The Crypto Minute

⤵️ Today’s Agenda:

• BlackRock's $3 billion tokenized Treasury fund BUIDL just made its first direct DeFi integration with Euler on Avalanche!

• G7 Meetings are up this week, expect some macro developments!

• Thousands of users upgraded to a smart wallet on Ethereum after the Pectra upgrade.

• The biggest Telegram dark marketplace, Haowang Guarantee, gets shut down after a $27 billion volume.

• And more…

📰 News Recap (May 12 to 18)

🏦 BlackRock Goes Full DeFi on Avalanche

BlackRock's $3 billion tokenized Treasury fund just made its first direct DeFi integration with Euler on Avalanche! 🎿

BlackRock's BUIDL token (yes, they really named it that) is now playing nice with Euler Finance through something called sBUIDL.

Think of it as BUIDL's cooler, more composable cousin 😎

What does this mean? 🤔

• Use your Treasury tokens as collateral ✅

• Earn AVAX rewards for borrowing ✅

• Keep earning that sweet Treasury yield ✅

🕹️ When Gamers Actually DON'T Hate Crypto

Coinbase just partnered with Riot Games, the creators of League of Legends and Valorant (160 million registered players, NBD) 🎮

Why is this huge? 📊

This deal could finally be the breaking point that brings meaningful blockchain utility to videogames.

So far their collaboration has been limited to services in global eSport events, but who knows what they’ll cook 🧑‍🍳 

🔐 Smart Wallets Having a Moment

Over 11,000 people upgraded their boring old wallets to smart ones in the last week! ⚡

Ethereum's Pectra upgrade dropped on May 6th, and wallet users went absolutely wild for EIP-7702!

Why is it cool? 🧠

• Your regular wallet can now delegate powers to smart contracts ⚡

• Batch transactions (approve + swap in one go) ✨

• Multi-sig authentication 🔐

• No more paying gas fees with ETH 💨

The winners? 🏆

1. WhiteBIT dominated with 5,300 authorizations

2. OKX Wallet snagged 3,100+

3. Even MetaMask got in on the action with 1,300

🚨 Kidnap Attempt Fails Spectacularly in Paris

Masked men tried to kidnap a crypto CEO's daughter in broad daylight, but a shop owner with a fire extinguisher said "NOT TODAY!" 🧯

Three masked attackers in central Paris tried to grab the daughter and grandson of Paymium CEO 😱

Hero of the day? 🦸‍♂️ A random shop owner who chased them off with a fire extinguisher!

In the end, the attackers run away empty handed and the victim got out with just minor bruising, phew… 😮‍💨

🌑 World's Biggest Dark Market Gets the Boot

Telegram just nuked the internet's largest illegal marketplace after it processed $27 BILLION in sketchy transactions! 💥

Haowang Guarantee (formerly Huione Guarantee) was basically Amazon for criminals.

Except instead of buying books, you bought hacking services, personal data, and money laundering. 🛒💀

Telegram dropped the hammer on May 13th, shutting down thousands of channels. Haowang's goodbye message was basically "well, that's a wrap!" 👋

💡 1 Minute Learning: Rehypothecation

Ever lend someone your bike… only to find out they lent it to their cousin? That’s rehypothecation. Let’s have a look at how it is used in crypto:

Rehypothecation happens when your crypto, originally deposited as collateral, is reused by the platform to secure other loans or deals.

🏦 In TradFi, it’s common with margin accounts. In crypto, it often happens behind the scenes on centralized lending platforms, like Celsius (RIP), BlockFi, or even some DeFi protocols that aren’t fully transparent.

Here’s how it unfolds:

1. You deposit ETH on a platform like Platform A for yield or to borrow stablecoins.

2. Platform A uses your ETH as collateral to borrow more capital from Platform B.

3. Platform B might also reuse that collateral to borrow again… and so on.

Now, a cascading chain of risk is created. If one borrower defaults or a market event tanks asset values, the whole system is exposed—this was a huge part of the 2022 crypto contagion.

🛠️ How People Might Use It

Platforms using rehypothecation can offer higher yields, because they’re making money by looping assets through other platforms.

If you’re chasing high APY, there’s a chance this is what’s happening behind the curtain. Always check the terms of service or transparency disclosures.