What is it?

Kava SAFU Fund is an on-chain community pool that will increase the overall safety of the Kava platform by protecting against unforeseeable black swan events while giving users assurity that their funds are safe. The Kava SAFU community pool’s main function is to make users whole after events like unforeseen bugs, exploits, hacks, liquidation failures or other technical issues that result in lost user funds.

These types of events haven’t happened on the Kava platform because of Kava’s architecture, robust testing, audits, and market monitor infrastructure. Now Kava is introducing the latest component in its security and reliability infrastructure; the Kava SAFU Fund. Designed to counter the unique threat of black swan events.

The Kava SAFU Fund will be created through a one-off inflationary event where 10% of Kava’s current token supply will be minted and held within the Kava SAFU Fund.

“Over the long run, the creation of the Kava SAFU fund is a net positive for the overall DeFi ecosystem. By giving assurance on compensation in the case of a black swan event helps instill further confidence for Kava’s DeFi platform.” — Michael Ng, Co-founder of StakeWith.Us

Motivations

Now that the Kava platform has grown to hundreds of thousands of users and has hundreds of millions of dollars in collateral deposits, Kava Labs as a centralized entity cannot and should not take responsibility for unforeseen events for following reasons:

1. As a US company, we must collect KYC/AML and run OFAC checks before transferring funds to any users. Even if we wanted to, due to regulations we cannot send funds to many users around the world. In the spirit of creating an open and decentralized platform for anyone, anywhere in the world to use, the Kava platform needs to have an on-chain way to make users whole in the event of loss that is free of censorship and regulation.
2. Collecting KYC/AML of all the users on the Kava platform is the opposite of what DeFi is all about. Kava Labs would have to do exactly this if a global black swan event occurs that impacted funds across all users on the Kava platform.
3. Now that the collateral deposits are hundreds of millions of dollars in size, it’s simply not possible for Kava Labs to play a role in making users whole in black swan events. The Kava platform network needs a better solution that can scale with its increasing size.

Historical Context and Comparables

Inspiration for the Kava SAFU Fund comes from traditional finance where margin trading platforms have a rainy day fund to cover losses. In crypto, we have several notable examples with Bitmex’s Insurance Fund that ensures liquidations of margin positions go smoothly and Binance’s all purpose SAFU Fund which has been used to make users whole after serious hacks and exploits have occurred.

More recently, the Cosmos Hub has adopted a community pool which has several purposes, including that of being a SAFU fund for users. Similarly other Cosmos-SDK based blockchains like Akash and Terra have adopted different forms of community pools.

Qualification for Covered Incidents

Many events can impact user funds. Events like upgrade errors, defaults, and critical bugs that result in lost funds will qualify to be reimbursed by the Kava SAFU Fund subject to governance approval. Below is a example non-exhaustive list for illustrative purposes of the type of events which may impact users funds and may be covered by the Kava SAFU fund, however it is critical to note that any and all actions taken on behalf of the Kava SAFU fund is made by the Kava governance community alone.

• Network downtime resulting in loss of users funds (e.g. via inability to re-supply)
• Critical network bugs which result in loss of users funds (e.g. inaccurate accumulation of interest)
• Critical network exploits which result in loss of users funds (e.g. exploited vulnerabilities in business logic)
• Critical cross-chain software bugs or exploits which result in loss of user funds (e.g. cross-chain double spends or multi-sig wallet compromise)
• Critical bugs or exploits in auxiliary network services (e.g. oracle software exploits)
• Market manipulation which results in loss of user funds (e.g. driving massive liquidations by manipulating price feed or associated reference market price)
• Application service defaults in the event of massive liquidation events (e.g. under-collateralization of Kava of Hard application services resulting from system debt not being met at auction)
• Network upgrade critical bugs which may result in loss of users funds
• Network upgrade rollback procedures which may result in loss of users funds

The Funding the Pool

There are many ways to fund the pool, including a one-off inflationary event or a continuous inflation schedule which adds to the pool overtime.

For the purposes of providing an adequate SAFU Fund for the current levels of collateral and debt managed by the Kava platform, 10% of total Kava supply should be created in a one-off inflationary event and put towards the Kava SAFU Fund initially. This will be more than adequate for the foreseeable future.

Should the platform grow orders of magnitude larger or if Kava SAFU Funds are disbursed after an event, it will be up to the Kava governance community to decide how to ensure the Kava SAFU Fund is appropriately re-capitalized from that point forward. This can occur from a redirecting of various platform fees, another one-time inflationary event, or a continuous inflation contribution to the Kava SAFU Fund going forward.

It’s great that we’re implementing an insurance pool. Binance SAFU fund has helped Binance users immensely in the past and also served as a safeguard for PR damages.

The initial one-off inflationary event seems reasonable given that we’d need significant time for the SAFU fund to be filled should we allocate a proportion of the network inflation to the pool instead. — David Park, CMO of Cosmostation

Usage and Disbursement of Pool

It will ultimately be up to the Kava token holder group to vote on each SAFU-spend proposal/request and determine if the case qualifies for distribution.

If a SAFU-spend proposal passes successfully, the number of KAVA encoded in the proposal will be transferred from the Kava SAFU Fund to the address encoded in the proposal, and this will happen immediately after the voting period ends.

“In a world overrun by hacks, exploits, and rug pulls, Kava by contrast is quickly becoming the most trusted platform by exchanges, institutions, and crypto applications around the world thanks to its robust security and safety practices. The Kava SAFU Fund will further position Kava’s DeFi platform as the most trustworthy solution in the emerging DeFi space as it gives further assurance that user’s assets are safe even in unforeseen black swan type events.” — Brian Kerr, CEO of Kava Labs

Source: https://medium.com/kava-labs/introducing-the-kava-safu-fund-security-of-assets-fund-for-users-bd8a7005a28f

How would you like to get your hands on a custom built Tesla Roadster?

Bitcoin Latinum, a digital asset associated with award winning movie studios and globally renowned insurance brokers, is offering you that chance.

The digital asset, which has been described as the “next generation of Bitcoin fork” for its ability to “break barriers… that have prevented some virtual currencies from achieving… real-time use”, sold out of its initial public presale in November 2020.

To celebrate it coming to the market again later this year, Bitcoin Latinum is giving away eight custom Tesla Roadsters and you’re not even required to buy anything to be in with a chance of winning.

You can enter the draw over on shop.bitcoinlatinum.com.

You can enter until the end of April and the draw will be made later this year when the Bitcoin Latinum hard fork is launched.

This highly anticipated Bitcoin Latinum has been in the news already over the last few months, being slated as the “world’s largest insured digital asset”. Globally renowned brokers Marsh and McLennan’s Asia division has been appointed for it.

Its association with movie studio, Cross Creek Media, also hit the headlines. The studio, who made Oscar winner Black Swan, has adapted the asset.

Its CEO, Timmy Thomspon discussed this move, stating: “Cross Creek’s portfolio of new media technology investments perfectly positions us to take advantage of the digital asset sector in media and gaming.”

Recent news from global cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has seen the platform announce user support for the Russian Ruble (RUB). This latest development will mean that Huobi users can now withdraw and deposit in Russian Rubles. This is, of course, great news for the long-term success of the exchange itself and also users there who have been waiting for RUB support on the platform.

This is not the only new announcement made by the company though. They have also released details of users now being eligible to buy top digital currencies, such as BTC, LTC, ETH, BCH and DASH with Rubles. These new innovations will work in conjunction with AdvCash, which is one of the most respected payment solutions around in the crypto world.

RUB deposits and withdrawals in Huobi – how does it work?

Huobi Global has confirmed that both crypto buying and RUB deposits/withdrawals will be conducted through AdvCash wallets moving forward. This will come with a minimum deposit/withdrawal limit of 200 RUB for users. There has also been a maximum limit introduced for deposits of 100,000 RUB and 50,000 RUB for withdrawals.

It seems that the process of making transactions in RUB via AdvCash wallets on Huobi will be pretty simple. Users will be asked to provide identification details first, which will then be verified by AdvCash. People will then simply log into their Huobi Global Account and find the ‘Deposit-Exchange’ option under ‘Balances’. Once there, you would just find ‘RUB’ on the list of eligible currencies to fund your account with them.

Verification of KYC also needed

At this point in the process, users will also have to complete and submit their KYC for verification, if not done already. When this is all sorted, you can then choose ‘AdvCash Balance’ as your method of payment and choose how much you want to deposit. You then choose ‘Pay’ and get sent to the AdvCash platform where you set up an account or log in to continue.

After this, the whole payment procedure can be finished by using any of the options in your wallet. Once the payment is completed, you will be sent back to the ‘Deposit’ page and be able to carry on using Huobi Global as usual. Security is assured as all transactions made to and from your Huobi account are recorded.

Special RUB promotion period

Those who decide to use RUB in the current promotion period can save 0.99% on deposit fees and 2.49% on fees for withdrawals. It is also expected that Huobi Global’s decision to bring RUB into their platform will pave the way for other FIAT currencies to follow.

Source: Pressat

Huobi Futures has just celebrated over $2.6 trillion in cumulative trading volumes since its launch just over two years ago.

Its launch date was December 10, 2018 and ever since then, the trading platform has gone from strength to strength, now being considered one of the go-to places for derivitace product options.

A constant look towards the future and a aim to expand its product options have helped its growth. For instance, USDT-margined Swaps, Coin-margined swaps and futures are among the services that are central to Huobi’s offering currently.

This is demonstrated by USDT-margined Swaps accounting for almost 23 percent of the trading volume of all units as of December 3rd. Huobi’s coin-margined futures trading, which includes 13 major crypto assets, also has had a unilateral turnover of $1,907bn since its launch.

Not only that, but Huobi’s coin-margined swaps is the no.1 coin-margined swaps market globally.

Its trading volume of USDT margined perpetual swaps is also growing, with a cumulative total of over $60.5 billion as of December 4th, 2020. Earlier this year, Huobi further demonstrated their ability to offer an excellent service, by launching USDT-quoted options whereby users could trade without worrying about the risk of liquidation.

A statement from Huobi aimed to explain their success, citing the following: “The fact that Huobi Futures has achieved this success in just two years is largely due to its continuous efforts to launch innovative products that continuously enhance the user experience while ensuring that users can trade securely, consistently, and at a low cost.

This has a profound impact on two aspects for users. Since Huobi Futures started the operation in 2018, it has been able to provide users with a safe, stable and low-cost trading experience.”

Huobi Futures has announced its latest offering that looks to take advantage of the ever-growing and popularizing stablecoin market with USDT-Margined Swaps on Oct. 26. Ten popular currencies including BTC, ETH, BCH, BSV, LINK, DOT, UNI, FIL, YFI, and BNB are listed in its first batch. Based on Huobi’s announcement, currently only Web and API are available; trading on APP will be supported around one week later.

The total market capitalization of stablecoins has grown from $2.6 billion at the start of 2019 to $20 billion by late September of 2020. Tether (USDT), at $16 billion, leads the way. The data indicates a clear desire and hunger to use stablecoins for the transfer of value across the cryptocurrency space, and offering a stablecoin-margined swap at this time can provide new benefits to traders. In Huobi USDT-margined swaps trading, users can trade various perpetual swaps with only USDT.

Huobi USDT-margined swaps are quoted in USDT and use USDT to calculate profit and loss. USDT-margined swaps have a linear payoff and have no delivery date; therefore users could hold positions no matter how long they want as long as no liquidation occurs. USDT-margined swaps are settled every 8 hours and are executed at 00:00, 8:00 and 16:00(GMT+8). In addition to gaining profits in a rising or falling market by opening a long or a short position, users could also use it for hedging. The following part analyzes the main features and advantages of Huobi USDT-margined swaps.

Low-par value and up to 125x leverage

Compared with coin-margined swaps, the contract face value of USDT-margined swaps is relatively low. For example, the face value of each BTC/USDT swaps contract is 0.001 BTC, the converted value of which is around 12 USDT; while for coin-margined swaps, the face value of each BTC/USD swaps contract is 100 USD. Besides, the platform provides 1x to125x leverage to lower the threshold for traders, users could adjust the leverage based on their actual needs.

Preferential fee rate

The fee rate structure on Huobi Futures is transparent. The platform only charges transaction fees for opening and closing positions. During the promotion period, the lowest transaction fee rate for Maker is -0.025% and for Taker is 0.026%. Huobi will continue to execute its VIP sharing program for USDT-margined swaps.

A good news is that, for users who are a VIP client or a market maker of both Huobi futures and coin-margined swaps, the platform will take the higher one as their VIP level of Huobi USDT-margined swaps during the promotionn period. Assume a user’s level on Huobi futures is VIP 3 while on Huobi coin-margined swaps is VIP5, the system will take VIP 5 as his level on Huobi USDT-margined swaps.

Diversified functions

In terms of trading functions, Huobi USDT-margined Swaps supports multiple order types including Limit Order, Trigger Order, IOC and FOK. There are also many functions like Flash Close, Follow a Maker & Taker available.

It’s worth mentioning that Huobi is a pioneer in the industry that uses a locked margin optimization function. With this function, users who hold both long and short positions for the same asset could enjoy a position margin reduction and therefore lower liquidation risks than that in other derivatives platforms.

Moreover, Huobi USDT-margined Swaps offers “Take profit & Stop loss” functions. Users could set in advance not only based on price, but also on profit rate.

Excellent Liquidity and Zero Clawback Record

The USDT-margined Swaps is designed by the original team of Huobi Futures whose core members were all from top investment banks. Huobi Futures has rich experience in derivative product modeling and system construction, at which users could enjoy the best liquidity and the highest trading volume.

The platform has various methods to protect users’ assets, such as cold and hot wallets separation, multi-signatures, anti-DDOS protection systems, and 20,000 BTC security funds preparation, which makes the company holding a record of zero clawbacks since the launch in December of 2018.

User-friendly liquidation mechanism

Huobi Futures is the first digital asset derivatives exchange in the industry that supports a three-phase liquidation protection mechanism; no transaction fees will be charged in partial liquidation. The platform uses Exponential Moving Average (EMA) as a second reference for forced liquidation and the clawback mechanism will not be triggered as long as the insurance fund is positive.

USDT-margined swaps are the latest product offered by Huobi, following on from the extremely successful launch of Coin-margined Swaps in March this year, and Options a few months later. Huobi’s Futures team has ingrained itself as one of the leaders in the space as the team leans on previous experience at investment banks.

“We are well aware of the growth in the stablecoin market and the amount of money that has been added to the ecosystem and want people to be able to make use of that. In countering the risk of USDT price fluctuations, we also offer USDT/USD swaps with leverage up to 1000x. In this one-stop digital asset derivatives platform, we provide USDT-margined swaps, coin-margined swaps, coin-margined futures and USDT-quoted options to satisfy the diverse needs of individual and institutional traders.” said Ciara Sun, Head of Global Business and Markets and Vice President Huobi.

Source (pressat)

Kazakhstan-based mining provider Xive announced mining capacities empowerment and the launch of an updated site on the 9th of July. On xive.io website you can buy a fast mining contract starting from $4.55, pre-order mining powers or even become a partner of the company by filling out an application for the equity purchase.

Besides hashpower sharing, Xive offers its clients mining hardware accommodation starting from $0.042 per kWh.

For its clients Xive offers low upkeep costs, customer support and real-time hardware monitoring. Also, company claims to have the most transparent legal conditions on the market.

“We work legally and value our reputation. Therefore, we provide the highest level of service to our customers.” – stated Didar Bekbauov, founder of Xive.

Learning platform Xive Academy includes a set of educational articles on the company website and a series of free webinars, dedicated to the basics of mining and cryptocurrencies. The first webinar is intended for beginners, but it will also be useful for more experienced users to systematize knowledge and look at mining and cryptocurrencies from a different point of view.

14th of July at 4 PM UTC – “Mining secrets 2020” online webinar will take place. More information and a registration form can be found by link.

About Xive

Xive is an officially registered Kazakhstan-based mining provider that offers remote mining and hardware accommodation services. The company was founded in 2018 as a part of Astana Hub – government-supported international techno hub. Company owns and manages three datacenters and develops real-time hardware monitoring software. In the near future Xive plans to launch hashpower marketplace and own mining pool. Among company services there are hashpower pre-order, fast mining contracts purchase and hardware accommodation.

Banxa, a full-service, internationally compliant digital banking infrastructure provider, announced it has completed its USD$2 million Pre-IPO investment round. The round was led by OK Group, a world-leading blockchain technology and service provider focused on the research and development of the technology and its all-scenario applications..

The funding round will be used to support Banxa’s global expansion efforts as it enters new markets throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. Other participating investors in the raise include Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), and listed Thorney Investment Group Australia, a multi-billion-dollar family office.

This Pre-IPO funding round supports further efforts of onboarding new customers as Banxa expands its global payment network all the while continuing its listing process on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX.V).

Representative from the Investment Department of OK Group Estrella Du said, “A blockchain-driven economy can enable everyone to access financial services without any intermediary, ultimately empowering people, regardless of social class and geographical location, with financial freedom and opportunities. To this end, building a bridge between fiat and crypto is of paramount importance. We sincerely hope our investment will be a catalyst for such development.”

Domenic Carosa, Founder and Chairman of Banxa said, “After almost six years in the blockchain industry, our goal remains the same––to champion a fairer, more open and more secure financial system for the benefit of consumers and businesses alike. We are currently in the final stages of a TSX.V listing which will make Banxa the first crypto Payment Service Provider (PSP) to be listed in the world, bringing well-needed transparency and governance to the crypto sector.”

Banxa offers a fully compliant fiat-to-crypto conversion service that provides regulatory compliance, fraud detection and mitigation. Accommodating a host of global payment options including leading global credit card providers, bank transfers in the European Union, Australia, and the United Kingdom, as well as cash payments, Banxa is able to offer high volume payment processing at low fees. Banxa’s B2B service launched in late 2019 and has already seen integrations with global crypto firms including OK Group entities , Binance, KuCoin, and EDGE Wallet, servicing a combined customer base of over 20 million users.