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Paradigm Invests $8.8M in DeFi’s Ribbon Finance

by Hallie Sam on
Paradigm Invests $8.8M in DeFi’s Ribbon Finance

The protocol automates crypto derivatives strategies for the lay DeFi trader.

Ribbon Finance, a crypto structured products protocol backed by the RBN token, has raised $8.8 million under a new partnership with Paradigm, the venture capital firm that launched a record $2.5 billion crypto fund last November.

Under the partnership, Ribbon Finance and Paradigm will work to build new risk products native to decentralized finance (DeFi) and continue to scale the protocol, including doubling down on the project’s multi-chain approach.

“[Ribbon] is a simple way for users to earn high yield on bitcoin, ether and USDC,” co-founder and CEO Julian Koh told CoinDesk in an interview. “We help users create exposure to expert, complicated financial strategies under the hood, but we make that experience really easy for users.”

In short, Ribbon Finance makes it easier for retail investors to benefit from the complicated world of crypto derivatives, Koh said.

Investors deposit wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) or ETH into a vault that automates the “covered call” options strategy, where the strike price is higher than the current asset price. Ribbon writes the calls on a weekly basis and collects the premium. Ribbon says investors can expect double-digit annual percentage yield (APY) from Theta Vault, according to its website.

Ribbon has $257.6 million in total value locked on the protocol, according to data from DeFi Llama.

“Structured products are one of the most important categories of DeFi,” Paradigm research partner and Chief Technology Officer Georgios Konstantopoulos said in a statement. “We were impressed by the execution of the Ribbon team and are excited to back Julian and (co-founder) Ken (Chan) to make Ribbon the market leader in their category

Looking forward

Koh said the focus over the next six months is expanding to additional blockchains. Ribbon Finance recently deployed on Avalanche and Solana and is focused on building its presence on those chains.

“We are just getting started,” said Koh. “The whole structured products industry in DeFi is less than a year old. So we have really just scratched the surface of the types of products that people can build.”

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Finance

Italian MFE’s finance chief: No plans to take over ProSieben at the moment

by Hallie Sam on
BERLIN, March 21 (Reuters) - Broadcaster MediaForEurope (MFE) (MFEA.MI), (MFEB.MI) has no plans to make a takeover bid for German competitor ProSiebenSat.1 (PSMGn.DE) at the moment, the Italian firm's finance chief told daily Handelsblatt. "Currently, we have no such plans. What will be in a year's time, we will see then," Marco Giordani was quoted as saying by Handelsblatt on Monday. MFE, formerly Mediaset, is controlled by the family of Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It announced last week that it already had a stake of more than 25% in ProSiebenSat.1. At more than 30%, the Italian company would have to make a mandatory offer to the remaining ProSieben shareholders according to German law. So far, MFE is not represented in ProSieben's supervisory board. Two seats are due to be reassigned at the group's shareholders meeting in May, according to Handelsblatt. Candidates are former RTL boss Bert Habets and Rolf Nonnenmacher, who has been on the committee since 2015, the paper said. Giordani said he would hope for a candidate that will be fully supported by MFE. Otherwise MFE could suggest rival candidates. "In any case, these would not be MFE representatives but independent managers with the right qualification," the finance chief said.

BERLIN, – Broadcaster MediaForEurope (MFE) (MFEA.MI), (MFEB.MI) has no plans to make a takeover bid for German competitor ProSiebenSat.1 (PSMGn.DE) at the moment, the Italian firm’s finance chief told daily Handelsblatt.

“Currently, we have no such plans. What will be in a year’s time, we will see then,” Marco Giordani was quoted as saying by Handelsblatt on Monday.

MFE, formerly Mediaset, is controlled by the family of Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It announced last week that it already had a stake of more than 25% in ProSiebenSat.1.

At more than 30%, the Italian company would have to make a mandatory offer to the remaining ProSieben shareholders according to German law.

So far, MFE is not represented in ProSieben’s supervisory board. Two seats are due to be reassigned at the group’s shareholders meeting in May, according to Handelsblatt. Candidates are former RTL boss Bert Habets and Rolf Nonnenmacher, who has been on the committee since 2015, the paper said.

Giordani said he would hope for a candidate that will be fully supported by MFE. Otherwise MFE could suggest rival candidates. “In any case, these would not be MFE representatives but independent managers with the right qualification,” the finance chief said.

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Finance

Afghanistan’s former finance minister is now Uber driver in Washington DC

by Hallie Sam on
Afghanistan’s former finance minister is now Uber driver in Washington DC

Washington Post rides with Khalid Payenda, who left for the US before the fall of Kabul

Days before Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last August, Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president, was “welcomed” to the United Arab Emirates. He was alleged to have taken with him $169m, from his country’s treasury.

Six months on, Khalid Payenda, once Ghani’s finance minister, is driving an Uber in Washington DC.

“If I complete 50 trips in the next two days, I receive a $95 bonus,” Payenda told the Washington Post, from behind the wheel of a Honda Accord.

The 40-year-old once oversaw a US-supported $6bn budget. The Post reported that in one night earlier this week, he made “a little over $150 for six hours’ work, not counting his commute – a mediocre night”.

The Post recorded Payenda telling one passenger his move from Kabul to Washington had been “quite an adjustment”.

He also said he was grateful for the opportunity to be able to support his family but, “Right now, I don’t have any place. I don’t belong here and I don’t belong there. It’s a very empty feeling.”

Afghanistan faces a humanitarian and economic crisis, assets frozen and cut off from international aid that would require recognition of the Taliban government which replaced the US-supported regime.

The Post described Payenda’s experience in late 2020, when his mother died of Covid-19 in an impoverished Kabul hospital. He became finance minister after that. The Post said he now wished he had not.

“I saw a lot of ugliness, and we failed,” he said. “I was part of the failure. It’s difficult when you look at the misery of the people and you feel responsible.”

Payenda told the Post he believed Afghans “didn’t have the collective will to reform, to be serious”. But he also said the US betrayed its commitment to democracy and human rights after making Afghanistan a centerpiece of post-9/11 policy.

Maybe there were good intentions initially but the United States probably didn’t mean this,” Payenda said.

Payenda resigned as finance minister a week before the Taliban seized Kabul, as his relationship with Ghani deteriorated. Fearing the president would have him arrested, he left for the US, where he joined his family.

“We had 20 years and the whole world’s support to build a system that would work for the people,” Payenda said in a text message to a World Bank official in Kabul on the day the capital fell, quoted by the Post.

“All we built was a house of cards that came down crashing this fast. A house of cards built on the foundation of corruption.”

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Finance

Academics for All: Gardner explores career in business, finance

by Hallie Sam on
Academics for All: Gardner explores career in business, finance

SHERIDAN — “At the end of the day it is not about what you accomplished, it is about who you have lifted up, who you have made better. It is about what you have given back,” Denzel Washington once said. This is Libby Gardner’s mantra, what she lives by. Gardner, a senior at Sheridan High School, is this week’s Summit Award winner.

She is the daughter of Misty and Josh Gardner, and she has three sisters: older sister Ellie and younger sisters, Shelbi and Kendall. Libby Gardner describes her family as having a “close bond” and she looks up to her mother most. She describes her mother as strong and kind.

“My mom is always taking time to spend one-on-one time with each of us,” Gardner said. “She is the most genuine person I know.”

Gardner is an excellent student with a 4.0 GPA and a resume boasting many advanced courses, including two Advanced Placement, four dual enrollment and three concurrent enrollment classes.

“Libby is an outstanding young woman who brings a positive outlook, desire to learn and a sense of humor that is contagious to those around her,” said SHS math instructor Elizabeth Swager, one of Gardner’s favorite teachers. “Her natural intelligence and strong work ethic are key to her success in school as well as athletics.

“While confident in her abilities, Libby is humble, gracious, compassionate and always willing to help others,” Swager continued. “She is intrinsically motivated to work to her fullest potential in academics, striving for excellence. Libby encourages and celebrates her teammates successes as if they were her own, which makes her a role model and leader among her peers. It was truly a pleasure to have her in class for two years as well as to watch her compete.”

These words are a perfect representation of Gardner and her impact on the Sheridan High School community. Her all-time favorite subject is math; she likes the black and white sensibility of it and has named Swager as an outstanding educator.

“Mrs. Swager is always available and gets to know her students personally,” Gardner said.

Beyond math, Gardner is intrigued by psychology. She thoroughly enjoyed learning about how the brain works and how it relates to each of us.

Gardner has been a three-sport athlete ­— participating in golf, basketball and soccer — for four years. Her favorite sport is golf.

“Golf can be played for fun or competitively,” Gardner explained. “When playing, it lets your mind be free to just think about golf and the people you are with.”

Gardner is a strong leader on each of her teams. On the soccer team she learned how to be there for her teammates through the importance of the goalie position. In fact, her golf teammates call her their “team mom.”

Gardner is a member of National Honor Society, has participated in Student Council each year and currently serves as the senior class secretary. In addition, she has been employed by the YMCA as a camp counselor. 

Last fall, Gardner was fortunate to have an internship at Kennon, focusing on strategical finance management. She experienced both finance and managing outside contracts, especially with the government. This experience solidified her desire to study business, specifically finance in college. 

Gardner has committed to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. She said she is excited to experience another state that is not too far from home.

On a lighter note, her favorite movie is “Cars,” but she loves all Disney films, mostly because she watches them with her younger sister, who is in fifth grade. 

Gardner is a great representation of the Summit Award, a well-deserved honor. Good luck to Gardner in her future endeavors.

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Finance

NC auditor’s report on Spring Lake: Evidence of financial wrongdoing, including embezzlement

by Hallie Sam on
NC auditor's report on Spring Lake: Evidence of financial wrongdoing, including embezzlement

An investigation by the state auditor’s office found evidence of financial wrongdoing in Spring Lake — including the embezzlement of more than $430,000 — that is being turned over to the FBI and the State Bureau of Investigation to determine if criminal charges should be filed.

The 56-page investigation report, which was released Thursday, found that the town’s former accounting technician, who also served as Spring Lake’s finance director for more than a year, used at least $430,112 of the town’s money for personal use.

The report does not name the technician, but says in the footnotes that she served as the town’s finance director from March 2020 to April 2021 and as interim finance director from March 2020 to September 2020. Minutes of the town Board of Aldermen’s meetings show Gay Tucker serving as finance director in February 2021 and being appointed interim finance director in March 2020.

Tucker could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

The report by State Auditor Beth Wood’s office also found that Spring Lake employees spent more than $100,000 of the town’s money on questionable credit card purchases and that at least $36,400 collected by the town was not deposited into Spring Lake’s bank account.

The town also erroneously overpaid its former economic development director $9,900 for his monthly cellphone stipend, according to the report.

The report also found that Spring Lake officials did not safeguard town vehicles and the town’s Board of Aldermen did not keep minutes of some closed meetings in 2019 and 2020.

Spring Lake Mayor Kia Anthony did not return a voicemail or text message on Thursday. The town’s website announced an emergency meeting for Thursday morning, but video of the meeting is not posted on the town’s YouTube channel.

The report recommends that the board consider taking legal action against the former accounting technician.

The report accuses the technician of writing 72 checks for her personal use.

The technician wrote 32 checks for a total of more than $16,000 that were payable to Bragg Mutual Federal Credit Union and deposited into her personal bank account there. The report says 27 checks totaling more than $151,000 were made out as payable to the technician, with 24 deposited into her personal account and one deposited into her husband’s account at the credit union. Thirteen checks for a total of more than $113,000 were made payable to Heritage Place Senior Living and used to pay monthly resident bills of the technician’s husband, the report says.

The report says that from January 2019 to December 2020, Spring Lake employees used town credit cards to make more than 600 questionable purchases totaling $102,877. It said 462 purchases totaling $83,069 lacked an itemized receipt and adequate documentation to support a valid town purpose, while 140 purchases totaling $19,808 had an itemized receipt but lacked adequate documentation to support a valid town purpose.

Spring Lake has faced similar issues involving the use of town credit cards. The auditor’s office released an investigative report in June 2016 that said Spring Lake employees and three members of the board spent more than $122,000 on 1,448 credit card purchases over five years that appeared to be unrelated to town business.

The SBI and the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office determined in that case that further criminal investigation or prosecution was not warranted.

The report released Thursday also found that at least $33,283 in cash payments that were collected by Spring Lake’s Revenue Department was not deposited into the town’s bank account. Also, more than $3,100 in cash payments collected by the Recreation Department were not deposited into the town’s bank account.

The overpayment of $9,900 to the town’s former economic development director happened when a payroll technician entered $10,000 instead of $100 for his cellphone reimbursement, according to the report. The director did not inform the town and said he didn’t notice the overpayment because he was expecting a tax return, the report said.

The failure to safeguard town vehicles increased the risk of theft and misuse, according to the report. It occurred because the town did not designate anyone to maintain an inventory of vehicles or monitor their use, it said.

The report found that the board did not maintain minutes for nine closed sessions in 2019 and six closed meetings in 2020. The written minutes for the 2019 board meetings have question marks where the information from closed sessions should be, while the 2020 minutes include no information about the closed sessions, it said.

“As a result of the missing and incomplete minutes of closed session Board meetings, there is no official record of decisions made on important issues such as personnel, economic development projects, acquisition of property, investigations of alleged criminal misconduct, public safety matters, etc.,” the report said.

The report comes about five months after the state Local Government Commission assumed control of Spring Lake’s finances because state officials became concerned about the town’s ability to balance its budget and live within its means.

State officials had been trying to figure out how the town was going to make payments on its debt. The takeover happened after the commission learned that the town had a $1 million loan that had not been reported to state officials.

The commission had warned Spring Lake officials about its finances twice in the months leading up to the commission’s decision to take control. Wood, who serves as a member of the commission, had recommended the move and said her office had launched an investigation to look for missing money.

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