Blockchain to solve SME credit gap, Coinbase slashes 950 jobs, and other Web3 news

Blockchain to solve the SME credit gap

When entrepreneurs Nishant Nigam and Surabhi C came across blockchain tech, they realised it could potentially solve the liquidity crunch and lack of transparency in SME markets.

The duo launched Dygnify, which is building credit infrastructure for capital to flow from crypto and digital asset investors to small business lenders (and consequently, to SMEs).

There are very few investment avenues that protect crypto investors from high volatility. On the other hand, SME lending is far less volatile but has trouble when it comes to raising liquidity.

Dygnify’s solution aims to solve both.

Coinbase cuts 950 jobs

This week, leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced it is laying off 20% of its workforce, cutting 950 jobs primarily from projects where it has "a lower probability of success". 

The move will reportedly cut Coinbase's operating expenses by 25%. 

In a blog post, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote that as the firm examined its 2023 scenarios, it became clear that it would need to reduce expenses to increase its chances of doing well in every scenario.

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He also said that Coinbase is "well-capitalised" and that recent events such as FTX's collapse only validate Coinbase's strategy.

CoinSwitch publishes $131M balance in Proof of Reserves

Indian crypto trading platform CoinSwitch published a proof of reserves (PoR) report that showed the exchange holds total crypto assets worth $131.09 million at the time of writing.

The Andreesen Horowitz (a16z)-backed firm claimed 85% of its crypto assets (worth $112.99 million) are held on custodial wallets while 15% (worth $18.1 million) are held on exchanges such as CoinDCX, WazirX, Binance, and CoinSwitchX. 

In its report, the crypto platform also explained it holds more crypto assets than its users, adding that the data is from an independent report of its holdings and balances from November 2022.

WazirX files PoR report showing $258M balance

Indian crypto exchange WazirX also published its Proof of Reserves (PoR) making its wallet addresses, list of exchanges, and independent PoR report public. 

As per its PoR report, WazirX holds $285.08 million worth of crypto assets, out of which $258.68 million is held on exchanges, while the rest is held on decentralised protocols.

According to the information shared by the company, the top five crypto assets held by WazirX are Shiba Inu (SHIB) at 19.13%, Ethereum (ETH) at 9.38%, Bitcoin (BTC) at 8.29%, Dogecoin (DOGE) at 8.19% and Polygon (MATIC) at 4.97%.