Tag: stablecoins

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Bitcoin News Cryptocurrency News Ethereum News

Terra (LUNA) Token Launched On Voyager Digital

Voyager Digital

Voyager Digital Ltd., a publicly-traded, licensed crypto-asset broker that provides investors with a turnkey solution to trade crypto assets, today announced the listing of the Terra (LUNA) Token on the Voyager platform, expanding Voyager’s industry-leading offering to 57 digital assets.

“By adding the LUNA Token to the Voyager platform, our U.S. customers will now have one of the first direct fiat-to-crypto on-ramps available on mobile devices,” said Steve Ehrlich, Co-founder and CEO of Voyager. “Our commission-free agency broker platform is quickly becoming the most trusted and transparent vehicle for investors to buy, trade and hold digital assets. We will continue to enhance our customer-centric platform with additional offerings including debit and credit cards, margin and the listing of other digital assets.”

Terra LUNA is a next-generation smart contract platform and programmable money for the internet. Terra’s platform supports stablecoins that offer instant settlements, low fees and seamless cross-border exchange, and are loved by millions of users and merchants.

“Both Terra and Voyager are making crypto and blockchain more accessible for mainstream adoption,” added Terra Co-Founder and CEO, Do Kwon. “Terra’s focus on merchant and payment adoption will be pushing the future forward on blockchain-powered digital payments. We’re excited to be partnered with Voyager, availing the power of LUNA to the masses.”

About Terra
Terra‘s stablecoin ecosystem aims to make money easier to spend and more attractive to hold for users. Terra is the first (and today the largest by market cap) algorithmic stablecoin protocol in existence, supported by the Terra blockchain’s native asset, LUNA. Terra creates stablecoins pegged to the world’s major fiat currencies (USD, EUR, CNY, JPY, GBP, KRW, and the IMF SDR) that deploy decentralized monetary supply controls to retain value, generate stable interest, and keep transaction costs low. Terra now has the third highest number of transactions of all blockchains (after BTC and Ethereum) and is generating 13M USD in fees annually. TerraKRW today powers Chai, one of the largest e-commerce wallets in Korea, which hosts over 2 million users and generates $1.2 billion in annualized transaction volume. Investors in Terraform Labs (TFL), the group behind Terra, include Arrington XRP Capital, PolyChain Capital, Binance Labs, Huobi Capital, FBG Capital, and TransLink Capital.

About Voyager Digital Ltd.
Voyager Digital Ltd. is a crypto-asset broker that provides retail and institutional investors with a turnkey solution to trade crypto assets. Voyager offers customers best execution and safe custody on a wide choice of popular crypto-assets. Voyager was founded by established Wall Street and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who teamed to bring a better, more transparent, and cost-efficient alternative for trading crypto-assets to the marketplace.

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Bitcoin News Blockchain News Cryptocurrency News Ripple News

Will Tether Quake The Crypto Market This Week?

Tether USDT

A Big Nothing Burger Or The Pin That Pops The Bubble?

If the events in the crypto market of December 2020 teach us anything, it’s that the actions of the financial regulators can cause quakes that have a tremendous impact on crypto prices.

Think back to late November and early December. There was an abundance of enthusiasm towards XRP with the (back then) forthcoming airdrop of Spark tokens. In late November, the price of XRP stood at 26 cents.

Airdrop Of Spark Tokens

With the interest in holding XRP tokens so as to benefit from the Spark airdrop, crypto investors were rushing into XRP, and drove its price above 70 cents.

The upward momentum in price was invigorating.

Even after the airdrop, the price of XRP was hovering around 60 cents as late as December 20.

Enter The SEC

Then the news hit.

The SEC had filed a lawsuit against Ripple. The price immediately crashed to 20 cents, wiping out more than 2/3rds of XRP’s value in a matter of days.

The moral of the story: actions taken by financial regulators can have an overwhelming effect on price.

Fast-forward to today. An important deadline has arrived in the case of Attorney General of the State of New York v. iFinex Inc. (the parent company of both Bitfinex and Tether).

Tether vs. New York State

Some history of this case:

Back in April 2019, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) accused stablecoin operator Tether of covering Bifinex’s $850 million losses by sourcing its USDT to cover the shortfall. Nevertheless, Tether replied calling this accusation in “bad faith” and “riddled with false assertions”. Note NYAG has filed charges against iFinex, the parent company of Bitfinex and Tether.

During the preliminary injunction in May 2019, Judge Joel Cohen extended the deadline to ninety more days. By August 2019, NYAG presented another proof and evidence in the case highlighting how Bitfinex and Tether were allegedly involved in covering up the $850 million losses. Later, the NYAG also called out iFinex’s motion “an improper attempt to impede a lawful investigation”.

The case took an interesting turn last year in September 2020 when Judge Cohen ruled that both Tether and Bitfinex should produce documents disclosing their financial relationship. In addition, he also passed an injunction barring Tether to issue loans to Bitfinex by ninety more days.

Deadline Extended

Last month, on December 9th, 2020, Attorney General Letitia James filed a document requesting Judge Cohen to extend the timeline to January 15. The Attorney General said that “the parties continue to cooperate on the production of documents in response to the 354 Order, and anticipate that the production might be finalized in the coming weeks.”

Two days ago, Friday, January 15, was the d-day for iFinex to produce necessary info and the documents so that NYAG is able to continue the investigation further. iFinex had to produce documents detailing the issuance and redemptions of Tether’s USDT stablecoins, and also disclose the trading activity on Bitfinex concerning Bitcoin and USDT.

We’re currently at the crossroads of the most crucial cases in the crypto space. Tether’s market cap has grown to $25 billion, and the token currently sits at #3 on coinmarketcap’s list of the largest cryptocurrencies in existence.

Will Tether Drag The Entire Crypto Market Lower?

Some market analysts believe that the issuance of Tether is being used to prop up the price of Bitcoin, and by extension the entire crypto market. Others, such as Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj, Assistant Professor of Finance at Warwick Business School, stated on a recent podcast, “Based on our evidence there, there’s no effect of tether issuance on crypto asset prices.”

While there were no new statements from the NY Supreme Court on deadline day, a statement is likely to be forthcoming this week.

If and when the statement unfolds, the BIG question for the entire crypto market is “Will it be a nothing-burger, or will it be the pin that pops the crypto bubble?”

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Blockchain News Cryptocurrency News

The US Treasury OCC Issues New Guidance Allowing US Banks To Use Public Blockchains And Stablecoins As A Payment Method

U.S. Treasury OCC

One Major Step Closer To Mass Adoption

Right in accordance with our forecast that 2021 will be a tremendous year for cryptocurrency building into the next 4-year cycle high due in December, the U.S. Treasury of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has just announced that national banks and federal savings associations can treat public blockchains as infrastructure similar to SWIFT, ACH and FedWire. In addition, stablecoins like USDC can be used as electronic stored value as well as a payment method.

The significance of this is simply astounding.  

This places blockchain and cryptocurrencies on a path towards all major financial and economic activity being executed on-chain. It is extremely encouraging to see such forward thinking support from the largest regulator of national banks in the United States.

The new guidance from the OCC provides assurance for banking institutions:

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today published a letter clarifying national banks’ and federal savings associations’ authority to participate in independent node verification networks (INVN) and use stablecoins to conduct payment activities and other bank-permissible functions.

“While governments in other countries have built real-time payments systems, the United States has relied on our innovation sector to deliver real-time payments technologies. Some of those technologies are built and managed by bank consortia and some are based on independent node verification networks such as blockchains,” said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks. “The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets recently articulated a strong framework for ushering in an era of stablecoin-based financial infrastructure, identifying important risks while allowing those risks to be managed in a technology-agnostic way. Our letter removes any legal uncertainty about the authority of banks to connect to blockchains as validator nodes and thereby transact stablecoin payments on behalf of customers who are increasingly demanding the speed, efficiency, interoperability, and low cost associated with these products.”

The agency letter concludes a national bank or federal savings association may validate, store, and record payments transactions by serving as a node on an INVN. Likewise, a bank may use INVNs and related stablecoins to carry out other permissible payment activities. In deploying these technologies, a bank must comply with applicable law and safe, sound, and fair banking practices.
You can read the full statement here.

After years of patience, 2021 could very well be the year of celebration in the world of crypto.

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Cryptocurrency News Ethereum News

Japanese Tech Giant Gets U.S. Approval For JPY Stablecoin

GMO Internet Inc., the Tokyo-based Internet conglomerate, has won approval from the New York Department of Financial Services to establish a limited purpose trust company, GMO-Z.com Trust Company, Inc. (“GMO Trust”) and issue the world’s first regulated JPY-pegged stablecoin (Ticker: GYEN).

To win approval for the trust, the company had to meet stringent requirements for its cybersecurity programs, as well as meet federal standards for anti-money laundering and economic sanctions. The approval allows the company to launch both JPY-pegged stablecoin (Ticker: GYEN) and USD-pegged stablecoin (Ticker: ZUSD). Both GYEN and ZUSD can be purchased and redeemed directly from GMO Trust. In addition, GMO Trust has partnered strategically with digital asset exchanges that operate globally to enhance the accessibility and liquidity of the tokens.

There are currently other regulated stablecoins, but none are pegged to JPY. Therefore, GMO Trust will take the lead in launching the first regulated JPY-pegged stablecoin along with the US dollar-pegged stablecoin in the U.S., and to be available globally, in January, 2021. These digital assets can be leveraged by institutional firms and retail users for trading, institutional hedging, arbitrage, settlements, and payments. For more information on GMO Trust, please visit https://stablecoin.z.com/

The stablecoins will:

  • Be 100% fiat-backed and always redeemable 1:1.
  • Be available on exchanges globally among the most liquid digital assets.
  • Be powered by Ethereum‘s leading blockchain-based technology.

A monthly attestation report will be disclosed by certified public accountants to verify the availability of assets to support the value of the stablecoins. GMO Trust will issue and redeem GYEN and ZUSD directly to reduce fees while improving security and transparency.

GMO Internet Group has been a global market leader in the Internet infrastructure, Internet finance and digital asset space since its inception in 1991.

It operates the world’s largest online FX trading platform, claiming the top global spot in trading volume within the FX space for seven consecutive years. It also operates a Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) regulated Internet bank. In 2017, it launched a digital currency exchange regulated by the FSA and a large Bitcoin mining operation. In 2018, it began research and development for the launch of GYEN.

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Cryptocurrency News

DeFi Platform OIN Finance Partners With Frontier

OIN Finance, a decentralized finance gateway, has partnered with Frontier to bring the FRONT token to OINDAO, being the second token to do so. The integration will allow FRONT to be staked into the OINDAO and used to mint stablecoins alongside OIN and STPT for DeFi applications.

Bringing Frontier’s native token to OIN Finance means it can be used as collateral on the OINDAO platform. Users who stake FRONT tokens can use their collateralized assets to issue USDF stablecoins, unlocking and leveraging the value in their original tokens while retaining ownership of them. With the minted USDF1, users will eventually be able to redeem for a variety of other liquid assets like DAI, USDC, USDT, and even NFTs, with the OINDAO dashboard enabling positions to be monitored and adjusted in real-time.

OIN Finance Co-Founder Richie Li said: “Frontier is on a mission to make DeFi easier to interact with, by aggregating popular protocols. We at OIN are on a mission to bring DeFi functionality to the crypto community as a whole. As the number of projects on OINDAO expands, so too will the list of connected defi features. We are excited to see the synergies here develop, and look forward to the growth of both our platforms.”

Frontier also mentioned in their announcement that “OINDAO is the first decentralized stablecoin issuance platform that also caters to the small cap assets. Different from Maker DAO, OINDAO empowers projects like Frontier to issue their own stable assets. Instead of just copying and forking the current model, the OIN Finance team is aiming to bring value and what’s missing in the current DeFi space to make DeFi more mature.”

Future development of the OIN Finance ecosystem will see support for leveraged trading and cross-chain staking. OIN Finance aims to become a universal portal for token swapping, leveraged trading, and minting stablecoins through its product lines such as OINSWAP, and the OIN Bond.

Decentralized finance refers to a technology that attempts to create a more fluid and flexible model of global exchange through the use of cryptocurrencies. It is a type of peer-to-peer lending that renders traditional financial functions such as settlements, equity certificates, debentures, stock market trading, and commercial loans more accessible, convenient, and fast through the implementation of smart contract technology. Unlike conventional finance, decentralized finance makes the exchange of currencies transparent, profitable, and manageable by removing the need for traditional intermediaries. This results in a more democratic control over the supply and demand of money, which can benefit both borrower and lender.


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Cryptocurrency News

U.S. Treasury Releases Regulatory Statement On Stablecoins

The United States President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, operating as part of the U.S. Treasury Dept. issued a “Statement on Key Regulatory and Supervisory Issues Relevant to Certain Stablecoins.” The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets is responsible for enhancing the “integrity, efficiency, orderliness, and competitiveness” of US financial markets.

According to the working group, the new regulations specifically target stablecoins:

“These requirements address a range of policy objectives, including safety and soundness, countering illicit finance, end-user protection, and market integrity. In particular, stablecoin arrangements with greater potential scale, complexity, and interconnectedness should consider.”

Why is the Group Considering the Regulation?

The document states that the group views stablecoins as a potential regulatory risk. The document states:

“Depending on its design and other factors, a stablecoin may constitute a security, commodity, or derivative subject to the U.S. federal securities, commodity, and/or derivatives laws. If so, the federal securities laws,3 and/or the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”),4 would govern the stablecoin itself, transactions in, and/or participants involved in the stablecoin arrangement. Whether a stablecoin is a security, commodity, or derivative will depend on the relevant facts and circumstances.”

All stablecoins won’t be considered securities or derivatives, but they may be depending on their makeup.

This statement is significant given the members that make up the President’s Working Group of Financial Markets. They include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Chairperson of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

One notable member is SEC Chairperson Jay Clayton, who, as head of the watchdog, was involved in the recent charges brought against Ripple. On Wednesday, the SEC filed a suit against Ripple and two of its top executives for conducting an unregistered sale of securities.

The SEC states that they perceive XRP, the native currency of the Ripple network, to be a security and not a currency like bitcoin or ethereum.

This classification means that Ripple, it’s co-founder, and current CEO are responsible for the sale of unregistered securities and will be held accountable.

As the cryptocurrency market continues to mature, regulatory bodies will likely scrutinize cryptocurrencies with additional oversight.

What is a Stablecoin?

Summary: Stablecoins are a new class of digital currency. Although the concept of stablecoins was considered years ago, only recently has it received widespread attention. Stablecoins refer to a collection of currencies that derive their value solely from an external reference point. Stablecoins can best be classified on the basis of their underlying working mechanisms, namely, Fiat-collateralised, algorithmic, and cryptohash-based stablecoins. The Fiat-Collateralised variety are the most widely recognised stablecoins as they trade against financial instruments like credit and deposit bills. The algorithmic variety of stablecoins, on the other hand, trade against a basket of global currencies (the basket of which they are traded) and are not linked to any particular financial instrument.

One of the advantages associated with stablecoins is their use as an asset. By understanding which option provides the best fit for your circumstances, you will be able to effectively hedge against any potential financial setbacks. When looking at buying, selling, or trading a stablecoin, it is important to consider the factors surrounding the particular coin. Another factor that is crucial is to determine whether one wants to purchase, sell, or trade non-collateralized stablecoins – these are coins that are not backed by any collateral such as certificates of deposit or bank notes. Finally, it is important to consider whether one wants to invest in algorithmically-derived stablecoins (which trade on algorithms instead of actual commodities) or non-algorithmic stablecoins (which trade based on supply and demand fundamentals).