Citrea is the first to expand Bitcoin from a passive store of value to an active, programmable asset by introducing a secondary layer solution using zero-knowledge technology.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, Oct. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Citrea , the first solution to make it possible to build anything on Bitcoin, today announced its $14M Series A funding round, led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, with participation from Erik Voorhees, Balaji Srinivasan, Jameson Lopp, Maven11, and other prominent angel and venture investors. Citrea has also launched its exclusive developer program, ‘Citrea Origins ‘, bringing together a select group of developers to build applications on Citrea—the only platform for expanding Bitcoin’s utility.

Bitcoin’s global adoption has solidified its role as “digital gold”, but its broader financial potential has remained untapped due to the lack of a scalability solution that maintains its core principles. This gap has forced users to either keep Bitcoin as a passive store of value or rely on custodians for broader use. This adoption undermines Bitcoin’s role in decentralized finance. Without a proper scalability solution, Bitcoin risks losing its relevance in decentralized finance and becoming obsolete as a network.

Citrea is the first Bitcoin scalability solution to expand Bitcoin’s utility without compromising its decentralization or security. Citrea enhances the capabilities of Bitcoin blockspace with zero-knowledge technology and enables the Bitcoin network to support diverse on-chain applications and platforms. By eliminating the need for intermediaries, Citrea allows users to trustlessly buy, leverage, lend, borrow, and use BTC—transforming Bitcoin from a passive store of value into an active financial tool.

“Citrea is a major milestone in the timeline of Bitcoin’s evolution and the first investment we’ve made in the Bitcoin ecosystem,” said Joey Krug , Partner at Founders Fund. “With the strongest team and best technical design we’ve seen in the Bitcoin L2 space, Citrea’s 0→1 technology enables Ethereum-like rollups for smart contracts on Bitcoin in a trust-minimized way.”

“For the past 18 months, we’ve been building the infrastructure Bitcoin needs to move beyond just a store of value and step into a new era of Bitcoin-backed decentralized finance,” said Orkun Kilic , co-founder and CEO of Chainway Labs. “Citrea combines breakthroughs in cryptography with rigorous engineering to make this vision a reality. Bitcoin not only enables a borderless economy but also serves as the foundation for a censorship-resistant monetary layer. Our mission is to lay the foundation and ecosystem required to drive global hyperbitcoinization.”

About Citrea

Citrea is the first rollup that increases BTC’s utility and activates Bitcoin blockspace for a new decentralized financial ecosystem. Citrea’s vision is to build scalable infrastructure that advances Bitcoin into its next phase: the foundation for the world’s finance.

Apply for the developer program ‘Citrea Origins ‘.

For more information, please visit: Citrea website   | Citrea X Account

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About Chainway Labs

Chainway Labs, the company building Citrea, was co-founded by four young computer scientists and entrepreneurs with a focus on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and zero-knowledge technology.

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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a consultation on the impact of the G20 regulatory reforms on securitization. Here, John McGrath and Aaron Scott, partners at global law firm Dechert, summarize its findings.

Key Takeaways

• Funds have overtaken banks as the largest issuers of securitizations in the U.S. and Europe.
• The Financial Stability Board will concentrate on funds in its securitization regulatory review.
• CLO risk retention and leveraged loan criteria are identified as areas of risk.
• Specific areas for reform in EU securitization rules have been highlighted.

LONDON, Oct. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a consultation report on the impact of the G20 regulatory reforms on securitization. ¹ The report finds that these reforms have shifted securitization issuance from banks to non-bank financial intermediaries (NBFIs) in Australia, Europe, and the U.S. since 2011.

For the FSB, the growing role of NBFIs in securitization is a double-edged sword. Transferring risk outside the banking sector could diversify and strengthen the financing ecosystem if managed prudently. However, the FSB questions whether NBFIs can handle securitization risks given their funding structures and ability to withstand losses during stress events. It acknowledges that the diverse nature of these entities and their regulatory and funding frameworks suggests there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The FSB plans to continue its work on NBFI resilience and apply these principles to the securitization sector.²

Likely impact on CLO market of an increased focus on funds

The FSB’s analysis of the CLO market shows the likely impact of an increased focus on funds.

First, NBFIs are seen as responsible for increased complexity and opacity in both the leveraged loan and CLO markets. In particular, the FSB finds that weaker underwriting standards in the leveraged loan market may lead to higher defaults on loans held by CLOs, which will ultimately lead to lower CLO recovery rates. To address this, the FSB encourages the adoption of the recently published IOSCO good practices for leveraged loans and CLOs.³ 

Second, CLO managers’ preference for “light balance sheets” has led to the creation of risk retention vehicles to attract third-party investors. The FSB’s main concerns are that this practice may:

1. Not fully align with the goals of risk retention regulation, as the vehicle often isn’t part of the CLO manager’s corporate group, thereby shifting risk to parties not originally envisioned.
2. Complicate authorities’ efforts to determine who is exposed to risk retention-related losses.
3. Result in leveraged risk retention vehicles subject to high asset volatility, especially where the retained risk consists of first-loss tranches.
4. Lead to concentration risk given the niche nature of these vehicles.

The FSB does not propose any specific remedy for this issue. In this context, it is noteworthy that the FSB finds no material adverse effects from the lack of retention in U.S. open-market CLOs. It may be that the larger concerns are opacity and concentration risk.

Critique of regulatory regime for securitization in Europe

Another focus of the report is the regulatory regime for securitization in Europe. In Europe, some FSB stakeholders attribute a perceived decline in issuance to the implementation of the securitization regulatory regime, which has increased costs for issuers and investors. Although the FSB says there is no empirical evidence to support this claim, it highlights several issues with the European regulatory regime:

1. Burdensome due diligence and disclosure requirements.
2. Overly restrictive Simple, Transparent and Standardized (“STS”) securitization regime.
3. Adverse treatment of securitizations under the capital framework for insurers.
4. Bank capital calibration for securitization exposures, which is viewed as overly prudent and exhibiting too high a degree of non-neutrality.

Fund industry organizations such as AIMA have been vocal lobbyists for changes to the EU disclosure regime and for an expansion of the STS label to CLOs. It may be that with the increased focus on funds there is now an opportunity to reset these parts of the framework.

Next steps

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The FSB plans to publish its final report by the end of the year. Proposals adopted following the consultation will likely shape the next round of G20 securitization reform.

Dechert & Private Credit

Dechert has advised private credit clients for over 30 years, helping them to innovate and thrive as the industry has grown into a complex and diverse US$1.7 trillion market. We create value on the full spectrum of strategies and sub-strategies, including asset-based, distressed debt, permanent capital, direct lending, subordinated debt, specialty financing, special situations and venture debt. With more than 80% of Private Debt Investor’s top 100 private credit firms as clients, we offer market-leading fund formation, financing, regulatory, M&A and tax expertise across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Footnotes

1. See “Evaluation of the Effects of the G20 Financial Regulatory Reforms on Securitisation: Consultation report“. The current regulatory approach to securitization is largely based on the G20 reform agenda set by, among others, the FSB, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).
2. See “Enhancing the Resilience of Non-Bank Financial Intermediation: Progress report“. 
3. See “Leveraged Loans and CLOs Good Practices for Consideration“. 

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The Mint earns coveted industry recognition for the world’s first double-sided colour circulation coin for the Central Bank of the Bahamas and its environmentally responsible bronze plating process

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Royal Canadian Mint is delighted to have won two prestigious Excellence in Currency awards at the International Association of Currency Affairs’ (IACA) 2024 Coin Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. The Mint was first recognized alongside the Central Bank of The Bahamas with the Best New Commemorative or Test Circulating Coin award for a world-first circulation coin featuring high-resolution colour on both the obverse and reverse of a coin marking the central bank’s 50^th anniversary. As well, the Mint’s new, environmentally responsible process for plating bronze-coloured circulation coins earned the Best new coin product, process or manufacturing innovation award.

“The Royal Canadian Mint is dedicated to advancing the art and science of coin manufacturing, not just for Canada and Canadians, but also for the benefit of the global currency industry,” said Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. “To be recognized in two award categories by IACA is a tremendous peer endorsement of our pursuit of innovation, which delivers great value for circulation coin users around the world and helps us find more caring and sustainable ways to produce our industry-leading products.”

The 2024-dated 25-cent circulation coin celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the Central Bank of The Bahamas. It was produced in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mint, that applied its proprietary colour pad-printing technology to both sides of this ground-breaking coin.  The obverse features the Coat of Arms of The Bahamas together with the words “Commonwealth of The Bahamas” which forms a crown around the Coat of Arms. Elements of the Coat of Arms are painted blue, white, pink, and green, highlighting the blue marlin, flamingo, and conch shell. On the reverse is a rendering of a native sloop, infused with red, white, and brown paint, in sea painted blue, near an island, accompanied by the inscriptions “THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE BAHAMAS“, “50th ANNIVERSARY 1974-2024”. In addition to entering general circulation on June 3, 2024, this coin was also made available to collectors in custom packaging.

The Mint also developed and successfully scaled up a new electroplating process that is transforming the manufacturing of bronze plated circulation products by eliminating the use of cyanide required in traditional plating as well as harsh chemicals needed to treat waste water to municipal standards, and improving employee health and safety. The Mint’s new chemistry safely and reliably produces plated materials for both bronze mono-colour coins, as well as bi- or tri-metallic coins typically used for higher denominations.

The Excellence in Currency Awards were introduced by IACA in 2007 to promote and recognise excellence in currency issue, production, processing, management and distribution. The Mint is proud to have been recognized through several previous awards, most recently:

• The Best New Circulating Coin or Coin Series for its bi-metallic $2 circulation coin featuring a world-first black nickel-plated outer ring issued in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II (2023);
• The Best New Commemorative or Test Circulating Coin for the Barbados $1 Glow-in-the-Dark Flying Fish circulation coin (2022);
• The Best Currency Initiative Implemented in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic (Other Organization) special award for the Recognition Medal honouring Canada’s front-line workers and community difference makers (2021);
• Our tri-metal token technology, under the Best new coin product, feature or distribution innovation category (2019)
• our Canada 150 commemorative circulation coin program in the Best New Communications Program category (2017); and
• joint recognition with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for New Zealand’s 50-cent Anzac 100^th anniversary coloured circulation coin, in the Best New Commemorative or Test Circulating Coin category (2015).

Images of the Central Bank of the Bahamas circulation coin can be found here.

About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada’s circulation coins. The Mint is one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, producing award-winning collector coins, market-leading bullion products, as well as Canada’s prestigious military and civilian honours. As an established London and COMEX Good Delivery refiner, the Mint also offers a full spectrum of best-in-class gold and silver refining services. As an organization that strives to take better care of the environment, to cultivate safe and inclusive workplaces and to make a positive impact on the communities where it operates, the Mint integrates environmental, social and governance practices in every aspect of its operations. 

For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca. Follow the Mint on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

About IACA
Working hand in hand with the public and private sector, IACA’s goal is to provide an international exchange for consultation and collaboration on matters of interest to stakeholders in the cash payments cycle and to give back to the industry through the benefits provided from our various project work, programs and information resources. Member companies include all stakeholders in the cash payments cycle, including: central banks; currency issuing authorities; ministries of finance; state and commerical printworks; state and commercial mints; cash management companies; currency industry suppliers and cash handling suppliers.

For more information, please contact:
Alex Reeves
Senior Manager, Public Affairs
(613) 884-6370
[email protected]

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