Haycen and the digitalization of trade finance thanks to Northern Trust
Operating between the United Kingdom and Europe, Haycen specializes in digital payment systems for trade finance, offering solutions based on stablecoin primarily aimed at non-bank credit institutions. This sector plays a crucial role in global commerce but is still heavily reliant on manual workflows, increasing costs and complexity for the companies involved.
One of the main obstacles in trade finance concerns precisely the access to financing, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The strict regulations and traditional procedures make access to capital complex, limiting the growth of commercial activities. In this context, stablecoins emerge as an effective solution to simplify and make financing in the sector more accessible.
Thanks to its infrastructure based on criptovalute, Haycen guarantees a greater availability of US dollars through stablecoin, offering immediate settlement times and reducing the typical friction in international transfers. This allows commercial operators to manage transactions more smoothly, eliminating the delays and high costs of traditional banking systems.
The founder and CEO of Haycen, Luke Sully, emphasized the importance of stablecoins in international trade. According to Sully, the global flow of goods and services depends on unobstructed liquidity. However, recent regulatory developments have forced banks to scale back their operations in trade finance. This has created a void in the market, offering opportunities for non-bank operators seeking new ways to manage financial flows with an annual value of 2 trillion dollars, 95% of which are denominated in USD.
For these participants, the use of stablecoins not only improves financial returns but also ensures instant and free settlements globally, making transactions more efficient and transparent.
The criticisms and the comparison with FTX
The intervention, although justified according to the Hyperliquid team, has raised strong criticisms in the crypto community, sparking a heated debate on transparency and the decentralization of the protocol.
Among the most critical voices, stands out that of Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, one of the main centralized exchanges in the sector. In a tweet that went viral, Chen compared what happened on Hyperliquid to the collapse of FTX, highlighting how, even in environments that define themselves as decentralized, decision-making power is sometimes concentrated in a few hands.
According to Chen, the unilateral delisting action without a clear process of public consensus reflects a governance that is still immature and potentially dangerous, just like in the FTX case, where centralized decisions led to disaster.
The criticism touches on a key point: how truly decentralized is a DeFi platform if crucial decisions can be made by a small number of validators without notice?
Public pressure has pushed Hyperliquid to respond with concrete actions. A new risk management framework has indeed been introduced, with the aim of increasing transparency and strengthening decentralization.
• On-chain voting system for delistings: every decision will be made directly on the blockchain, avoiding off-chain coordination. If a quorum of stake among validators is reached, the delisting action will be executed automatically through the HyperCore engine.
• Public announcement of voting intentions: in the upcoming updates, validators will be required to communicate their decisions in advance, allowing the community to prepare and express opinions.
On March 29, a test was conducted on the delisting of MYRO to demonstrate the functionality of the new system. Validators 2, 3, 4, and 5 cast their votes, while validator 1 chose to abstain, awaiting the completion of the stake delegation program.
According to Deaton, the SEC wishes to avoid a ruling on this appeal, as it could limit the jurisdiction of the commission and influence other ongoing disputes.
This gives Ripple an important negotiating leverage to review the amount of the fine or obtain more favorable conditions.
Despite the legal victory, Ripple still finds itself facing an injunction issued by Judge Analisa Torres. This decision prevents the company from selling XRP to institutional investors, to avoid potential violations of securities laws.
Deaton emphasizes that the main difficulty for Ripple now is overcoming this restriction and being able to provide XRP directly to U.S. banks. This obstacle could become a crucial point in the upcoming developments of the legal case.
An important aspect, according to Deaton, is that Ripple has never left the United States despite the lawsuit filed by the SEC.
The CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, might emphasize the American character of the company in an attempt to strengthen the company’s position.
“We have faced legal action from the United States government and the Biden administration, but we are a company born in America and we have never left it,” Garlinghouse reportedly said.
This element could play a key role in future negotiations with the regulatory authorities.
Deaton recalls the moment when the SEC initiated the case against Ripple, describing it as an attack on the cryptocurrency sector. In his view, it was not just an isolated issue against Ripple, but a broader signal directed at the entire crypto ecosystem.
The lawyer also referred to the regulatory crackdown promoted by figures such as Elizabeth Warren and Gary Gensler, considering it to be a broader strategy by the traditional financial industry to curb the development of cryptocurrencies.
The government has decided that the new regulations will apply to the main operators of digital platforms, including exchange, servizi di custodia e broker di criptovalute. Every platform that manages digital assets will need to obtain an Australian Financial Services Licence (Australian Financial Services Licence, AFSL), while small businesses and those not directly involved in financial services will be exempt from this obligation.
The objective is to encourage innovation while ensuring that Australians can use and invest in cryptocurrencies safely. The reform will allow for the adoption of user protection measures, preventing fraudulent behavior and improving transparency in the sector.
The government has announced that a public consultation will be initiated before the final adoption of the regulatory framework. The draft law will be presented during the year to gather opinions from stakeholders and industry experts.
The new regulatory plan is not limited to the regulation of exchanges, but aims to modernize the entire Australian financial system. Among the main areas of interest are:
In this regard, the Ministry of the Treasury is collaborating with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to assess the feasibility of an Australian CBDC. Last September, a joint report between the central bank and the Ministry of the Treasury highlighted the potential of CBDCs in strengthening domestic financial markets.
The next steps involve tests and experiments with tokenized digital currencies, stablecoin, and other innovations in the sector. The goal is to understand the operational and regulatory impacts of these instruments before a potential large-scale adoption.
In parallel with the investigations into foreign exchanges, South Korean regulators are addressing suspicions of financial misconduct also among the local exchanges.
On March 20, prosecutors searched the Bithumb headquarters following allegations of embezzlement against the former CEO, Kim Dae-sik.
Kim is suspected of having used company funds to purchase an apartment, in violation of financial regulations.
However, the company responded by stating that the former CEO had already arranged to reimburse the funds through a loan, rejecting the allegations of misconduct.
Besides the Bithumb case, rumors about illicit practices related to the listing of new digital assets have emerged.
According to anonymous sources cited by Wu Blockchain, some projects have allegedly paid million-dollar fees to intermediaries to be listed on exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb.
In the face of these accusations, Upbit has requested transparency, inviting the source of the accusations to reveal the names of the projects involved.
The absence of concrete details still makes the developments of this matter uncertain, but the reported favoritism practices in the listing could compromise the credibility of the crypto sector in South Korea.
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