The Ethereum-based BUIDL fund from the leading asset manager BlackRock has gulped over $5 million in assets over the past week despite the ongoing market turbulence.

Market analytics resource IntoTheBlock (ITB) revealed this in a recent disclosure, stressing that the fund has commanded considerable interest among investors. 

Launched in March on Ethereum, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) marks the company’s first tokenized fund. It allows qualified investors to procure yields in U.S. dollars by subscribing through the fintech company Securitize. 

Notably, two months after the fund’s launch, Securitize secured a $47 million funding round from multiple investors, including BlackRock. 

The BUIDL fund allocates investments into U.S. Treasury bills, cash, and repurchase agreements. This enables investors to generate yield while maintaining their holdings as tokens on the blockchain. Despite a correlation with the crypto industry, the fund has maintained a positive path amid the ongoing market turmoil.

According to data sourced by ITB, BUIDL now boasts $491 million in assets under management (AUM) amid a sustained growth trajectory. This feat comes as the broader global crypto market lost $290 billion in July, with Bitcoin (BTC) collapsing below $57,000.

On-chain data shows that BUIDL’s AUM stood at $486.46 million as of July 2. Interestingly, this figure has since increased to $491.83 million, recent data confirms. The growth rate indicates an addition of $5.37 million in the last week despite the bearish atmosphere.

With this bullish performance, BUIDL has maintained its position as the largest blockchain-based money market fund. Notably, BUIDL surpassed the BENJI fund from Franklin Templeton to become the largest money market fund in May, when its AUM soared to $375 million. 

As such, BUIDL has recorded inflows totaling $116.83 million. Meanwhile, BENJI has only seen $33.97 million in capital inflows within the same period.

Traditional banking has often been scrutinized and seen as somewhat villainous due to its rigidities, predatory practices, and opaque systems. However, it’s integral to our societal structure, serving as the backbone for managing money in our day-to-day lives. And while they may be vilified and demonized, banks are still largely the most trusted place to store your money and put it to work. That could soon change.

Over the last few years, recent developments have challenged this established norm, and the public has questioned whether they should explore banking alternatives tailored to the digital age. People are growing more interested in an experience where transparency and value are not just catchphrases but foundational pillars of the service.

The rise of cryptocurrency has paved the way for decentralized finance to be transformative in the financial landscape, promising enhanced accessibility and fair financial solutions compared to centralized banking models. Defi’s general idea revolves around reimagining traditional financial systems in a decentralized manner, aiming to provide inclusive, transparent, and permissionless financial services to anyone, at any time. It’s a noble goal, but any crypto enthusiast can attest to how difficult it is to make this a reality.

While DEXs are a significant step towards a decentralized system, they often fall short of embodying the full vision of what a bank can offer in terms of providing comprehensive financial services. Praised for facilitating peer-to-peer trading without relying on centralized authorities, DEXs, in truth, aren’t fully decentralized yet.

Although trading might be decentralized, DEXs have been criticized for lacking the necessary functionalities. Issues such as liquidity fragmentation, price volatility, and user experience limitations still persist, hindering the seamless adoption that these projects are working to achieve, even if it is just for trading. 

To fully provide equal opportunity to all users and compete with centralized exchanges, which are typically easier to navigate, defi must continue adapting and creating solutions to move projects from ideas to operational. 

As investors continue to seek wealth-building opportunities within crypto, DEXs find it more difficult to provide the liquidity necessary to facilitate smooth trades. This gap requires decentralized exchanges with enough funds at their disposal to support a transparent and secure operation. For example, stabble, a DEX on Solana, has taken steps to augment the Automated Market Maker (AMM) model. It distinguishes itself by allowing liquidity providers to engage in internal and external arbitrage trading while addressing issues like impermanent loss and low returns for liquidity providers. 

DEXs like stabble highlight efforts to enhance user experience within the defi ecosystem. By integrating advancements like smart order execution and smart liquidity routing, these platforms don’t just attract liquidity providers but promote a trusted and secure trading environment. Such developments contribute to the maturation of defi, pushing the boundaries of what DEXs can achieve for users. 

While it will be a long time before traditional banking is replaced, defi’s emergence and growing use represent a shift in finance, promising greater autonomy and accessibility for a broader demographic. However, for DEXs to thrive, they must continue evolving, specifically through enhanced liquidity and transaction speeds to effectively compete with centralized exchanges.

Defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has started payments to rehabilitation creditors as part of its rehabilitation plan.

More than 10 years after its collapse, Mt Gox creditors are finally getting paid back.

According to a July 5 announcement, payments are being made in Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash via centralized crypto exchanges designated to handle the transactions.

However, rehabilitation creditors need to satisfy some prerequisites before receiving the payments. These include confirming the validity of their accounts and agreeing to the terms of the agreement from intermediary agencies handling the receipt of the funds.

Additionally, the Rehabilitation Trustee and designated cryptocurrency exchanges need to finish their discussions about how to handle the repayments. This ensures that both parties are aligned on the repayment process.

Several recipients have also confirmed the development on Reddit. One user confirmed receiving the exact amount that they were expecting to receive on the crypto exchange Bitbank.

“The BTC/BCC coins are already under my control,” the user wrote.

Another user shared an email received from Mt. Gox stating that their exchange had been credited via a Japan-based creditor. Mt. Gox Co., Ltd. was labeled as the Rehabilitation Debtor, and Nobuaki Kobayashi, Attorney-at-law, as the Rehabilitation Trustee.

“This transfer was made to [your exchange], which you designated as your Designated Cryptocurrency Exchange etc., on the MTGOX Online Rehabilitation Claim Filing System […] In accordance with the Rehabilitation Plan, the repayment took effect at the time the transfer was recorded on the blockchain.” the email stated.

According to some responses to the user’s post, only those who selected cryptocurrencies as a means of repayment at the time of filing their claims are receiving the repayments. 

At the time of writing, only BitBank and SBI, both Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges, had been confirmed by users as having received the repayments.

Mt. Gox was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges before filing for bankruptcy in 2014. The reason was a catastrophic security attack that led to the loss of around 650,000 BTC belonging to customers and about 100,000 of the exchange’s own. 

A compensation plan was approved by a court in 2021. The plan was supported by the majority of affected users.

This led to years of waiting before the exchange finally started paying out customers in December 2023.

The recent cryptocurrency repayments come as Bitcoin has dropped below the $55,000 mark for the first time since February. With Mt. Gox moving over 47,000 Bitcoin, the transfers have been flagged as one of the key reasons behind dwindling price pressure on the original cryptocurrency.