ForesightNews

LV CEO has personally invested in 5 AI startups this year.

Compiled by MetaverseHub

LVMH is the world's largest luxury goods company by market capitalization, with founder and CEO Bernard Arnault estimated to be worth $190.7 billion, making his family's wealth the highest in the world.

Apart from luxury goods, Bernard Arnault has also been actively investing in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

In 2024, Arnault's family office Aglaé Ventures has made five AI-related investments, with a total funding of $300 million in the past eight months.

H was founded by former Google DeepMind researcher, formerly known as Holistic AI. The company raised $220 million from a group of investors including Bernard Arnault, former Google CEO, Samsung, and Amazon in May this year. Led by former Stanford researcher Charles Kantor, H aims to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), aiming to create an AI that is as intelligent and efficient as humans.

In March of this year, Arnault co-led a $27 million seed round financing for Canadian start-up Borderless AI, which is dedicated to applying artificial intelligence to the field of human resources. In February of this year, the company also co-led a $43 million financing for French start-up Photoroom with Balderton Capital, which is developing an AI photo editing platform.

Other investment targets also include some American startups, Arnault supported Lamini, a California-based company focusing on enterprise AI platforms.

In June of this year, the company raised $25 million from Aglaé, co-founder of OpenAI Andrej Karpathy, and co-founder of Google Brain Andrew Ng. Similarly, in April of this year, Arnault participated in a series A financing round for Proxima, a data intelligence software company in New York, which raised $12 million.

However, the amount of Aglaé's investment in these companies has not been disclosed.

Previously, Aglaé also participated in four rounds of financing, investing in the Paris-based AI photo creation company Meero, which completed these financings between 2017 and 2019.

Speaking of which, Bernard Arnault has extensive experience in investing in successful technology startups. His family office invested in Netflix in 1999, Spotify in 2014, and Airbnb in 2015.

Since 2017, Aglaé has made 153 investments, 53 of which are in technology companies.

It is worth noting that LV, the luxury goods group, has been constantly trying AI, this emerging field in recent years.

In 2021, LVMH signed a five-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud to integrate AI solutions into functions such as demand forecasting and inventory optimization. In September last year, the company held the second LVMH Data & AI Summit, which focused on Generative AI and attracted hundreds of participants.

In May this year, LVMH also participated in the annual technology trade fair VivaTech in Paris, and has been involved since the first edition in 2016.

At the VivaTech trade show, LVMH Group presented seven trophies to startups nominated for various innovation awards, including the Chinese company FancyTech - which uses generative artificial intelligence to develop video production software, and the company BLNG, which uses AI technology to transform jewelry sketches into visual designs.

Arnault also stated at the VivaTech exhibition that in order to withstand the test of time, the company must emphasize values such as creativity, quality, entrepreneurial spirit, and efficiency.

The original text comes from:

Christian Angermayer helped Tether invest in his own stakeholding company and took hefty commissions from the trades.

Written by: Ben Foldy, Caitlin Ostroff, The Wall Street Journal

Compilation: Luffy, Foresighht News

Tether, the issuer behind the world's most popular cryptocurrency USDT, is conducting a major acquisition. It has acquired a majority stake in Northern Data, an artificial intelligence company, and Blackrock Neurotech, a brain-machine chip company. It is worth noting that the transactions between Tether and these two companies were facilitated by the same German investor, and the results of the transactions recommended by this investor are mixed.

Stable Coin USDT currently has a circulating Market Cap of over 115 billion US dollars, thanks to the substantial Interest Rate, Tether can earn approximately 4 billion US dollars in income annually from the US Treasury bonds supporting USDT.

Tether has hired technology investor and entrepreneur Christian Angermayer to help invest this huge sum of money. The versatile financier has also made a fortune through some unconventional investments, including psychedelics, dinosaur fossils, and alternatives to the stimulants used by athletes during the Olympic Games.

So far, Angermayer has helped Tether invest about $1.5 billion in two companies in which he holds shares, and has also earned hefty commissions from the transactions. The companies they invested in have been facing perennial losses.

In the past year, Tether acquisitioned the majority of Northern Data. Northern Data is a German data center operator that is in deficit and aspires to become an artificial intelligence company. Another company acquired by Tether, Blackrock Neurotech, is a struggling brain-machine implant company based in Utah, which competes with Elon Musk's Neuralink.

Tether did not respond to our request for comment. A spokesperson for Northern Data said that the rise in the company's revenue proves that its strategic investments in artificial intelligence are successful.

Tether is not the first cryptocurrency company to make big investments. Previously, during its peak, the cryptocurrency exchange FTX spent $1 billion to acquire a BTC mining company on the Kazakh grasslands and $500 million to acquire the artificial intelligence company Anthropic.

In October last year, Cryptocurrency generally pumped, and a Cryptocurrency offline trading store in Hong Kong displayed the Exchange Rate of USDT

Angermayer's controversial track record

Angermayer's family office, Apeiron Investment Group, located in Malta, refers talent for investors and companies. Apeiron has recommended some large investment deals for cash-rich buyers, but these investments eventually performed poorly.

In 2017, Angermayer's family office helped HNA Group, a Chinese conglomerate, become the largest shareholder of the struggling German bank Deutsche Bank. After the transaction was completed, the bank's stock price further declined. Several years later, HNA Group sold part of its shares due to cash shortages. Ultimately, heavily indebted and subject to Chinese government scrutiny, HNA Group filed for bankruptcy.

HNA Group is headquartered in Haikou, China, and the group filed for bankruptcy in 2021.

Angermayer then began to cooperate with the Japanese enterprise SoftBank Group, which raised the largest venture capital fund in the world. He introduced Wirecard, a German payment processor, to SoftBank, which was then facing accounting fraud allegations.

SoftBank stabilized the situation for Wirecard through the issuance of $1 billion convertible bonds. Both SoftBank and Wirecard paid millions of dollars in intermediary fees to Angermayer's family office.

After receiving investment from SoftBank for several months, Wirecard has signed a long-term cooperation protocol with cybersecurity company Cyan AG. Angermayer and a business partner hold 27% of the shares in Cyan AG. This business partner has also served as a representative of Hainan Airlines on the board of Deutsche Bank. In this cooperation, Angermayer is responsible for introducing executives from Cyan and Wirecard to each other.

A year after the deal with SoftBank, Wirecard collapsed due to an accounting scandal. SoftBank sold the bonds to investors, who suffered heavy losses.

A source said that Apeiron received compensation as an intermediary for the transaction, but did not participate in the negotiations or the transaction itself. The source said Angermayer also facilitated several smaller, less controversial deals.

Recently, Angermayer and Apeiron have started focusing on what he calls the "important agenda for the next human society" and have built a portfolio in areas such as cryptocurrency, longevity, and psychedelics. With the support of technology investor Peter Thiel, Angermayer has co-founded Enhanced Games to advocate for the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports events.

Angermayer and Northern Data

Angermayer often wears flamboyant shirts adorned with mushroom patterns. He has a tattoo of the chemical symbol for psilocybin (a neurotoxin with psychedelic properties) on his forearm. He has hosted lavish birthday parties in 17th-century Austrian palaces and at an encryption conference in the Bahamas. On Instagram, Angermayer showcases his collection of dinosaur fossils and ancient sculptures.

Angermayer's personal life and work sometimes intertwine. In 2022, Apeiron marketed a new fund to investors called "Apeiron Jurassic Fund One," aiming to raise $30 million to invest in dinosaur fossils. The promotional materials draft stated that the fund would utilize "a unique global bounty hunter network," starting with Angermayer's fossil collection, including a young T-Rex and a Liangzhou. The fund was eventually abandoned.

Angermayer's other investments include a significant stake in Northern Data, a BTC mining company listed in Germany, which recently shifted towards artificial intelligence cloud hosting services. Northern Data acquisitioned two CryptocurrencyMining companies in which Angermayer held shares, and Angermayer obtained a partial stake in the new company. One of them was co-founded by a former employee of his family's wealth management office.

Afterwards, Angermayer began to raise funds for Northern Data and charged a service fee. Apeiron also charged Northern Data a fee for introducing investors. The fees included sponsorship and promotion at an encryption carnival in the Bahamas. At this carnival, former One Direction star Liam Payne performed shirtless.

A passage in the Northern Data data center, which is an abandoned Norwegian mine

According to Northern Data's financial statements, the company paid 840,000 euros (about 940,000 U.S. dollars) to Apeiron in 2022 for fundraising activities. Northern Data stated that the acquisition of these two cryptocurrency mining companies resulted in a loss of 420 million euros. According to current and former employees, coupled with the widespread decline in encryption assets in 2022, Northern Data's financial situation is precarious at the beginning of 2023.

A spokesperson for Northern Data said that the company has been operating normally, and the financial audit results show that the company's capital is currently sufficient.

Angermayer found financially strong Tether

Tether made its first investment in Northern Data in spring 2023, acquiring the company's shares for €32.3 million. According to insiders, Tether hopes to keep its involvement confidential. Angermayer received a fee equivalent to 5% of the transaction value, marking his first compensation for brokering a deal between the two companies.

A few months later, Tether acquired 48 million euros worth of Northern Data shares. Similarly, Northern Data did not publicly acknowledge Tether as its investor. A spokesperson for Northern Data stated that both companies had met the disclosure requirements for the transaction.

Angermayer received another 5% fee from the second transaction. According to invoices reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, he received a total of 4 million euros in compensation for these two transactions.

Thereafter, Tether began to openly assist Northern Data in the field of artificial intelligence. Tether founded an Irish company named DaMoon and lent Northern Data 400 million euros to purchase advanced Nvidia H100 processors.

*Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino called the company's investment in Northern Data a 'perfect deal'.

Subsequently, Northern Data took over DaMoon. In return, Tether received new issuance of Northern Data stocks. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, described the investment in Northern Data as a "perfect deal" in a podcast. He praised the company's management, structure, and team.

After that, Tether provided Northern Data with a credit line of 575 million euros, which has now been fully utilized. These transactions made Tether the controlling shareholder of Northern Data. Last month, Northern Data announced plans to raise another 214 million euros (of which 110 million euros will come from Tether) to purchase more processors.

A spokesperson for Northern Data declined to comment on whether Angermayer or Apeiron received fees for subsequent transactions. He stated that any fees paid by the company have been disclosed in accordance with legal and accounting requirements.

Based in the British Virgin Islands, Tether has achieved tremendous success. Investors like it because its Cryptocurrency is stable and its value is always 1 US dollar. Its Liquidity is good, making it very suitable for commercial transactions. According to government indictments, USDT is also widely used in drug smuggling, terrorist organizations, and sanctioned countries. Government and bank officials have stated that regulatory agencies have strengthened their scrutiny, and some banks have refused to do business with Tether.

Investors like Tether's Cryptocurrency because of its stable value

Tether states that it collaborates with global law enforcement agencies and has established and maintained a world-class Compliance process to prevent Money Laundering, terrorist financing, and other risks.

Angermayer also helped Tether invest in another company, Blackrock Neurotech. He is the Co-Chairman and largest shareholder of Blackrock Neurotech, a brain-machine interface manufacturer. Brain-machine interface is a small electronic device implanted in the brains of paralyzed patients. This Salt Lake City-based company has been developing this technology since 2008.

In 2021, Apeiron led a $10 million financing round for Blackrock Neurotech. Former employees said that while Angermayer was chairman of the board, Blackrock Neurotech wanted to take advantage of the industry hype sparked by Musk's Neuralink and actively promote the company's listing.

However, Blackrock Neurotech's business development has encountered difficulties. Former employees said that after receiving investment, Blackrock Neurotech expanded rapidly, with the number of employees more than doubled and new business lines developed. However, the company then carried out a series of layoffs in 2022 and 2023.

Last summer, Angermayer and Apeiron led a $37 million investment round in Blackrock Neurotech. Former employees said the company burned through more cash and then further reduced its workforce.

Blackrock Neurotech has not yet responded to a request for comment.

In April of this year, Tether acquired a majority stake in Blackrock Neurotech for 200 million US dollars, with a valuation of 3.5 billion US dollars. Tether stated that its business scope has expanded from simply providing digital dollar alternatives to brain chips, which will "empower humanity in the process of future evolution".

An entrance to a data center in western Norway, which houses the Northern Data computing center

The stock of Northern Data is traded on the German securities market, and is currently considering listing in the United States. According to a slide seen by The Wall Street Journal, some bankers pushing for Northern Data's U.S. listing say the company could be worth $20 billion in a few years. Northern Data declined to comment on the potential U.S. listing.

Grayscale has been frequently active recently, launching multiple encryption asset trust funds since the beginning of this year.

Original Title: 'Grayscale's Bull Market Bets'

Author: Jun, Bankless

Compiled by Weizhi, BlockBeats

*Editor's note: As one of the world's largest encryption asset management companies, the launch of each trust fund by Grayscale will be highly followed by the encryption market. For the market, trust funds provide legitimacy and recognition for specific encryption assets. On August 22, Grayscale launched the AVAX trust fund, Grayscale Avalanche Trust, aiming to provide accredited investors with investment opportunities in AVAX. In addition to AVAX, what other layouts does Grayscale have? Bankless has compiled the encryption asset trust funds launched by Grayscale in this round of the cycle in this article.

As a veteran institution in the field of encryption asset management, Grayscale has been very active recently.

Whenever Grayscale announces a new trust fund for a certain asset, the market often reacts differently. For some, it's a double-edged sword: some see it as a signal of market oversaturation, while others see it as a new beacon of hope.

Some people may interpret this launch as a sign that the asset market is nearing saturation, or at least that there is limited room for rise in the Cryptocurrency space. On the other hand, this is also a stamp of approval from major players in the encryption field, potentially bringing legitimacy to the asset, attracting institutional investors, and at least increasing media attention.

Grayscale has recently accelerated the launch of new investment products, indicating their belief that we are currently in the mid-stage of the encryption Bull Market. The driving forces behind this Bull Market include the influx of funds into BTC ETFs, the long-awaited launch of ETH ETFs, an increase in stablecoin adoption rates, and the stable rise of Total Value Locked (TVL) in Decentralized Finance.

As a low-key giant in the industry, investors continue to closely follow Grayscale's investment trends to assess their views on the future direction of the industry. Which assets have attracted their attention in this cycle? Let's find out.

Grayscale Decentralization AI Fund (FIL, NEAR, RNDR, LPT, TAO)

The Grayscale Decentralization AI Fund is the first fund that exclusively invests in native Tokens of the Decentralization AI protocol. Currently, the fund includes FIL, Near, Render, Livepeer, and Bittensor.

Grayscale pointed out that people are concerned that the future will be dominated by centralized AI, while encryption technology is expected to create a more fair and transparent ecosystem. They believe that although the combination of encryption and AI is still in its early stages, the prospects are broad. By harnessing the power of encryption, we can build a more fair, transparent, and trustworthy AI ecosystem.

Gray Decentralization Artificial Intelligence Fund Holdings Details

Grayscale Dynamic Yield Fund (SOL, CBETH, NEAR, etc.)

The Grayscale Dynamic Income Fund (GDIF) aims to maximize returns by leveraging stake rewards from rising tokens such as SOL, ETH, NEAR, etc. The fund maximizes returns by strategically allocating capital to tokens with attractive stake rewards.

Grayscale is known for its diversified encryption investment approach. While they typically diversify their investments across various industries, GDIF represents a new frontier: diversification across different types of Tokens. This provides investors with unique yield opportunities beyond the potential pump of underlying Tokens.

Other Trust Funds

Grayscale NEAR Trust (NEAR)

Grayscale believes that NEAR is a shining star in the encryption field, standing out for its strategic focus on AI and chain abstraction. NEAR has a grand vision for the AI owned by users, and its active developer community, growing user base, and ample financial support enable it to achieve this goal. As global acceptance of AI continues to increase, NEAR is likely to become the preferred platform for developers and users.

Grayscale Stacks Trust (STX)

Stacks is Grayscale's bet on the BTC second-layer (L2) space. Stacks addresses BTC's scalability and functionality challenges by building a Smart Contract-enabled L2 solution on top of BTC. This approach allows developers to build various applications on the BTC blockchain.

With the continuous development of the BTC ecosystem and the addition of more Decentralized Finance activities, the demand for scalability and cost reduction will become more urgent, and Stacks provides a solution to this problem.

Grayscale MakerDAO Trust

MakerDAO is a veteran project in the Decentralized Finance field, and MKR is its native governance Token, which is crucial to participating in the ecosystem. The launch of the Grayscale MakerDAO Trust comes at a time when people's interest in blue-chip Decentralized Finance projects and their Tokens is once again soaring.

Grayscale believes that MKR provides investors with channels to participate in the MakerDAO ecosystem, including on-chain credit protocol, stablecoins, real-world assets, and more.

Grayscale Bittensor Trust (TAO)

Bittensor's vision is to create an AI that is no longer a tool in the hands of a few companies, but a resource shared by all. It aims to create an 'AI internet' where everyone can participate and benefit from AI models. TAO encourages participants to contribute to the network by validating models and running AI computations, thus making a contribution by providing rewards.

As the AI competition between large tech companies intensifies, Grayscale believes that Bittensor offers an alternative approach to AI development that encourages broader participation and diverse thinking.

Grayscale SUI Trust (SUI)

SUI has a unique blockchain design that prioritizes scalability and user experience. It allows for parallel processing, capable of handling multiple transactions simultaneously. SUI's competitive advantage lies in its specially developed programming language SUI Move, which simplifies the development and execution of smart contracts.

With the increasing demand for Block space and faster execution speed in the encryption field, Grayscale believes that SUI has opened a new door, ushering in a new era of Decentralization applications that were previously impossible due to limitations in existing Blockchain infrastructure.

Grayscale Effect

Overall, the launch of Grayscale Trust has a highly subjective impact on specific assets. This does not mean that the asset is destined for great success. Take Grayscale's Decentraland Trust (MANA) as an example.

The key point is that Grayscale's bullish attitude towards the encryption market is very evident in its recent product releases. They believe that we are currently in a Bull Market and are accordingly laying out their positions.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) holds $845 million worth of ETH and has funded numerous educational and innovation projects through 2023, but does not fund Decentralized Finance protocols that have received venture capital funding. 10% of the 2021 expenditures are allocated to developer salaries and foundation maintenance.

**Author: @**DefiIgnas

Translation: Blockchain in Plain Language

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) holds 845 million ETH, accounting for 0.25% of the total ETH supply.

According to their latest report, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) spent 30 million dollars on funding in the fourth quarter of 2023. In the third quarter of 2023, they allocated 8.9 million dollars for funding.

Here are some examples:

The conference, held globally, aims to provide introductory guidance for new users through basic lectures and educate developers through technical conferences and workshops.

Online course on the core concepts and components of Zero Knowledge (ZK) systems.

"Email Wallet" allows users to send Crypto Assets via email without the recipient's operation.

"Daimo" ERC-4337 Smart Contract Wallet: Supports stablecoins only, non-custodial, no need for seed phrase.

It looks like the Ethereum Foundation (EF) will fund allocations to education and some niche (but cool) products that may not receive significant venture capital support.

This may explain why they are unwilling to sponsor the Decentralized Finance protocol, because these protocols have already received external funding from venture capital firms.

However, there is a lack of comprehensive and transparent expenditure reports. Who is auditing EF?

The latest report is from 2021, showing a total expenditure of $48 million, including internal expenses, external funding, and bonuses.

The largest expenditure item is:

USD 21 million for L1 development

9.7 million dollars for community development, including funding and education

$5.1 million for internal operations (salaries, legal expenses, etc.)

Therefore, 10% of the total expenditure in 2021 is allocated to developer salaries and supporting the maintenance work of the Ethereum Foundation.

Cosmos must prioritize rebuilding confidence, develop a clear vision, start from the user's perspective, and empower developers.

Author: Arjun | LI.FI, Bankless

Compiled by Felix, PANews

Cosmos is at a crossroads in its development, and this pioneering blockchain is losing community support.

The reasons are as follows:

Old debts of governance issues

The Interchain Foundation (ICF), which is responsible for supervising the Cosmos ecosystem, has seen a decline in community trust due to allegations of mismanagement, conflicts of interest, and lack of transparency.

These are more than just rumors. The recent lack of trust statement against ICF, as well as the call for a comprehensive audit and leadership reform, have highlighted the severity of these issues.

This lack of transparency may indicate deeper issues within the ecosystem. Operational and organizational rigidity leads to low morale among developers and users, who are concerned about endless delays and bureaucratic obstacles in daily development.

In addition, there is an increasing disconnect between ecosystem builders and users. Builders are obsessed with pushing the boundaries of technology, which is a noble pursuit in theory, but many feel that they have somewhat forgotten about the people (users) who actually use these things.

The core issue is the intangibility of Cosmos, which makes it difficult to resonate with users. This lack of clarity leads to more demands from users for the ecosystem.

Advantages turn into disadvantages

In shaping the future of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain development, Cosmos has always been at the forefront. It pioneered the vision of 'AppChain', which is now at the core of modular blockchain theory and blockchain sovereignty.

However, the leading advantage of Cosmos no longer exists today. The rise of Rollups on Ethereum and Celestia provides developers with choices similar to Cosmos AppChain. Importantly, these solutions also have the additional advantages of mature communities and deeper liquidity pools.

Essentially, Cosmos has fallen behind in the once leading competition.

Developers are pragmatic. They want the flexibility that Cosmos provides, but also crave the thriving ecosystem effects of Ethereum and Celestia.

In the final analysis, the success of Cosmos depends on its ability to create tangible value for users and cultivate a thriving application ecosystem. If Cosmos fails to effectively address the challenges it currently faces, the community may see this period as a missed opportunity.

With its leading advantage and visionary roadmap, Cosmos has the potential to dominate the multi-chain field. However, without the necessary execution, this potential cannot be realized.

Crossroads

"Break free from the shackles of history and embrace the future."

The Cosmos ecosystem is undoubtedly at a crossroads. Internal disputes, Token declines, and low community morale paint a bleak picture. People unconsciously see Cosmos as a failed experiment.

But please do not replay history. The core technology and vision of Cosmos are groundbreaking. They have inspired numerous projects and laid the foundation for the industry's future development.

For Cosmos, the current situation is not a dead end, but a fork in the road. These are not insurmountable challenges. If Cosmos can solve these problems, it can emerge from this crisis stronger than ever before.

The path forward needs to be adjusted. Studying ecosystems such as Ethereum, Solana, and Celestia can provide valuable references. These ecosystems have proven to be very important in demonstrating the following points:

• Governance and trust: transparency and accountability are essential foundations. Rebuilding trust is a top priority for ICF. Trust needs to be rebuilt bit by bit.
• follow users: Everything starts with the users. Without a seamless user experience, Cosmos is just a beautiful 'ghost town'. Each team should prioritize building products that directly benefit users.
• Empower developers: Provide developers with tools and freedom to create killer applications. Great technology deserves killer applications. Actively introduce the Cosmos stack to developers and attract a wider range of projects.
• Clear vision: Compelling narrative is crucial. Cosmos must articulate its unique value proposition: What problem are you solving? Why should people care?

Cosmos still has a chance to catch up, but now is the time to take action.

From the perspective of pre-launch hype, the success of Babylon LST is not easy.

Written by Rui

First of all, let's talk about the conclusion. It's difficult for Babylon's LST to be ALPHA. It's also difficult to replicate the frenzy of Eigen LST in speculation.

First, let's talk about why Eigen LST is successful. In my opinion, there are several reasons:

1. Eigen itself gradually attracts TVL in the rising market cycle, without rushing to issue coins, providing a soil for the speculation of LST. Eigen's mining rewards include ETH basic stake rewards, LST coins, Eigen's own coins, and various expectations from AVS. The 3-5% of ETH stake is natural and supporting LST can significantly alleviate the given Yield rewards.

2. There is a strong DeFi infrastructure on ETH, AAVE makes it possible for revolving loans, and Pendle's Derivatives launch satisfies those who hope to hedge and double their bets.

Although there are ETH derivatives with cap after February 10th, Native Staking provides a window, in my opinion, as a means to support LRT flip LST. Correspondingly, because this money is real ETH, it allows exchanges to identify these large investors.

4. Eigen successfully upgraded its narrative from EigenDA to AVS, which replaces the existing ETH infrastructure, becoming an indispensable part of ETH's security.

Let's talk about why it is considered difficult to replicate the glory of Eigen for Babylon.

1. There is not much time and space left for Babylon to absorb TVL, and it is not necessary for Babylon to pay for a TVL of 5B+ for more than half a year. The BTC ecosystem also does not have a basic Intrerest Rate to leverage.

2. BTC ecosystem lacks Defi infrastructure, which means everything needs to be done by LRT itself, increasing the risk. Similarly, without Defi infrastructure, it is difficult to achieve a high scale of pricing.

3. There is no need for Babylon to store all the money, just independent users (if you want to support LST, just wrap it up for the partner), which is also the reason why each account only has 0.02BTC. Since the market position in the BTC ecosystem has been determined, there is no need to pay too much for TVL (the TVL of Merlin 4B has not had a good effect and has covered the vast majority of Large Investors). Moreover, there are too many self-hosted TVLs in the BTC ecosystem, and blindly accepting them is risky.

4. From the perspective of the first phase, LST has borne a large amount of gas, which is used for the purpose of absorbing and demonstrating its strength to exchanges if Babylon is widely opened. But what if each subsequent phase is only 0.02BTC per account?

I am not pessimistic about Babylon itself, because over time I think they will bring something different to the BTC ecosystem, but from the perspective of pre-launch hype, the success of Babylon LST is not easy.