project DeFi100 May Have Exit Scammed

Decentralized finance (DeFi) project DeFi100, built on top of the Binance Smart Chain, has seemingly exit scammed, running with investors’ money.

An unnamed cryptocurrency analyst on Twitter with nearly 200,000 followers claimed as much as $32 million may have been stolen, although it isn’t clear how that figure was obtained.

On the DeFi100 website, a message telling investors they had been duped and there was nothing they could do about it appears, but it has since been removed. The project’s website now shows visitors a 404 error saying the page is lost.

While the project’s team claims its website was hacked and never had $32 million of investor funds but just $2 million, its website is still down and on social media, investors appear to believe they have in fact been scammed.

Daily Movers – MATIC, XLM, VET

Several tokens are leading the charge in the last 24-hour period. Some of these are well-known cryptocurrencies with more liquid trading pairs, so we’ll be focusing on these over low-cap cryptos that may have higher percentage changes.

Polygon (MATIC) – Matic provides scalable, secure and instant transactions using sidechains based on an adapted implementation of Plasma framework for asset security and a decentralized network of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) validators.

VeChain (VET) – VeChain’s Blockchain-as-a-Service (“BaaS”) platform is called ToolChain. ToolChain is a comprehensive blockchain platform offering diverse services including: product lifecycle management, supply chain process control, data deposit, data certification, and process certification.

Stellar (XLM) – Stellar is a decentralized platform that aims to connect banks, payments systems, and people. Integrate to move money quickly, reliably, and at almost no cost. Supported by a nonprofit, Stellar’s goal is to bring the world together by increasing interoperability between diverse financial systems and currencies.

Learn More About Invictus Capital’s $10,000 Giveaway

Invictus Capital, the alternative investment firm offering a range of dollar-denominated backed blockchain-based investment funds, has so far offered investors unparalleled returns. In the last year the top-performing funds, Crypto20 and Crypto10 Hedged, have achieved an increase of 979% and 441% respectively, and the Invictus Margin Lending (IML) fund boasted an industry-leading performance of 20% APY.

The total assets under management (AUM) of funds managed by the company’s team of veteran investment professionals peaked at $112 million in February, and ended the quarter at just over $100 million — a 50% growth over the quarter. The InvictusCapital.com token (ICAP), which allows loyal investors the chance to share in Invictus Capital’s success, has appreciated over 400% since its launch in Q1 this year. 

As part of the company’s broader plan to become a global leader in alternative asset investing, Invictus has integrated Binance Smart Chain based assets for fund investments. This integration solves the pain of high fees associated with using Ethereum and Bitcoin.

To celebrate the newly launched Binance Smart Chain (BSC) feature, a $10,000 giveaway will be distributed randomly to ten lucky users. 

The promotion starts on 30 April 2021 and ends on 31 May 2021 at 11:59 GMT and it’s not available to U.S. residents. Read more about the promotion rules here.

Disclaimer:

Cryptocurrency trading involves high risk, and is not suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade cryptocurrencies, tokens or any other digital asset you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite.

Its content does not constitute financial advice. Please remember that the value of investments, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise so you could get back less than you invest. If you are unsure of the suitability of your investment please seek advice.

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