Crypto lending picks up: FalconX and Maple Finance receive first batch of Cantor Fitzgerald Bitcoin financing

The financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald's cryptocurrency lending division has welcomed its first clients, announcing the completion of a loan transaction using Bitcoin as collateral with Maple Finance and FalconX. This not only symbolizes traditional finance's further embrace of digital assets but also represents a rebirth of the crypto lending market after the 2022 crisis. After nearly a year of preparation, Cantor Fitzgerald's Bitcoin financial business officially opened in March this year and completed its first BTC-backed loan transaction yesterday. According to Bloomberg, this Wall Street financial company has provided loans to crypto broker FalconX and on-chain lending protocol Maple Finance. Cantor Fitzgerald first announced its entry into the Bitcoin financing market last July, with an initial financing amount of $2 billion, primarily targeting institutional investors looking to operate BTC leverage. The plan designated Anchorage Digital as the custodian to ensure asset safety and transparency. These transactions allow many Bitcoin-holding enterprises to obtain liquidity by using their assets as collateral without selling them. FalconX stated that it received over $100 million in loans, which will be part of its long-term financing structure. Maple Finance has completed the first phase of funding collaboration with Cantor. The 2022 crypto market collapse highlighted the fragility of unregulated crypto lending structures, with major platforms like Celsius, Genesis, and BlockFi collapsing almost like dominoes, some due to high-risk operations and fraud allegations, others due to the chain reaction from FTX's collapse. This crisis severely damaged investor confidence and caused the crypto lending market to shrink significantly. Galaxy data shows that the overall crypto loan market size in 2024 is still nearly 80% below its 2021 peak of $64.4 billion. However, with Bitcoin leading market enthusiasm, on-chain lending platforms have shown strong recovery. In the fourth quarter of 2024, total on-chain loans surged to $19.1 billion, more than doubling compared to two years ago, indicating that market funds are gradually returning to the DeFi realm. In this context, Cantor's entry is seen as an endorsement of market maturity, gradually moving crypto credit services towards standardization and compliance. As one of the large institutions actively crossing into the crypto field, Cantor is not only promoting Bitcoin lending but also responsible for Tether USDT stablecoin custody and acquired 5% of Tether's shares in early 2024, demonstrating its high regard for crypto assets. The company currently serves over 5,000 institutional clients in 20 countries, with business covering investment banking, brokerage trading, and stock and bond sales. Its entry into crypto lending is seen as a key step in deepening its digital asset financial strategy and is expected to attract more traditional institutions to join the battle.

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Financial Supervisory Commission Requests Traceable Cash Flow Records, Industry Association Responds Comprehensively

According to the recently strengthened policy by the Financial Supervisory Commission, virtual asset trading activities must ensure traceable cash flows to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. The Taiwan Virtual Currency Industry Association stated that it has notified all members to emphasize using payment channels with complete cash flow recording capabilities, such as bank transfers or other payment tools that can preserve data, when conducting financial transactions with users.

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Convenience Store Value-Adding Mechanism Has Regulatory Loopholes, Two Major Platforms Suspend Usage First

Regarding the current practice of some trading platforms still allowing account value-adding through convenience stores, the industry association pointed out that this mechanism still has loopholes in transaction monitoring and has not reached the traceability standards required by financial supervision.

Therefore, two major member companies: Bit Technology Co., Ltd. (Bito) and Modern Wealth Technology Co., Ltd. (Maicoin) have proactively announced the immediate suspension of value-adding services through convenience stores. Detailed adjustments and subsequent measures will be announced separately by each platform through their official websites.

Maintaining Market Order, Industry Association Emphasizes Continuous Cooperation with Regulatory Authorities

The industry association emphasized that it will continue to maintain close communication with regulatory authorities such as the Financial Supervisory Commission and regularly review the implementation effectiveness of preventive measures. The association also reiterated that this series of policies and self-regulatory actions aim to enhance the industry's defense against financial crimes and fraud, ensuring the safety and stable development of Taiwan's virtual currency market.