Prime Core Faces $8M Loss Amid TerraUSD’s Collapse

Prime Core Technologies, the parent entity of crypto custodian Prime Trust, disclosed a financial setback of $8 million, largely attributed to investments in the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (USTC). The announcement, stemming from an August 24 filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, unveiled that these losses were partitioned into $6 million from client funds and $2 million from treasury coffers.

These financial difficulties come in the wake of TerraUSD’s nosedive in May 2022, an event that many market analysts pinpoint as a significant catalyst for the widespread cryptocurrency market downturn last year. Renowned firms, including FTX, Three Arrows, BlockFi, and Voyager Digital, were not spared from the market turbulence, with many either shuttering their operations or initiating bankruptcy filings.

Prime Core Technologies’ decision to channel investments into TerraUSD proved costly, exacerbating its pre-existing monetary challenges. On 15 August 2023, the company officially entered bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S., citing liabilities hovering between $100 million to $500 million and a creditor count ranging from 25,000 to 50,000. This move was further precipitated by a Nevada court’s intervention, which mandated the appointment of a receiver for Prime Trust to mitigate potential threats to users and the nascent cryptocurrency sector.

Additional records also highlight the company’s aggressive spending patterns in the latter part of 2022. Specifically, October and November reported steep net losses of $7.4 million and $8.4 million, in that order. The precise implications of these outflows are still being examined, but the interplay between the company’s financial choices and market variances undeniably influenced its present financial state.

Furthermore, Prime Trust’s recent filings brought to light its acquisition of Ethereum (ETH) assets, valued at approximately $76.4 million. The strategic intent and outcomes of this purchase are yet to be fully comprehended.

The unfolding scenario underscores the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency realm and the inherent risks businesses face when navigating this digital frontier. As Prime Core Technologies grapples with its financial challenges, the broader industry watches keenly, hoping to glean lessons for future endeavors.

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Prime Trust Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Prime Trust, LLC, has found itself at the centre of a complicated financial and legal scenario. On August 14, 2023, the business and a few of its affiliates voluntarily petitioned the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The filing is the result of a sequence of occurrences that started in early June 2023, when rumours about Prime Trust’s bankruptcy started to spread. Nevada’s Department of Business and Industry issued a stop and desist order on June 21 due to the company’s “critically deficient” financial state and unable to honour client withdrawals, which exacerbated the problem.

When BitGo, a digital asset custodian, stated on June 22 that it was terminating its takeover of the firm, Prime Trust’s problems only became worse. Banq, the payments division of Prime Trust, filed for bankruptcy in the US a few days before to this ruling, reporting $17.72 million in assets and $5.4 million in liabilities.

The petition from the Financial Institutions Division of the state was approved on July 14 by the Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada, putting Prime Trust under receivership. The court-appointed receiver was given the responsibility of monitoring the day-to-day operations of the corporation, and a hearing has been set for the 22nd of this month to assess whether or not this decision will be permanent.

The Chapter 11 application by Prime Trust is a part of a larger plan to assess all strategic options, including perhaps selling the business’s assets and operations as a continuing concern. The business is certain that this procedure will provide a clear and value-maximizing route for the gain of its stakeholders and clientele.

The current Prime Trust incident serves as a stark reminder of the complex difficulties encountered by businesses engaged in the quickly developing rypto custody sector. Additionally, it emphasises the significance of regulatory compliance and possible hazards related to the developing bitcoin industry.

The restructuring website for Prime Trust or PACER both provide further information about the court-supervised processes. The issue is still in flux, and how the legal processes turn out will probably have a big impact on Prime Trust’s customers, stakeholders, and the larger digital asset market.

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TrueUSD’s TUSD Circulating Supply Surpasses $3 Billion Despite Prime Trust’s Challenges

In June 2023, TrueUSD (TUSD) experienced significant growth and adoption across multiple blockchain ecosystems. With the circulating supply reaching 3,059,838,623 TUSD, backed by dollar reserves of over $3 billion, the stablecoin is gaining more recognition in the crypto markets.

TUSD showed a broad spread across various networks with TRON taking the lead with 2,297,017,674 TUSD, Ethereum trailing behind at 729,591,343 TUSD, and BNB Smart Chain (Native) hosting 30,097,865 TUSD. Avalanche, BNB Beacon Chain, Fantom, Polygon, and several other networks also supported a sizeable amount of TUSD.

TrueUSD’s growing adoption was further evidenced by its integration into different platforms and protocols throughout the month. The Web3 shopping platform, UQUID, adopted TUSD as a payment option on June 5th, providing users with a new method to shop. TUSD was also incorporated into the Megaton Finance on the TON network, broadening its presence in the financial sector.

Binance, the world-renowned crypto exchange, played a significant role in promoting TUSD adoption during June. It initiated a TUSD contract swap on the BNB Smart Chain, and upon its successful completion, launched the 34th phase of new token mining, supporting TUSD mining. Binance’s Auto-Invest platform added TUSD as a payment option, and it supported the swapping of the new native TUSD on the BSC network for TUSDOLD, offering users a seamless conversion process.

Venus recognized the rising importance of TUSD by launching the VIP-129 proposal to support the new native TUSD, and following its approval, the market for the token went live. Additionally, Pancake V3 introduced the TUSD Syrup Pool and Farms, providing users with more opportunities to earn rewards.

TrueUSD’s reach extended to Kraken, another major crypto exchange, which enabled deposits and withdrawals of TUSD on the TRON network by the end of June. Binance further cemented TUSD’s position by launching a zero maker fee promotion for all existing TUSD spot and margin trading pairs and added BCH/TUSD and CFX/TUSD trading pairs to its platform.

Alongside these product developments, TrueUSD made strides in community engagement through various campaigns. Binance C2C and Binance Earn launched time-limited campaigns, offering new users a chance to win up to 175 TUSD. The UquidParty online campaign and PancakeSwap’s TUSDQuiz on Telegram created interactive opportunities for participants to win a share of TUSD prizes.

It’s worth pointing out that, despite TrueUSD’s claim to have launched as the “first USD stablecoin operated by a regulated operator,” it might face certain challenges. TrueUSD’s technology partner, Prime Trust, has been grappling with serious issues. Rumors of insolvency swirled around Prime Trust in early June. This situation escalated on June 22 when the Department of Business and Industry in Nevada issued a cease and desist order against the company. Consequently, Prime Trust abruptly put a stop to all fiat and cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals.

Nevertheless, TrueUSD denied any impact from the Prime Trust situation. In a recent tweet, the company asserted, ‘Prime Trust has suspended all deposits of fiat and digital assets. However, #TrueUSD (#TUSD) is not affected by this development. We don’t have any exposure to Prime Trust and maintain multiple USD rails for minting and redemption. Rest assured, all your funds with TUSD remain secure.’

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TrueUSD (TUSD) Strives to Resume Minting with Prime Trust

In recent updates, the TrueUSD (TUSD) team has announced that they are actively engaged in efforts to resume TUSD minting on Prime Trust. This announcement was made following an unexpected pause in TUSD minting via Prime Trust, an event that took place on June 10.

Displaying their commitment to a seamless user experience, the TUSD team stated on June 13, “We are diligently working towards resuming TUSD minting on Prime Trust. We understand the importance of providing a seamless experience for our users.”

It is important to note that the disruption with Prime Trust has not impacted TUSD minting and redemption services with other banking partnerships. These services continue to operate as per usual, as was clarified by the team in a tweet from June 10.

“TUSD minting and redemption services remain unaffected and will continue to operate as usual,” the TUSD team announced, “We want to assure you that our partnerships with other banking institutions remain intact, allowing for seamless transactions.”

Throughout these developments, the TUSD team has shown a clear commitment to transparency, regularly updating their user base and expressing appreciation for their patience and support. The team has further promised to provide prompt updates as the situation evolves.

“We appreciate the patience and support of our community during this process and will provide updates as soon as new developments occur. Thank you for your trust in TUSD,” they shared on June 13.

Though the temporary pause with Prime Trust operations has introduced some inconvenience, the proactive measures taken by the TUSD team to address and rectify the situation demonstrate their dedication to their users. 

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Prime Trust Pulls $100m in Series B to Float New Products

Cryptocurrency infrastructure service provider, Prime Trust LLC has raised $107 million in Series B funding as it seeks to deepen ties with its clients with its proposed new products. 

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While being backed by its old investors, new backers also joined the round with big names, including FIS, Fin Capital, Mercato Partners, Kraken Ventures, Commerce Ventures, William Blair & Company, Decasonic, University Growth Fund, Gaingels, GateCap Ventures, and Seven Peaks Ventures participating.

Prime Trust offers a wide variety of infrastructural facilities, including wallet technology, custody, and compliance solutions. The startup has raised $170 million to date to power its operations and from what it offers, it counts platforms like Swan, Binance.US, and Dapper Labs as clients. With the new funding, Prime Trust hopes to establish new products to broaden its base.

“This strategic investment will provide critical operational expertise to further scale Prime Trust into new offerings including wealth products, as well as Web 3 and DeFi products,” said Tom Pageler, CEO of Prime Trust. “We’ve seen an unprecedented shift toward greater acceptance of digital assets among wealth managers and RIAs and, to that end, we launched the Prime Trust Crypto IRA, the first IRA solution with a seamless, single API integration. Our strategic investor relationships will enable us to continue to expand into new markets and deepen our commitment to helping our fintech and crypto clients to build and scale quickly, securely, and compliantly.”

Amongst the products being earmarked for launch includes staking services as well as developing the framework to support more tokenized products. Prime Trust trusts in its business model to weather any kind of storm being faced in the digital currency ecosystem, a feature that must have endeared investors to it.

Despite the crypto winter, innovative platforms like Astaria, Immutable, and Magic Eden among other continues to pull funds to scale and support their ecosystem growth.

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Prime Trust Hires Former Secret Service Veteran as VP of Regulatory Affairs

Prime Trust, a Les Vegas-based technology-driven trust company that provides financial infrastructure for fintech and digital asset firms, announced Tuesday that it has appointed Jeremy Sheridan, the former Assistant Director of Investigations at the Secret Service of U.S., as the company’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

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Sheridan joins an extensive team of Prime Trust government and regulatory experts from several governmental bodies like the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies, SEC, OCC, Federal Reserve, and U.S. Treasury.

In his new role, Sheridan will be tasked with overseeing Prime Trust’s regulatory strategies, engaging with Federal and State agencies, as well as being a regulatory thought leader for the fintech and cryptocurrency industries.

Sheridan has over 20 years of work experience in law enforcement and leadership in investigations for the United States Secret Service under the Department of Homeland Security.

Sheridan started his career in 1997 as a special agent in the Tucson, AZ, Resident Office. In 2002, he was assigned to the Presidential Protective Division (PPD), where he served under President George W. Bush. In 2008, he joined the supervisory ranks as Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAIC) of the Human Capital Division. In 2021, Sheridan got a promotion to serve as Assistant Director of the Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs, with oversight of the Privacy Office, Congressional Affairs Program, Homeland Security Program, the Liaison Division, and Freedom of Information Act Office.

Before joining Prime Trust, Jeremy was serving as Assistant Director of the Office of Investigations, where he led the global investigative mission of the Secret Service, which is constituted of 161 offices and over 3,000 staff.

Tom Pageler, the Chief Executive Officer of Prime Trust, talked about the new hiring and said: “Prime Trust is deeply committed to building the highest levels of regulatory, compliance and security controls for the digital asset marketplace. With his extraordinary level of regulatory and law enforcement experience, Jeremy will be a critical asset to Prime Trust’s leadership team and an advocate for new and evolving technologies in the fintech and crypto space.”

Sheridan also commented about his appointment and stated: “I have dedicated my career to law enforcement service and helping to ensure the safety and security of top-tier government operations. I am very excited to be joining the Prime Trust team and help shape the future of the new digital economy with world-class security, compliance and operational excellence.”

Accelerating Product Offerings to Meet Growing Needs of Fintech

Last December, Prime Trust announced a breakout year for the firm with strong revenue growth, continued team expansion, and explosive growth in new accounts opened via Prime Trust APIs (over 2000% from the previous year). Prime Trust’s remarkable year was attributed to the ability of the company to scale into new markets, attract and partner with premier investors, achieve important certifications, and hire talent with regulatory expertise.

Through strategic partnerships, hiring of excellent talent, and the expansion of new systems within the payments and alternative assets markets, Prime Trust was able to develop a superior financial infrastructure that not only helps its customers launch quickly but also fuels a new economy.

Since its establishment in 2016, Prime Trust continues to power innovation in the digital economy by providing fintech and digital asset firms with financial infrastructure. Through its full suite of APIs, the company helps fintech companies and financial institutions to build seamlessly, launch quickly, and scale securely.

 

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Prime Trust, tZERO Partner on Digital Asset Custody, Trading

Security token trading platform tZERO is to integrate technology from Prime Trust, a digital asset finance infrastructure provider, under a new partnership. 

According to an announcement Wednesday, the integration will enable Prime Trust to manage the custody of digital securities and cryptocurrencies for its customers using tZERO, and further allows its users to trade assets on tZERO ATS, the firm’s broker-dealer subsidiary. The agreement is expected to replace tZERO’s own cryptocurrency wallet and reduces reliance on third-party clearing firms, the firms said.

“This will improve the cryptocurrency trading experience through increased buy limits, faster transaction settlement, and a seamless process of onboarding new cryptocurrencies, subject to regulatory approvals and launch,” according to the announcement. 

In other news, tZERO said its broker-dealer subsidiary ZERO ATS has filed a continuing membership application to allow it and broker-dealer affiliates to custody, clear, and settle securities transactions. The firm said it’s further working to find a way for its broker-dealer subsidiaries to directly custody digital securities without reliance on third parties, following a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission statement.

On Tuesday, Overstock, which founded tZERO, announced it was converting its blockchain-focused Medici Ventures subsidiary into a fund managed by venture capital firm Pelion Venture Partners. After completion, Overstock will have a minority stake in tZERO.

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