Tag: Gusd

MakerDAO Keeps USDC as Primary Collateral for Dai

by Blockchain News

Since there is a possibility of hazards being linked with USDC, the MakerDAO Risk Core Unit recently proposed the notion of diversifying the collateral for Dai. This suggestion was made as a response to the proposal. Nonetheless, MKR holders voted decisively in support of maintaining USDC as the major collateral for Dai. With a vote of 79.02% in favor of expanding the USDC-to-DAI minting capacity and decreasing the cost to 0%, MKR holders voted in favor of retaining USDC as the primary collateral for Dai.

Due to USDC’s “possibly more dangerous exposure to uninsured bank deposits” and “a weaker legal framework” in comparison to its rivals, the suggestion advised diversifying collateral into GUSD and USDP. Nevertheless, according to the Risk Core Unit, the risks that are connected with utilizing USDC as collateral have dramatically diminished from the previous week. This information was provided by the Risk Core Unit.

When a string of failed banks forced the USDC to briefly lose its $1 peg, the decision was made to maintain USDC as the principal collateral for Dai transactions. In response to this, MakerDAO has introduced efforts to prevent Dai from being undercollateralized. These actions include increasing the charge to mint Dai using USDC as collateral from 0% to 1%, as well as lowering the daily minting cap for this procedure.

A vote of confidence in the stability of the USDC stablecoin and its capacity to retain its $1 peg can be inferred from the fact that USDC will continue to serve as the principal collateral for the Dai cryptocurrency. Yet, this does bring up concerns about the possible hazards that are connected with placing a significant amount of reliance on a single collateral item.

It is quite possible that new discussions and disputes around collateral diversification will continue to emerge inside decentralized autonomous organizations such as MakerDAO as the cryptocurrency market continues to expand and stablecoins become more widely used.

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Bitcoin Exchange Gemini Confirms $400M Raise at $7.1 Billion Valuation

by Decrypt

In brief

  • Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange and platform.

  • It’s taking in outside funding for the first time.

The Bitcoin billionaire brothers who made a fortune off of Facebook have decided to finally raise outside capital.

Gemini, the cryptocurrency platform and exchange founded by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has announced $400 million in funding in a round led by Morgan Creek Digital. Jay Z’s Marcy Venture Partners, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 10T, Newflow Partners, and ParaFi also contributed. The growth equity round rockets the value of Gemini to $7.1 billion.

While that’s one-tenth of rival exchange Coinbase’s $70 billion valuation and less than the $10-20 billion valuation Kraken seeks, it’s a good bit of business for the brothers, who reportedly have increased their net wealth to $10 billion with the deal.

Gemini has standard plans for the money, saying in a press release that it “will continue to bring simple, innovative, and secure products to market, and advance its geographic expansion.” It operates not only stateside but is available in five dozen countries, including the U.K. and Singapore, where global behemoth Binance has run into red tape and regulatory issues.

Gemini’s dogged adherence to playing by the rules may have cost it market share in the exchange business, at least temporarily. In a 2019 ad campaign titled “The Revolution Needs Rules,” it argued for regulations and industry standards, potentially alienating crypto natives while trying to appeal to a wider audience. It remains outside the top 10 exchanges by trading volume and—like most of it’s U.S. cohort—has shied away from derivatives products that have proven major money-makers for Binance and FTX.

The company is expanding in other ways, however. The Gemini-owned Nifty Gateway gave it a relatively early foothold into the NFT space. The marketplace for blockchain-based digital assets has recorded $420 million in sales, according to Gemini, and It recently adjusted its strategy away from just being a place for curated drops to allowing trading of outside NFTs, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club. Nonetheless, mintings of new NFTs on the platform have plateaued since August, according to data from Dune Analytics.

Gemini has other tricks up its sleeve, including a bid to help create a decentralized version of the metaverse, a version of the internet that blends virtual and augmented realities. That will pit them against their nemesis, Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is hard at work on a for-profit version of the metaverse, even though the company’s stablecoin ambitions have thus far foundered.

With $400 million more to play with, expect more to be coming from the firm.

“We are incredibly excited to continue to build on the frontier of crypto and give individuals around the world greater choice, independence, and opportunity through crypto,” said Gemini President Cameron Winklevoss.

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Gemini’s Crypto Mastercard Set to Be Unwrapped This Summer

by Decrypt

In brief

  • Crypto exchange Gemini is launching a credit card with Mastercard.

  • Customers will receive a portion of cashback rewards from the card in the form of cryptocurrency.

If you trade on the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, you’ll soon have a way to get crypto in your account without placing a buy order.

Gemini has partnered with Mastercard on its Gemini Credit Card, due out this summer. 

The company promises up to 3% cash back on just about every swipe. Although holders spend in dollars, they’ll get a portion of it back in Bitcoin or over 30 other cryptocurrencies on the exchange, including Ethereum, Dai stablecoin, and Uniswap‘s UNI token. Gemini says rewards will appear instantly in customers’ accounts, not monthly.

Gemini first announced its Bitcoin rewards credit card in January after it bought crypto credit card market Blockrize, which was working on a crypto-back card without the annual fee. Anyone on the Blockrize waitlist was transferred to the Gemini waitlist. The exchange says that list now numbers 140,000 people.

Gemini COO Noah Perlman shared with Decrypt that the company felt hotel points, airline miles, and cash-back rewards were losing their cachet during the pandemic. “The Gemini Credit Card offers people the opportunity to earn Bitcoin on purchases,” he said in January, “which is one of the best-performing asset classes in recent years.”

Since the acquisition, Gemini has firmed up details about its crypto-back rewards and selected the credit card network.

Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss said of the choice, “Mastercard continues to evolve and meet both industry and consumer demands and commit to the crypto space.”

Mastercard’s North America president, Linda Kirkpatrick, said in a press release, “Consumer choice is at the center of Mastercard’s strategy—giving people flexibility in how they pay and anticipating their evolving preferences.”

Mastercard has long lent its name to cryptocurrency payment firms with debit cards, such as Wirex and BitPay. In such instances, dollars move through the payment network, not cryptocurrency; Mastercard’s partners are responsible for converting any dollars into cryptocurrency.

In February, however, the credit card company announced that it would start “supporting digital assets directly” in 2021 to minimize the inefficiencies caused by converting funds back and forth. That didn’t mean Bitcoin would suddenly start pumping through Mastercard’s veins, however. “Bitcoin doesn’t behave like a payment instrument,” Mastercard Executive Vice Chair Ann Cairns stated that month. “It’s too volatile and it takes too long to transact.” Instead, Mastercard had its eye on stablecoins for its network.

Today’s Gemini-Mastercard partnership is similar to Mastercard’s traditional arrangements, though it could evolve. Gemini, after all, has its own stablecoin, GUSD, with a modest market cap of $128 million. (Gemini has not yet responded to a request for comment.)

Regardless of whether Gemini and Mastercard take their relationship further, the exchange’s users should be fairly pleased with the promised rewards of up to 3% back at restaurants, 2% back on groceries, and 1% for everything else. They can also earn interest on their cashback via the Gemini Earn program.

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@tailwindds @Facebook Doesn’t affect Bitcoin at all. It’s aimed at centralized stablecoins like GUSD, USDC. It only affects DeFi in that it could affect who can issue a centralized stablecoin. Right now they want to make it bank only, as opposed to any company that gets licensed as a money transmitter

by Tyler Winklevoss
@tailwindds @Facebook Doesn’t affect Bitcoin at all. It’s aimed at centralized stablecoins like GUSD, USDC. It only affects DeFi in that it could affect who can issue a centralized stablecoin. Right now they want to make it bank only, as opposed to any company that gets licensed as a money transmitter

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The legal framework for building a compliant stablecoin is already well-understood & well-traveled. Stablecoins in the US fall under money-transmission laws. @Gemini has already traveled this path w/ our stablecoin $GUSD. @Facebook and any other company should be allowed to also.

by Tyler Winklevoss
The legal framework for building a compliant stablecoin is already well-understood & well-traveled. Stablecoins in the US fall under money-transmission laws. @Gemini has already traveled this path w/ our stablecoin $GUSD. @Facebook and any other company should be allowed to also.

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