DeFi Llama: the total value locked in DeFi has dropped by 12%+ in the past day, after hovering around $50B to $60B since June 2022 and $180B+ in December 2021 (Muyao Shen/Bloomberg)

Xinyi Luo / CoinDesk:
Alameda-backed DeFi projects Maps.me, a maps app for travelers, and “DeFi Prime Brokerage protocol” Oxygen say 95%+ of their native tokens are locked up at FTX  —  Alameda Research led funding rounds into both companies in 2021.  —  Maps.me and Oxygen, two decentralized finance …

Binance Blog:
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao says Binance is not a Chinese company and rejects suggestions of it being secretly run by a Chinese national, Guangying Chen  —  One of the many strengths that our employees at Binance must possess is thick skin.  After all, this industry is the subject of a lot …

Sam Reynolds / CoinDesk:
Binance announces a recovery fund to help “otherwise strong” projects facing a liquidity crisis; Justin Sun says Tron, Huobi, and Poloniex will support Binance  —  Tron founder Justin Sun said that Tron, Huobi Global and Poloniex will support Binance in its initiative.

Brandy Betz / CoinDesk:
Exponential, a DeFi investment discovery and risk assessment service, raised a $14M seed led by Paradigm, with Haun Ventures, FTX’s VC arm, others participating  —  The tool helps users assess risks in decentralized finance and compare investments.  —  Exponential, a decentralized-finance …

Eva Szalay / Bloomberg:
As typical crypto lending rates fall below US Treasury yields, DeFiLlama data shows DeFi platforms’ total value locked is $60B, down from $182B in Dec. 2021  —  Cryptocurrencies are facing a new threat: the lure of Treasuries offering a similar payout for a whole lot less risk.

Bloomberg:
Sources: Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao met with investors in Abu Dhabi last week to raise money for a crypto industry recovery fund  —  Binance Chief Executive Officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and several deputies met with investors in Abu Dhabi last week in an effort to raise cash …