Binance to Phase Out BUSD Support by February 2024 Amid Paxos Minting Halt

Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, will cease support for Binance USD (BUSD) by February 2024 following Paxos’s decision to halt new BUSD minting. The move impacts a range of Binance services, including spot and margin trading, futures, and loans.

Immediate Action Required for Users

Users holding BUSD are advised to convert their assets into other stablecoins or digital assets supported on Binance. The exchange offers zero trading fees for converting BUSD to FDUSD, with a 1:1 conversion rate applicable only for BUSD to FDUSD conversions.

What is FDUSD?

First Digital USD (FDUSD) is issued by First Digital Group, which includes First Digital Trust, a leading qualified custodian headquartered in Hong Kong. FDUSD is backed 1:1 with high-quality cash and cash equivalents held in segregated accounts in regulated financial institutions. The stablecoin is designed to be a programmable digital asset compatible with next-generation Web3 technologies. It debuted on Binance on July 26, 2023, with a zero-maker fee limited-time promotion for FDUSD trading pairs.

Timeline of Changes

Deposits & Withdrawals: Effective September 7, 2023, withdrawals of Binance-Peg BUSD tokens via BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, and Tron will be halted.

Cross Margin: Starting September 7, 2023, BUSD borrowings on Cross Margin will be suspended.

Futures: Binance will phase out BUSD-margined perpetual contracts, with dates to be announced.

Earn Products: BUSD subscriptions in Simple Earn Flexible Products and Auto-Invest will be discontinued starting October 13, 2023, and September 15, 2023, respectively.

Loans: BUSD will be removed as a loanable and collateral asset from September 6, 2023.

Financial Instruments Affected

The cessation of BUSD support will affect various financial instruments on Binance, including spot and margin trading pairs, futures contracts, and loan products. Users should adjust their portfolios accordingly.

Market Implications

While Binance assures a 1:1 USD backing for existing BUSD, the halt in new minting by Paxos signals a significant shift in the stablecoin market. The full impact on Binance’s market position remains to be seen.

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Binance to Remove ALCX, FOR, LOOM, NMR, PEOPLE, PUNDIX, SPELL, STORJ from BUSD Trading Pairs on August 25, 2023

On 2023-08-23, Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, made an official announcement regarding the removal of specific spot trading pairs. Effective from 2023-08-25 at 03:00 (UTC), the following spot pairs will no longer be available for trading on the platform: ALCX/BUSD, FOR/BUSD, LOOM/BUSD, NMR/BUSD, PEOPLE/BUSD, PUNDIX/BUSD, SPELL/BUSD, and STORJ/BUSD.

However, Binance has clarified that users can continue to trade these assets using other available trading pairs on their platform.

In addition to the removal of these spot pairs, Binance will also discontinue the Trading Bots services for these pairs. The termination will take effect at the same time as the removal of the spot pairs, i.e., 2023-08-25 at 03:00 (UTC). Binance has strongly advised its users to either update or cancel their Trading Bots associated with these pairs to prevent any potential losses.

For any discrepancies between translated versions of this announcement and the original English version, Binance has stated that the English version will take precedence.

The Binance Team expressed gratitude to its users for their continued support.

Recent Binance Removals

SOLBUSD Perpetual Contract Adjustments (August 21, 2023): Binance Futures announced the delisting of the USDⓈ-M SOLBUSD Perpetual Contract, effective from August 28, 2023, at 09:00 (UTC). Prior to this, leverage and margin tiers were adjusted on August 21, 2023, at 12:30 (UTC).

LTCBUSD and DOGEBUSD Perpetual Contracts Adjustments (August 17, 2023): Binance Futures revealed changes to the USDⓈ-M LTCBUSD and DOGEBUSD Perpetual Contracts. All positions on these contracts were set to be closed by August 24, 2023, at 09:00 (UTC), followed by delisting. Leverage and margin tiers for both contracts were adjusted on August 17, 2023, at 12:30 (UTC).

Spot Trading Pairs Removal (August 16, 2023): Binance discontinued several spot trading pairs, effective from August 18, 2023, at 03:00 (UTC). Affected pairs included CKB/BUSD, FARM/BUSD, ORN/BUSD, and others.

Margin Pairs Delisting (August 16, 2023): Binance Margin announced the delisting of several cross margin and isolated margin pairs, including EPX/BUSD, GAL/BUSD, and GMX/BUSD, effective from August 24, 2023, at 06:00 (UTC).

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Binance to Delist LTC/BUSD and DOGE/BUSD Perpetual Contracts

Binance Futures has announced its decision to delist the USDⓈ-M LTCBUSD and DOGEBUSD Perpetual Contracts. Here are the primary details:

Automatic Settlement and Delisting

All positions on the USDⓈ-M LTCBUSD and DOGEBUSD Perpetual Contracts will undergo an automatic settlement on 2023-08-24 at 09:00 (UTC). Following this settlement, the contracts will be officially delisted from the platform.

Adjustments to Leverage & Margin Tiers

Prior to the delisting, Binance Futures will make adjustments to the leverage and margin tiers of these contracts on 2023-08-17 at 12:30 (UTC). It’s crucial for users to note that positions opened before this update will be affected. To avoid potential liquidation, users are strongly advised to adjust their positions and leverage settings accordingly.

Key Recommendations

Users are urged to close any open positions related to these contracts before the specified delisting time to sidestep automatic settlement.

From 2023-08-24 at 08:30 (UTC) onwards, users will not have the option to open new positions for the aforementioned contracts.

Protective Measures: Binance Futures has highlighted that, in the interest of user protection and to counteract potential risks in volatile market conditions, it might introduce additional protective measures for these contracts without further notice. Such measures could encompass adjustments to various parameters like leverage values, position values, and maintenance margins.

For those seeking more comprehensive details, Binance has provided resources on its platform, including specifics on the delisting of futures contracts, trading rules, and other related topics.

Recent Delistings:

On August 15, 2023, Binance announced its decision to delist SNM, SRM, and YFII effective from August 22, 2023.

On August 16, 2023, Binance Margin communicated its intention to delist the EPX/BUSD, GAL/BUSD, GMX/BUSD, HIVE/BUSD, KLAY/BUSD, RAD/BUSD, and TVK/BUSD cross margin and isolated margin pairs. This change will take effect on 2023-08-24 at 06:00 (UTC).

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Binance.US Halts BUSD Services Amid Investigation

In the midst of ongoing global banking turmoil, Binance.US has announced the temporary suspension of some services related to its BUSD stablecoin pairs via the One Common Billing System (OCBS). The suspension affects BUSD crypto deposits and withdrawals, as well as buying, selling, and converting crypto options, according to a status notice on the Binance.US dashboard. The company has stated that it is currently investigating the issue and that the services are “suspended temporarily.”

This announcement follows the platform’s temporary suspension of Apple Pay and Google Pay deposits on March 30, as the company is transitioning to new banking and payment service providers over the next few weeks. Additionally, Binance.US has also halted debit card deposits for up to 5% of its customers starting from March 30, 2023. However, the platform has assured its customers that it is working to restore all services as soon as possible.

The temporary suspension of BUSD services via OCBS comes at a time when Binance.US’ global affiliate, Binance, is facing legal action from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC has filed a suit against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, for alleged trading violations, citing the exchange’s failure to meet compliance obligations by not registering with the regulator.

Binance.US was launched in September 2019 as a separate entity from Binance, which is not available to U.S. users due to local regulations. Catherine Coley, the first CEO of Binance.US, has reportedly enlisted the services of a former federal prosecutor and top cop at the CFTC to represent her in the U.S. government’s investigations into Binance.US. Since leaving Binance.US in June 2021, Coley has remained silent about her whereabouts in the media and has not posted anything on her Twitter.

Binance.US’ temporary suspension of BUSD services via OCBS is likely a precautionary measure in light of the legal action taken against its global affiliate. As the company investigates the issue and transitions to new banking and payment service providers, customers may experience some disruption in their BUSD-related transactions. However, Binance.US has reassured its customers that it is working to restore all services as soon as possible.

In recent years, Binance has become one of the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, but its growth has not been without controversy. The exchange has faced scrutiny from regulators in various jurisdictions, and its relationship with certain governments has been strained due to concerns over money laundering and other illegal activities. Nonetheless, Binance and its affiliates continue to operate and expand their services, with new offerings and features being introduced regularly.

Overall, Binance.US’ decision to halt certain BUSD services temporarily is likely a prudent response to the ongoing uncertainty and legal issues surrounding the global cryptocurrency industry. As the company navigates these challenges and works to restore full functionality to its platform, customers can continue to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies with confidence, knowing that their assets are secure and protected.

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Binance Replaces BUSD with TUSD and USDT in SAFU Fund

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, announced on March 17 that it has replaced the Binance USD (BUSD) holdings in its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) with TrueUSD (TUSD) and Tether (USDT). The move comes in response to Paxos’ recent move to stop minting new BUSD, which has led to the asset’s market capitalization falling. SAFU is an emergency insurance fund established by Binance in July 2018 to protect users’ funds in case of security breaches or other unforeseen events.

Binance committed a percentage of trading fees to grow the fund, which was valued at $1 billion as of Jan. 29, 2022. SAFU’s wallets initially consisted of BNB (BNB), Bitcoin (BTC), and Binance USD, which has now been replaced by TUSD and USDT. Binance assured users that the change would not impact them, their funds would continue to be held in publicly verifiable addresses, and BUSD would continue to be supported. The exchange added that it would closely monitor the fund to ensure that it remains sufficiently capitalized and top it up periodically as necessary using its own funds.

On Feb. 13, BUSD issuer Paxos Trust Company announced it would stop issuing new BUSD effective Feb. 21 in accordance with the directions of and in coordination with the New York Department of Financial Services. Days after reports emerged that United States regulators were scrutinizing Paxos and BUSD, Binance minted nearly $50 million worth of TUSD. The transaction took place on Feb. 16, according to data from Etherscan, and came two days after Binance CEO Chanpeng Zhao mentioned in a Feb. 14 Twitter Space that Binance would look to “diversify” its stablecoin holdings away from BUSD.

With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also taking action against BUSD, some crypto community members have questioned whether stablecoins are the real issue at hand or if it’s actually about Binance, as the SEC didn’t take action against Paxos’ gold-backed stablecoin, Pax Gold (PAXG).

Stablecoins, such as BUSD, TUSD, and USDT, are digital currencies designed to maintain a stable value relative to a reference asset, such as the US dollar. They have become increasingly popular in recent years as a means of facilitating transactions on cryptocurrency exchanges without having to convert to fiat currency, which can be costly and time-consuming.

However, stablecoins have also come under scrutiny from regulators due to concerns about their lack of transparency and potential for use in illicit activities. The recent actions by the SEC and the New York Department of Financial Services against BUSD and Paxos are part of a wider crackdown on stablecoins and cryptocurrency more broadly.

In response, cryptocurrency exchanges and other market participants are looking to diversify their stablecoin holdings to reduce their exposure to any one particular asset. This appears to be the motivation behind Binance’s decision to replace BUSD with TUSD and USDT in its SAFU fund.

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Binance pivots to stablecoins after SEC regulatory action

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has turned to alternative stablecoins following regulatory action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against its native stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD). The SEC sent a Wells notice to Binance, alleging that BUSD violates US securities law. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) also asked BUSD issuer Paxos Trust to stop minting new BUSD, which forced Binance to look for alternative ways to meet its stablecoin needs.

According to on-chain data, Binance has been looking to onboard TrueUSD (TUSD) and support a few decentralized stablecoins. The crypto exchange has already minted 180 million TUSD from February 16 to 24, indicating that it is turning to TUSD to mitigate its stablecoin needs. TrustToken, the operator behind TUSD, has been a Binance partner since June 2019. The partnership allowed Binance to buy TUSD for zero fees and redeem it for fiat currency. In September 2022, Binance auto-liquidated TUSD to BUSD to increase its market share. Now, with the ban on BUSD, Binance is increasingly minting new TUSD.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has said that the exchange will look at other options to diversify its stablecoin away from BUSD after the regulatory actions. Just a couple of weeks later, Binance announced support for the decentralized borrowing protocol Liquity (LQTY) and launched TrueFi (TRU) perpetual contracts. TRU is the native token of the decentralized finance protocol TrueFi for uncollateralized lending.

Decentralized stablecoins, such as TerraUSD (UST), became popular in the crypto ecosystem, with market pundits believing that they would be the next big thing. However, the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022 changed opinions about the nascent stablecoin concept. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency used the depeg and collapse of the UST algorithmic stablecoin as an example of stablecoins’ “run risk,” with asset-backed stablecoins also seeing minor depeg events as a result.

Binance’s move to alternative stablecoins and decentralized stablecoins shows the growing importance of these stablecoins in the crypto ecosystem. As regulatory pressure on stablecoins continues to increase, more and more exchanges and issuers are likely to turn to alternative stablecoins to meet their needs. Whether decentralized stablecoins will become the next big thing in the crypto ecosystem remains to be seen, but they certainly offer an interesting alternative to traditional stablecoins.

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Binance-Backed WazirX Exchange to Delist USDC, USDP & TUSD

Indian cryptocurrency trading platform WazirX has announced it will be delisting USD Coin (USDC), USDP, and TUSD in a move that is similar to its so-called parent company, Binance Exchange.

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In a Monday update, WazirX said the deposit support for these tokens has already been halted, and that withdrawal support will run from now until 5 p.m, IST on September 23rd.

The exchange said the tokens will automatically be converted to Binance USD (BUSD) and the conversion will run until October 5. 

The conversion from USDC, USDP, and TUSD will be on the ratio of 1:1. While the delisting process is billed to continue until September 26, the trading platform said users will still be able to view “their USDC, USDP, and TUSD balances under the BUSD-denominated account balance when the conversion is complete.”

The delisting of the three tokens comes off as regulatory scrutiny mounts, as well as Binance exchange made a similar move in the past month. 

The move has been welcomed with dissenting views by industry stakeholders, however, veterans like Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officier of USDC issuer, Circle have backed the exchange, noting among many things that the delisting of USDC may push the stablecoin to become the standard stablecoin rail between centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs).

With WazirX making a similar move from Binance, it is not clear at this time whether the two trading platforms have set aside their differences especially as it concerns the ownership of the Indian offshoot. 

During the probe of WazirX over fraud-related cases by the Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED), dust was raised as to the ownership status of the exchange. While there is an understanding that Binance had earlier acquired WazirX based on an announcement dating back to 2019, the trading platform’s CEO Changpeng Zhao in a spat with WazirX’s Nischal Shetty said the acquisition did not pull through.

While the ownership status is yet to be cleared, that WazirX is delisting the top stablecoins on its platform in favor of BUSD shows there is a connection between both entities.

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Bank of America Says Binance to Benefit from Increased Supply of Its Own Stablecoin

Bank of America (BAC) has talked about the recent decision by the Binance exchange to convert all existing user balances and future deposits of three stablecoins USD coin (USDC), trueUSD (TUSD) and pax dollar (USDP) into its native Binance USD (BUSD).

On Friday, the bank released its research report pointing out that while Binance’s move may generate limited additional revenue in the short term for the exchange, it could have wider implications in the long term.

The bank said the automatic conversion may increase the supply of BUSD by as much as $908 million, as 1% ($10 million) of USDP’s supply and 2% ($898 million) of USDC’s supply are held on Binance.

The Bank of America acknowledged that the fact that BUSD holds a market capitalization of 19 billion indicates that the stablecoin is not being used regularly throughout the broader crypto ecosystem and therefore, lacks utility.

However, the bank sees the potential for a larger increase in BUSD supply over the long-term as customers become more familiar with the stablecoin and its applications across the ecosystem adding more support for it in an attempt to attract more users.

According to the Bank of America, Binance will benefit from this increasing supply because it is able to invest the additional reserves that will back the stablecoin in cash equivalents like U.S. Treasury and overnight loans secured by Treasury to earn interest income.

On the other hand, the bank said although the implications for USDC are limited, there is the potential for the stablecoin to increase its market share relative to Tether (USDT). This is because Binance users may be more likely to convert BUSD into USDC than into USDT when withdrawing funds.

Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market cap, was excluded from the automatic conversion. USDC stablecoin has a market capitalization of just under US$52 billion, followed by BUSD at US$19.5 billion.

The market leader Tether (USDT), has a market capitalization of US$67 billion, and will still be tradeable on Binance.

Questioning Binance’s Move

Bank of America joins other stakeholders who have recently raised questions about Binance’s decision to stop supporting USDC and other stablecoins on its platform.

On Monday, Binance announced that it would convert customers’ holdings in three rival stablecoins — USDC, Pax Dollar (USDP) and True USD (TUSD) — into BUSD on September 29. As a result, it would remove spot, future, and margin trading with USDC, USDP, and TUSD pairs.

Binance said the decision was designed to “enhance liquidity and capital-efficiency for users.”  However, the news was met with skepticism, as some users faulted the decision to convert rival stablecoins into Binance stablecoin.

Concerns have been raised about a possible monopolistic behavior of Binance’s move to sideline other stablecoins in order to promote its own.

But, Circle CEO, Jeremy Allaire, recently backed Binance’s decision, saying that the new change will help USDC become the market’s preferred stablecoin rail for moving funds between centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized Exchanges (DEXs).

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Stablecoins: What Are They Good For?

Stablecoins are at the heart of some of the biggest controversies in the crypto industry today—and yet more of them keep coming. On an almost weekly basis, companies and protocols keep announcing new stablecoin moves. So, what’s behind the boom?

A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency intended to have a stable (or relatively stable) price, typically pegged to the value of a government-issued currency like the U.S. dollar. The appeal is clear: enter the cryptocurrency market while avoiding the volatility of Bitcoin. Stablecoins are typically viewed as a bridge to trade into and out of other cryptocurrencies.

The best-known stablecoin is arguably Tether, which once claimed to be backed 100% by U.S. dollars, but now claims to be backed by commercial paper and other assets. But Tether is also one of the most controversial projects in all of crypto precisely because of lingering questions about how Tethers are backed and allegations about how they’re used to prop up the price of Bitcoin. Other well known stablecoins include Circle’s USDC, and the decentralized DAI stablecoin. 

Today, the stablecoin war is largely being fought between two competitors—Tether and Circle. But other key players are also crowding in. 

Tether: the disputed stablecoin king?

Tether is by far the most frequently traded asset in the entire crypto industry—even more than Bitcoin.

Per CoinGecko, Tether’s 24-hour trading volume is $74 billion at the time of writing, over double Bitcoin’s, which comes in second with $34 billion.

Tether (the company) has long claimed that Tethers (the stablecoin) can be redeemed for US dollars. As a result, Tether can be used to purchase other, more volatile cryptocurrencies, and serves as a stable store of value for investors. 

“There is no stablecoin that comes close to Tether’s 24-hour trading volume, which attests to the trust Tether traders have instilled in it,” a Tether spokesperson tells Decrypt

But that claim of “trust” lies at the heart of the controversy around Tether. 

In May of this year, Tether released a breakdown of its reserves, which revealed that less than 3% of Tethers are backed by cash, at last crystalizing the fact that Tether holds very little actual dollars on reserve.

Tether’s general counsel Stuart Hoegner said at the time that it is “misleading to focus only on cash.” 

Despite Hoegner’s defense, Tether’s critics say that Tether artificially props up the price of Bitcoin, and that if Tether investors tried to sell all their Tethers, there’d be no money left in the pot for them to do so. 

Tether’s optics issues have opened the door for Circle, the company behind stablecoin USDC, to challenge the stablecoin status quo. Tether, at least publicly, says it welcomes the competition. 

“Tether welcomes competition as a larger representation of stablecoins will result in much fairer regulations in the space,” the spokesperson added in conversation with Decrypt

Circle: the stablecoin reserve bank?

Boston-based Circle, one of the earliest companies in the crypto industry, co-created USD Coin (USDC) along with Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange. 

Circle has made a slew of moves this year. In May, the company partnered with FTX to bolster support for USDC. Two months later, Circle announced it will go public via a SPAC deal, where an already-public “blank check” fund merges with a private startup to take it public. 

This month, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire announced that Circle aims to become a fully fledged reserve bank. This means that the company would have to comply with a growing list of regulations, but if Circle pulls off the shift, it would be the biggest step yet in its effort to overcome Tether as the primary stablecoin provider in the crypto industry. 

And yet, like Tether, Circle is not without its controversies. 

Allaire’s announcement followed a report that revealed USDC—similar to Tether—is not fully backed by cash, but by corporate bonds and commercial paper. This inevitably led to criticisms that USDC was not a legitimate stablecoin. 

So if Tether and Circle—the two companies behind the two largest centralized stablecoins in the industry today—are embroiled in accounting and regulatory controversies, where does the stablecoin industry go from here? 

Paxos: The company behind the scenes at PayPal

Paxos’s stablecoin (PAX), the “Pax Dollar” (formerly known as the “Paxos Standard” coin) is an ERC20 token that Paxos claims is fully backed by U.S. dollars. 

Paxos is also the company that provides the infrastructure for PayPal’s crypto venture.  

When PayPal announced account holders in the U.S. would be able to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through its platform, the payments giant became one of Paxos’s hottest clients. Instead of having to build its own infrastructure to facilitate crypto transactions, PayPal turned to Paxos to handle operations. 

Since then, Paxos has seemingly grown from strength to strength. In April of this year, the company made headlines when it raised $300 million via a Series D funding round—fundraising over $500 million in total and reaching a $2.4 billion valuation in the process.

In the same month, Paxos also gained a federal banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which oversees the United States’ banking industry. 

Albeit not the first crypto firm to be granted the charter, this helped grant the company (and the stablecoin) a level of legitimacy that it tries to use as a way of setting itself apart from competitors.

However, it’s not all been plain sailing for the PAX stablecoin. Last year, crypto analytics firm Coin Metrics published a report on stablecoins and their links to illicit activity. 

The report found that approximately 40% of all PAX volume, at the time, was tied to alleged ponzi schemes.

Binance partners with Paxos to launch BUSD

Paxos’s stablecoin exposure does not stop at PAX. The firm also partnered with Binance to help launch the exchange’s BUSD stablecoin. 

BUSD is supposed to be pegged to the US dollar, but it doesn’t always live up to that promise, having increased to as high as $1.15 and as low as $0.90 during its lifespan

The stablecoin can be traded for some of the world’s biggest cryptocurrencies by marketcap—including Bitcoin and Ethereum—and earlier this year, Binance listed the Coinbase Stock Token (COIN) to trade against BUSD. In recent months, BUSD has also made waves in some of the crypto industry’s most vibrant subcultures. 

Together with the State Hermitage Museum in Russia, Binance launched an NFT auction that featured the works of some of the world’s most renowned artists. The Binance NFT Marketplace platform auctioned off digitized collections of masterpieces that included “The Madonna and Child” by Leonardo da Vinci. 

Each NFT in the auction came with a starting bid of 10,000 BUSD—approximately $10,000—indicating that stablecoins can and have been used for specific marketplaces, as well as a means for mainstreaming the crypto industry as a whole. 

Filecoin and stablecoin incentives

Indeed, bespoke stablecoins are becoming a trend.

Filecoin’s recently launched stablecoin—oneFIL—is an illustrative example of why so many crypto projects feel the need to develop their own stablecoin.

With oneFIL, Filecoin storage buyers and providers are given access to discounts and incentives within the Filecoin ecosystem, providing a bespoke stablecoin option for its users. 

The rather ambitious aim of ICHI—the protocol behind the oneFIL stablecoin—is to see Filecoin’s stablecoin achieve Satoshi Nakamoto’s original mission for Bitcoin, namely, becoming a “peer to peer electronic cash system.” 

OneFIL has also taken aim at DeFi, with the ICHI team claiming that the stablecoin can also be used to “earn yield in DeFi.” 

In short, oneFIL is designed to be a medium of exchange like any other stablecoin, but it is also a tailor-made medium of exchange for the Filecoin community itself. It’s meant to be a tool for everything from DeFi transactions to paying for hardware and storage space, and if it succeeds, it could be a sign of where stablecoins are headed next.

Facebook’s Libra Diem

Many onlookers who’ve seen the headlines for two years about Facebook’s crypto project may not realize that the final product will be a stablecoin—or so Facebook says; the road to launch has been paved with obstacles. 

In October 2019, eBay, Mastercard, Stripe and Visa withdrew from Facebook’s Libra Association (as the project was originally called) on the same day after regulators drilled Facebook over its plans. 

In December 2020, the Libra Association announced its cryptocurrency (not yet a stablecoin by design) was rebranding to Diem. The rebrand was announced amid the recruitment of several experts “as it progresses toward regulatory approval for launch,” the company said at the time. 

One month later, the Diem testnet (a trial network that isn’t yet public) hit 50 million transactions. That might sound impressive, but at approximately 3 transactions per second, the speed of transactions lagged well behind much faster transaction speeds at rivaling cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum

In March, Kevin Weil, a Facebook executive and leader of Diem left the company. Two months later, Facebook announced it would launch a U.S. stablecoin instead of a global cryptocurrency—as it first promised back in the summer of 2019. The announcement also led to the Diem Association shifting its base of operations from Switzerland to the U.S. 

Despite a bumpy road, Facebook appears to be getting closer to finally launching its stablecoin. This month, Facebook Diem’s co-creator David Marcus said that Novi—the stablecoin’s wallet—”is ready to come to market.” 

“We’re a challenger in the payments industry, and we will offer free person-to-person payments domestically and internationally for people using the Novi wallet,” Marcus said at the time. 

What’s next for stablecoins? 

Tether and Circle still dominate the stablecoin chatter in crypto—for now—but as other projects have demonstrated, stablecoins pop up wherever there is demand. 

Enter El Salvador, the first country to recognize any cryptocurrency—in this case, Bitcoin—as legal tender. In July of this year, Salvadoran news outlet El Faro reported that President Nayib Bukele’s government plans to incorporate a stablecoin to facilitate the world’s first attempt at recognizing Bitcoin as legal tender. 

“The Naybid Bukele government plans to introduce a new national currency, a digital version of the Salvadoran colones,” the outlet tweeted at the time. 

El Faro said it obtained footage of private meetings between President Bukele’s brothers—who advise the president frequently—where the proposed stablecoin was discussed. 

If El Faro’s footage is to be believed, it means yet another stablecoin launch—one that will set its sights on an entire nation’s financial infrastructure—is on the horizon.

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Total Cryptocurrency Market Cap Value Surges Across $1.9 Trillion Setting A New Record

The bullish trend in the cryptocurrency market is tolling a remarkable route in the month of August. For the first time since May, the industry is recording a total market cap that is almost $2 trillion.

The data from CoinGecko, a crypto data aggregator, indicates that the total crypto market value crosses $1.9 trillion a few days ago. This was after the market hit the mark since May 18.

Related Reading | Coinbase Removes USD Coin (USDC)” Backed By Dollar” Statement

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From July 19, the entire crypto market experienced a considerable surge that pushes the total market value to about $700 billion. Nevertheless, the market is yet to attain its all-time high as of May 11. The value shows a deficit of about $700 billion from its peak of $2.5 trillion.

Other Cryptocurrency Assets Reacting To The New Market Trend

In the recent recovery trend in the industry, prominent digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are not left out. As a result, these cryptocurrencies have explored their mid-May market cap levels again.

As of Monday, Bitcoin records a market value of over $860 billion. CoinGecko reveals that it’s the first time since May 16 for BTC to hit such a limit. The cryptocurrency experienced a main sell-off earlier in the year. This was after Bitcoin became a $1 trillion asset.

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However, the sell-off triggered the plummeting of the market cap to $560 billion by July 20. The recent rebounce of the BTC price over $45,000 brought over a 53% increase to its market value.

Similarly, the global second-largest digital asset by market cap, Ether, is not left out. The cryptocurrency accrued more gains in July since the bear market. The asset had almost an 81% increase from its July 20th value of  $204 billion to $369 billion.

Total Crypto Market Cap Value Surges Across $1.9 Trillion Setting A New Record

Total Crypto Market Cap Value Surges Across $1.9 Trillion Setting A New Record


After an incredible last week, the crypto market has taken a slight dip | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com

On Thursday, the digital asset passed through a prominent network upgrade. The Ether price moved by 50% in response to the London hard fork. This displays investors’ anticipation of getting solutions to Ethereum’s high transaction fees through the upgrade.

Though the crypto market experienced a recent positive turning, some key cryptocurrencies somersaulted in their market cap value.

For instance, Binance USD (BUSD), a top-ranking stablecoin by market value after Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), had a drop.

Total Crypto Market Cap Value Surges Across $1.9 Trillion Setting A New Record

Total Crypto Market Cap Value Surges Across $1.9 Trillion Setting A New Record


Total cryptocurrency market cap 90-day chart

As listed on Thursday, BUSD couldn’t make it among the top 10 most-valued digital assets. UNI, Uniswap’s governance token, dethroned BUSD from the list. This left BUSD as the 11th-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $12 billion.

Related Reading | Lionel Messi To Get Paid In Crypto For Joining Paris Saint Germain

Recall that this recent growth trend in crypto market value occurs after Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, revealed debt to Bitcoin. Musk mentioned on July 22 that SpaceX, his aerospace firm, is indebted to Bitcoin. Furthermore, he announced Tesla’s plan to recommence its acceptance of crypto payments for purchases.

Musk explains that this decision was due to the remarkable drop in the percentage of fossil fuel used for Bitcoin mining. It alleged that the previous decision of the CEO in suspending BTC payment to his company was the main contributory factor to the May Bitcoin’s price crash.

Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView.com

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Bitcoin (BTC) $ 43,704.71 0.71%
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,228.83 2.79%
Litecoin (LTC) $ 72.58 1.66%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 245.02 2.67%