Jack Kubinec

<div id="highlights-block_62d84d2557d92" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Voyager and Celsius’ court filings list the same lead attorney and contain several identical paragraphs</li>
 <li>The insolvent crypto lenders may be using Chapter 11s as a “delay tactic”</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The longer crypto’s <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-bear-market-may-drag-on-another-8-months-grayscale/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bear</a> market lingers, the more evident the tight-knit ties between the industry’s biggest players becomes.&nbsp;



That co-dependence now seems to apply to their legal travails of late.&nbsp;



Insolvent crypto lenders <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/celsius/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Celsius</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/voyager/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Voyager Digital</a> have <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-hires-new-restructuring-lawyers-amid-debt-repayments/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy</a> via Kirkland &amp; Ellis, while Babel Finance has retained the behemoth corporate law firm to advise its restructuring.



The crypto lenders chose Kirkland for its past successes in Chapter 11, legal experts say, and <a href="https://www.kirkland.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kirkland</a> took on the three cases to give itself a reputation as a leader in crypto firm restructurings — which appear to just be getting started. 



Lawyers told Blockworks it makes sense the three bankrupt lenders would each hire Kirkland, given its sterling reputation. Kirkland led the two shortest Chapter 11 restructurings in history, both clocking in under 24 hours.



But in other cases, such as its ongoing representation of Toys R Us, Kirkland has engaged in years-long negotiations on behalf of its clients. Celsius and Voyager may be hoping their cases fall on the latter end of the spectrum, experts say.



“My guess is they’ve chosen Chapter 11 because they’re hoping the price of crypto goes back up, which takes them out of the situation they’re in. It&#8217;s like a delay tactic,” Kimberly Houser, a clinical assistant law professor at the University of North Texas, told Blockworks.



If the lenders pursue the same wait-it-out restructuring strategy, choosing Kirkland should make legal operations easier.



Firms commonly handle multiple cases in a given specialty because it is “more efficient as the attorneys often do not have to duplicate research,” Carol Goforth, law professor at the University of Arkansas, said in an email.&nbsp;



Voyager and Celsius’ initial court filings both list Joshua Sussberg as their lead attorney. The portions that explain crypto terminology are identical. Large swaths of the two companies’ overviews of their Chapter 11 filings are directly copied.



The first day declarations, from Celsius and Voyager CEOs <a href="https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/115/312902/126122257414.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alex Mashinsky</a> and <a href="https://cases.stretto.com/public/x193/11753/PLEADINGS/1175307062280000000036.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stephen Erlich</a>, respectively, both say factors largely beyond the companies’ control caused a “run on the bank.”



Celsius and Voyager each filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York — despite operations in multiple jurisdictions. 



Kirkland likely expects “some sort of favorable treatment” from the district court if it filed each bankruptcy there, Houser said, adding that future Chapter 11s may be filed elsewhere, such as Delaware, if the court rules unfavorably toward the crypto lenders.



The court will rule on practices without much precedent in bankruptcy proceedings, Will Brannan, partner at Lowenstein Sandler, told Blockworks in an email, citing “on and off-platform custodied cryptocurrency assets, rehypothecation activities, cryptocurrency lending implications, as well as the ramifications of customer participation in ‘earn’ and ‘yield’ product offerings” as novel issues for the court.



Successfully navigating the complexities of the three lenders’ financial woes would give Kirkland “a chance to be at the forefront of these emerging issues,” Brannan said. 



Kirkland taking on the three lenders’ cases to establish its reputation in crypto would seem a partial vindication of Celsius, which last week was sued by a former investment manager <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-accused-of-market-manipulation-by-ex-employee/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alleging financial mismanagement and fraud</a>.



Kirkland would not want to represent Celsius if the law firm “believes there’s fraud involved,” according to Houser.



“Even though people are really upset about this, I don&#8217;t see any indication that this is fraud,” she said.&nbsp;



Given the volatility of the crypto market, Houser is uncertain whether rising cryptoasset values will save Celsius and Voyager. But a prolonged crypto market slide could also benefit the companies in their Chapter 11 negotiations.



“If the creditors realize crypto values are not increasing, the creditors could see that the longer they wait the less value the crypto has and agree to pennies on the dollar” in repayment from the lenders, Houser said.



Kirkland &amp; Ellis, Celsius, Voyager and Babel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Updated July 24, 2022, 3:05 pm — Correction: Babel Finance has not filed for bankruptcy and has retained Kirkland &amp; Ellis to advise its restructuring.



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The Same Law Firm Is Representing Celsius, Voyager and Babel Finance

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_62bf394066c48" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Babel Finance abruptly suspended withdrawals on June 17 due to “unusual liquidity pressures”</li>
 <li>Houlihan Lokey focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring and valuation</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto lender Babel Finance is reportedly hiring US investment bank Houlihan Lokey a few weeks after suspending withdrawals amid liquidity issues.  



The company will be the next major crypto company “getting buy-in from creditors or declaring insolvency or default,” a person familiar with the matter <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/07/01/troubled-crypto-lender-babel-finance-looking-to-hire-restructuring-specialist-houlihan-lokey-sources/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_campaign=headlines" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told CoinDesk</a>.



A spokesperson for Babel Finance declined to comment. Houlihan Lokey did not immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment.&nbsp;



Babel Finance <a href="https://babel.finance/article-views.html?id=50" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">abruptly suspended</a> withdrawals on June 17 — citing “unusual liquidity pressures” — similar to competitors <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-lending-platform-suspends-withdrawals-and-transfers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Celsius</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/finblox-imposes-withdrawal-limit-amid-3acs-uncertainty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Finblox</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinflex-halts-withdrawals-citing-uncertainty-around-unnamed-counterparty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoinFLEX</a>. The company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/babel-finance-working-to-ease-unusual-liquidity-pressures/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said in a statement last week</a> that it was looking to fulfill its legal responsibilities to customers by continuing “to avoid further transmission and diffusion of liquidity risks.” 



<a href="https://hl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Houlihan Lokey</a> focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring and valuation, according to its website.



Launched in 2018, Babel Finance provides institutions, high-net worth accredited investors and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crashing-prices-expose-bitcoin-mining-industrys-addiction-to-leverage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crypto miners</a> with lending and trading services in bitcoin, ether and stablecoins.



The company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/babel-finance-valued-at-2b-after-latest-fundraise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raised $80 million at a $2 billion valuation</a> in May. Main investors in the round included Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings, as well as existing shareholders Dragonfly Capital and BAI Capital.



Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/babel-finance-suffers-executive-exits-amid-liquidity-crunch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">confirmed this week</a> a slew of firings and voluntary resignations from Babel. Yulong Liu, who served as head of partnerships at the company for nearly three years, and communications director <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wanghweewen/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jacynth Wang</a> are among those set to leave.



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Troubled Lender Babel Finance Reportedly Hires US Investment Bank Houlihan Lokey

Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_62bc1bdcdea98" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Babel Finance executives are jumping ship as the firm grapples with a shortage of funds</li>
 <li>Head of partnerships Yulong Liu and director of communications Jacynth Yang will exit soon</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



A mixture of firings and voluntary resignations made up a round of recent exits from embattled crypto lender Babel Finance, Blockworks has learned. Departures are still underway, a source familiar with the matter said.



Babel’s wave of employee exits was first reported by <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/154473/babel-finance-loses-multiple-top-employees-amid-troubles" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Block</a>. Blockworks independently confirmed that among those leaving in the near future are Yulong Liu, who served as head of partnerships at Babel for nearly three years, and communications director <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wanghweewen/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jacynth Wang</a>.



Liu’s LinkedIn profile appears to be deleted, while Wang’s shows she’s been employed at Babel for three months. Liu could not be reached and Wang didn’t respond to Blockworks’ request for comment.



Hong Kong-based Babel also lost branding lead <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yiwei-wang-b3ba12120/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yiwei Wang</a>. He told Blockworks he left voluntarily in mid-April for new opportunities.



Launched in 2018, Babel Finance provides institutions, high-net worth accredited investors and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crashing-prices-expose-bitcoin-mining-industrys-addiction-to-leverage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crypto miners</a> with lending and trading services in bitcoin, ether and stablecoins. Among its backers are Sequoia Capital China, Tiger Global Management and Dragonfly Capital.



Blockworks confirmed that other employees have left Babel’s partnerships team led by Liu. These include global partnership directors <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/seany-xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sean Yang</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/xavierxiang/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Xavier Xiang</a>, and another member of the same team, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuchen-jiang-b324468a/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yuchen Jiang</a>. After working at Babel for less than a year, all three left in June. Blockworks hasn’t received independent confirmation on whether they left voluntarily.



Other key hires have reportedly deleted their LinkedIn profiles. Among them are head of lending Lei Tong and Ryan Wu, managing director and chief operating officer.



The departures come as Babel faces a critical shortage of funds. The lender <a href="https://babel.finance/article-views.html?id=50" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">abruptly suspended</a> withdrawals on June 17 — citing “unusual liquidity pressures” — similar to competitors <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-lending-platform-suspends-withdrawals-and-transfers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Celsius</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/finblox-imposes-withdrawal-limit-amid-3acs-uncertainty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Finblox</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinflex-halts-withdrawals-citing-uncertainty-around-unnamed-counterparty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoinFLEX</a>. Shortly after, Babel announced <a href="https://babel.finance/article-views.html?id=51" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">steps</a> to manage its liquidity status, but it hasn’t provided an update on this matter since.



In any case, Babel joins a string of companies in the crypto industry that have lost staff recently. BlockFi said it would <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cryptocurrency-lender-blockfi-set-to-cut-staff-by-a-fifth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cut 20%</a> of its workforce; Coinbase <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-cut-workforce-ceo-wary-of-potential-recession/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lost 18%</a>; Gemini <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gemini-joins-growing-list-of-crypto-exchanges-cutting-staff-amid-downturn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">terminated 10%</a>; and Crypto.com <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-com-cutting-5-of-workforce-amid-digital-asset-downturn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laid off 5%</a>.



Babel reportedly had 170 employees as of May, but its <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/babelfinance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn</a> page now shows 44 people work there. The reduced number listed may be attributed to deleted profiles. 



The firm, which had roughly 500 institutional clients as of May, recently raised $80 million at a $2 billion valuation. At the end of 2021, it held an outstanding loan balance of over <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/babel-finance-closes-us80-million-series-b-fundraising-round-at-us2-billion-valuation-301554729.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$3 billion</a>, according to press materials.



Babel Finance didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment.



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Babel Finance Suffers Executive Exits Amid Liquidity Crunch

Jocelyn Yang

<div id="highlights-block_62b98c3f4fa1a" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Celsius was one of the major players to shake the crypto world after it paused withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts</li>
 <li>The market contagion led more exchanges and banks to carry out emergency assessments based on the firms’ liquidity status</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Multiple cryptocurrency exchanges and lending platforms have announced halts on withdrawals in the past two weeks as markets across the world have grappled with bear territory.&nbsp;



Here’s a timeline outlining the exchanges and lending platforms that have faced liquidity pressure.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Week of June 13&nbsp;</h3>



Crypto lending platform <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-lending-platform-suspends-withdrawals-and-transfers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Celsius</a> was one of the major players that first shook the crypto world when it announced it would pause withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts on its platform due to “extreme market conditions” ahead of the Monday market open on June 13.&nbsp;



Market contagion set in; the next morning, <a href="https://twitter.com/binance/status/1536398693523501056?s=20&amp;t=52LiWVMEesEcbAb6O3vmoQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance</a> paused bitcoin withdrawals for about three hours as the crypto exchange dealt with the impact of Celsius&#8217; move. Some crypto banks have also worked to publicly distance themselves from Celsius due to the crisis.&nbsp;



On Wednesday, more market volatility came after it was reported digital assets-focused hedge fund firm <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-fund-three-arrows-capital-facing-potential-insolvency-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Three Arrows Capital (3AC) is facing potential insolvency</a> after a $400 million liquidation. The firm had already taken a major hit with Terra USD stablecoin’s <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=terra" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">collapse in May</a>, due to its substantial investment in LUNA.&nbsp;



On Thursday, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/finblox-imposes-withdrawal-limit-amid-3acs-uncertainty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Finblox</a>, a Hong-Kong based crypto staking and yield generation platform which secured investment from 3AC, said it will impose a $1,500 monthly withdrawal limit and pause reward distribution amid 3AC’s uncertainty.&nbsp;



“This set of actions is a necessary move in such a highly volatile market and we believe should help us and our community to manage the effect,” Finblox said in a statement.&nbsp;



Crypto lender <a href="https://babel.finance/article-views.html?id=50" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Babel Finance</a> suspended withdrawals and redemptions on Friday, citing “unusual liquidity pressures.” The platform gave an <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/babel-finance-working-to-ease-unusual-liquidity-pressures/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">update</a> the following Monday that it has “reached preliminary agreements on the repayment period of some debts” to ease its liquidity pressure in the short term.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Week of June 20</h3>



On the eve of Monday market opening, Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Hoo said in a <a href="https://help.hoorhi.shop/hc/en-us/articles/7639261299353" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog post</a> it would be delaying withdrawals for 24 to 72 hours, citing “market volatility and liquidations by large institutions in the crypto industry,” raising panic among its users as many looked to request withdrawals. The exchange <a href="https://help.hoorhi.shop/hc/en-us/articles/7749830351129-Announcement-on-Openning-Withdrawal-Currency-of-Hoo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reopened withdrawal</a> for some tokens starting Wednesday.&nbsp;



In its latest announcement, posted on Friday, Hoo <a href="https://help.hoorhi.shop/hc/en-us/articles/7826670082073-Supplementary-notice-on-the-token-withdrawals-of-Hoo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> some of its partners and institutions have faced liquidity issues, which resulted in &#8220;the unusual phenomenon of Hoo’s custodian fund return channels in these institutions.”&nbsp;



“At present, Hoo is actively communicating and solving problems with relevant institutions and third parties,” the statement read.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, crypto broker <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/three-arrows-capital-brink-default-owes-voyager-657m/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Voyager Digital</a> revealed Wednesday it had exposure to 3AC — the company sought to recover about $657 million allegedly loaned to the hedge fund.



Australia-based crypto lender <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-lender-maple-finance-latest-to-warn-of-insufficient-cash-amid-market-turmoil/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Maple Finance</a> also faced liquidity pressures and said Tuesday its lenders must wait for borrower repayments. “There may be instances where there is insufficient cash in pools,” the company <a href="https://maple.finance/news/managing-liquidity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>.&nbsp;



Crypto exchange <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinflex-halts-withdrawals-citing-uncertainty-around-unnamed-counterparty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoinFLEX</a> was one of the most recent firms to announce a pause in withdrawals, the company said Thursday. Customers can continue to trade and deposit, but no funds can be taken off the platform, according to a statement.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What&#8217;s in store for the week of June 27?</h3>



There remains a great deal of uncertainty heading into the final week of June, and market participants are proceeding with trepidation, mindful of potential shoes yet to drop.



On Monday, Voyager issued a notice of default to 3AC after the latter failed to make any required payments.



&#8220;Voyager intends to pursue recovery from 3AC and is in discussions with the Company&#8217;s advisors as to legal remedies available,&#8221; the company wrote in a press release, declining Blockworks&#8217; request for further comment.



The company has engaged Moelis &amp; Company as financial advisors, and it has accessed the first $75 million of its <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-to-borrow-500m-from-alameda-amid-insolvency-rumors/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">line of credit with Alameda Research</a>, according to the statement.



“When one of the largest crypto hedge funds can be underwater due to leverage, participants in the market must be aware of the total leverage in the market and how it is affected during times when this credit suddenly vanishes,” Mads Eberhardt, cryptocurrency analyst at Saxo Bank, <a href="https://www.home.saxo/content/articles/cryptocurrencies/crypto-weekly-20062022" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote in a blog post</a>.



“[That] has the power to take many crypto lenders to their knees, effectively fueling the contagion further,” he noted.



This story was updated on June 27, 2022, at 8:15 am ET.



Correction, June 28, 2022, at 10:30 am ET: Mads Eberhardt&#8217;s comments came from the Saxo Bank blog.



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Crypto Firms On Alert During Market Uncertainty as 3AC Defaults

<div id="highlights-block_62b092abd685e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Babel Finance pledged to continue to obtain liquidity support in an effort to protect investors</li>
 <li>The company raised $80 million at a $2 billion valuation last month</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Babel Finance has reached preliminary agreements with counterparties and customers dealing with the repayment period of some debts to ease the company’s liquidity pressure in the short term.



<a href="https://babel.finance/article-views.html?id=51" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The update</a>, shared on the crypto lender’s website on Monday, follows Babel Finance — as well as other crypto companies such as <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-lending-platform-suspends-withdrawals-and-transfers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Celsius</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-fund-three-arrows-capital-facing-potential-insolvency-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Three Arrows Capital</a> — disclosing liquidity issues in recent days as crypto prices have plunged.



The price of bitcoin was at $20,640 at 10:30 am ET on Monday morning, according to data compiled by Blockworks — up about 6% in the past 24 hours but down roughly 23% from a week ago.&nbsp;



Babel Finance <a href="https://babel.finance/article-views.html?id=50" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed on Friday</a> that redemptions and withdrawals from its products would be temporarily suspended amid “unusual liquidity pressures.”



The company noted in its Monday statement that it did an emergency assessment of its business operations and looks to fulfill its legal responsibilities to customers by continuing “to avoid further transmission and diffusion of liquidity risks.”&nbsp;



“We have actively communicated with shareholders and potential investors, and will continue to communicate and obtain liquidity support,” according to the statement.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Given the current context of severe market volatility, Babel Finance’s management will continue to communicate closely with customers, counterparties, and other partners, and provide updates in a timely and transparent manner.”</blockquote>



Babel Finance did not immediately return a request for further comment.



Founded in 2018, the crypto financial services provider’s main businesses are lending and trading — it focuses on bitcoin, ether and stablecoins.&nbsp;



Babel Finance <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/babel-finance-valued-at-2b-after-latest-fundraise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raised $80 million at a $2 billion valuation</a> last month. Main investors in the round included Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings, as well as existing shareholders Dragonfly Capital and BAI Capital.



The firm, which currently had about 500 clients, raised $40 million in its series A round in May 2021.



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Babel Finance Working To Ease ‘Unusual Liquidity Pressures’

<div id="highlights-block_628e4b1764ac6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The crypto financial services provider has roughly 500 institutional clients and focuses on lending and trading</li>
 <li>Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings were among the main investors in the round</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto financial services provider Babel Finance has raised $80 million at a $2 billion valuation as the company seeks to continue driving institutional adoption in the space.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The company’s primary clients are crypto-native firms, banks, investment funds, ultra-high-net-worth accredited investors and family offices. Founded in 2018, <a href="https://babel.finance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Babel Finance</a>’s main businesses are crypto lending and trading, and it focuses on bitcoin, ether and stablecoins. 



Babel Finance CEO Del Wang said in a statement that the company seeks to take part in the “building of the fundamental financial order and rules for the industry” as the industry becomes more institutionalized.



“From the perspective of short-term profits, the retail market and altcoins may have higher profit margins, but we pay more attention to the long-term development of the industry and aim to lead in institutional financial services and innovation,” Wang added.&nbsp;



The main investors in this round include Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings, as well as existing shareholders Dragonfly Capital and BAI Capital.



“Babel Finance has opened up a market with high barriers to entry and great value in the emerging field of institutional investor services in crypto,” 10T CEO Dan Tapiero said in a statement. “Babel Finance has built a laudable reputation as a highly specialized and trusted crypto financial institution, maintaining its leading position among the institutional client-focused market.&#8221;



The firm had raised $40 million in its Series A round in May 2021. Since then, the team grew from 50 people to 170. It currently has about 500 clients.



Babel Finance had an outstanding loan balance of more than $3 billion and an average monthly trading volume of $800 million in derivatives at the end of 2021. It had structured and traded more than $20 billion in options products at that time.



It has a new office in Singapore and applied for licenses in a range of countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.



A Babel Finance spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on how it would use the funding or its specific growth plans.



The company is the latest crypto firm to fetch a 10-figure valuation. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ava-labs-reportedly-hits-5-25b-valuation-with-new-raise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ava Labs</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/boba-network-valuation-hits-1-5b-after-45m-series-a-round/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Boba Network</a> were valued at $5.25 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, after their latest raises last month.



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Babel Finance Valued at $2B After Latest Fundraise

<div id="highlights-block_626aff63ccd2d" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Former Commerzbank exec joins crypto financial services provider</li>
 <li>A crypto venture capital firm nabs a former Facebook veteran as its GameFi lead</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



21Shares hired former Uber executive Karan Chawla as its vice president of product.&nbsp;



Chawla was most recently Uber’s head of payments in the US, Canada and Asia-Pacific region. He will focus on the firm&#8217;s product roadmap to offer investors access to DeFi protocols and will seek to further drive institutional adoption of digital assets.



As the world’s largest issuer of cryptocurrency ETPs, the company has roughly $2.5 billion in assets under management. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/21shares-combines-bitcoin-and-gold-in-newest-etp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">It recently launched</a> a product in Switzerland combining gold and bitcoin exposure and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/first-australian-spot-bitcoin-ether-etfs-to-go-live-next-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">is set to launch</a> the first bitcoin and ether ETPs (exchange-traded products) in Australia.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Crypto exchange OKX appointed former Okcoin executive Haider Rafique as its chief marketing officer.



Rafique was a special adviser to the OKX executive team earlier this year and helped drive a multimillion-dollar <a href="https://www.mancity.com/news/club/manchester-city-official-cryptocurrency-exchange-partner-okx-63781936" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">partnership agreement</a> with Manchester City. In his new role, he will build a global marketing team to make crypto mainstream and lead the company’s international expansion efforts.



The executive most recently was chief marketing officer for crypto exchange Okcoin. Before that, he was head of growth for Blockchain.com and was a head of product marketing at Microsoft.



Phil Davis is Web3 infrastructure company ConsenSys’s new chief financial officer after serving in that role for seven years at artificial intelligence company Afiniti.



His appointment follows ConsenSys’s <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/consensys-plans-to-redesign-metamask-and-hire-600-new-employees/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$450 million Series D round</a> last month, which valued the company at $7 billion.



Davis will oversee the company’s finance and accounting functions, including expanding its treasury strategy. ConsenSys has maintained a significant treasury of ETH, stablecoins and other crypto tokens and puts these assets to work in DeFi (decentralized finance) protocols and through staking.



Babel Finance appointed Yang Song to the newly created position of head of treasury as the company seeks to serve a more diverse set of clients.



The hire comes as the crypto financial services provider, which had a $3 billion outstanding loan balance at the end of the year, created a treasury unit to boost risk management and ensure sufficient liquidity for its lending business.



Song joins Babel Finance after working for 12 years at German bank Commerzbank, where he served as vice president of treasury.



Crypto venture capital firm Fundamental Labs is adding former Facebook veteran Vinayak Rao as its GameFi lead as more Web2 gaming companies enter the Web3 world.



He will focus on supporting founders through investments and resources across the Web3 and blockchain gaming ecosystem.



Prior to Rao’s latest appointment, he led Facebook’s gaming product partnerships team. He also launched Rival Peak, a reality television show simulated entirely within a game engine — a platform that enables games to be playable on top of video content.



CoinList hired Michael Coates and Amir Kavousian to lead the company’s digital asset services division.&nbsp;



Coates is a former Twitter chief information security officer and head of security for Mozilla, while Kavousian previously worked as a data science lead at Capital One.



The appointments come as part of CoinList’s acquisition of cloud security company Altitude Networks, for which Coates was CEO and Kavousian was chief technology officer.



Cross-exchange digital asset trading network Apifiny named Diana Pires as its chief revenue officer as it continues recruiting talent ahead of its planned merger with Abri SPAC Inc.&nbsp;



Pires previously worked for S&amp;P Global before transitioning to OKX. She then became a senior vice president at Crypto.com, where she built out its institutional pipeline and drove business development.



&#8220;My experience has provided insight into the gap in the rapidly developing digital asset trading ecosystem,” Pires said in a statement. “I’ve been impressed with how Apifiny has pinpointed the issue of fragmented liquidity, faced today by exchanges, traders and new blockchain token projects.”



Quadrata, a Web3 identity passport network bringing financial services to DeFi, tapped several industry leaders as company advisers.



The new Quadrata advisers include Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association; David Kravitz, senior director of research at Spring Labs; Don Ho, executive director of Quantstamp Technologies; Tony Sheng, founder of Cozy Finance; and Sebastien Borget, co-founder and chief operating officer of Sandbox.&nbsp;



In case you missed it, former JPMorgan Managing Director Christine Moy is also <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/apollo-global-management-hires-its-first-head-of-digital-assets-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">set to join Apollo Global Management</a> to lead its digital asset strategy.



Moy will help the alternative asset manager, which controls roughly $500 billion, invest further in innovative digital asset companies and founders.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.