Archives

January 31, 2023 @ 7:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Holepunch, a “fully encrypted” platform for building peer-to-peer applications, announced the launch of Keet Mobile, a free peer-to-peer instant messaging application that works without “the need for centralized entities on any device.: Keet Mobile is the first in “a series of peer-to-peer applications that will… Read More

December 20, 2022 @ 11:42 am By JD Alois  |  

In an understatement, Bitfinex’s CTO (as well as Tether’s) Paolo Ardoino, has labeled 2022 as the annus horribilis for crypto markets. From multiple bankruptcies, hacks, and regulatory challenges, the digital asset sector has had a challenging year. As it looks today, the path remains murky. Ardoino… Read More

December 14, 2022 @ 8:30 am By JD Alois  |  

In a blog post, Tether announced its intent to reduce secured loans to zero during 2023. Along with the announcement, Tether stated that its current secured loans are overcollateralized and covered by extremely liquid assets. The statement follows a claim published on WSJ.com that said… Read More

December 9, 2022 @ 9:25 am By JD Alois  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), the top crypto exchange in the US, has posted a statement telling customers to migrate from Tether – USDT, to USDC – the dollar-based stablecoin issued by Circle. In the post’s headline, Coinbase calls USDC “trusted and reputable,” insinuating that Tether is, well,… Read More

December 2, 2022 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Tether (USDT), currently the most popular dollar-based stablecoin with a market cap of around $65 billion, has responded to an article in WSJ.com questioning the firm about its stablecoin-issued loans and affiliated risk. In an article published yesterday (December 1, 2022), the author claimed that… Read More

November 9, 2022 @ 4:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crypto Contagion? Once again, crypto markets are sinking, losing over 10% in the past 24 hours, as the collapse of FTX has revealed an Emperor with no clothing. In aggregate, crypto assets now sit around $800 million, far off its all-time high of $3 trillion… Read More

October 14, 2022 @ 8:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT by market cap, announced on October 13, 2022 that it has “eliminated commercial paper from its reserves, replacing these investments with U.S. Treasury Bills (T-Bills).” This announcement “comes as part of Tether’s ongoing efforts to increase… Read More

October 4, 2022 @ 9:18 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of Lugano, Switzerland’s Plan ₿, a joint initiative between the City of Lugano and Tether to accelerate the use of Bitcoin, the city now accepts Bitcoin and USDT at the communities merchants. The service is using GoCrypto to enable crypto payments. USDT is… Read More

October 3, 2022 @ 8:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Tether, the leading stablecoin based on the US dollar, has provided an update on the assets backing the digital currency. According to a Tweet distributed by Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CTO, as of September 30, 2022, Tether held approximately 58.1% of assets in US Treasuries up… Read More

August 16, 2022 @ 6:21 pm By Paolo Ardoino  |  

Inflation continues to rise globally, especially across Latin America where hyperinflation afflicts many countries. Could Bitcoin and the emerging digital token economy be the answer? Across Latin America, a story of inflation and ineffective central bank policy is the order of the day. In Mexico,… Read More

July 25, 2022 @ 9:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitfinex, Tether, and Hypercore have joined to launch Holepunch, a platform described as enabling creators to build secure peer-to-peer apps. Holepunch is currently closed source and in alpha testing. The company anticipates moving to open source code in Q4 of 2022. Tether is a leading… Read More

June 27, 2022 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tether is out with a statement regarding its dollar based stablecoin USD₮. The commentary by Tether may be in response to an interview with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler that took place on CNBC this morning when Tether was discussed by name with Gensler comparing stablecoins… Read More

June 15, 2022 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Tether has moved to counter “rumors” that 85% of its commercial paper is Chinese or  Asian and trading at a 30% discount thus calling into question its reserves. Tether or USDT is the number one dollar-based stablecoin and has endured a challenging market having largely… Read More

June 8, 2022 @ 2:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has announced new guidance on dollar-based stablecoins which are issued by firms regulated by the DFS. The guidance does not apply to USD-backed stablecoins listed, but not issued, by DFS-regulated entities. Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris commented… Read More

May 31, 2022 @ 5:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market cap (USDT), has launched another stablecoin – this time pegged 1 to 1 to the Mexican Peso. Tether did not provide details on how the 1 to 1 peg is managed or whether the Mexican currency… Read More

May 19, 2022 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

As TerraUSD (UST), an algorithmic stablecoin imploded going to zero, reserve-based stablecoins rushed to stem the tide of concerns about contagion. Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin in the market, has been hit with collateral damage due to the failure of UST. At the beginning of… Read More

May 12, 2022 @ 10:21 am By JD Alois  |  

Tether, issuer of the dollar-based stablecoin USDT, has announced that it will honor all redemptions at USD $1 for all verified customers. The commitment by Tether arrives at a time of unprecedented volatility in crypto markets. In recent days, algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) was hit… Read More

May 12, 2022 @ 8:51 am By JD Alois  |  

Early bird Circle CEO and founder Jeremy Allaire took to Twitter today to tout USDC, Circle’s dollar-based stablecoin while throwing shade at competitor Tether (USDT) – a competing dollar-based stablecoin. USDC/USDT is the trade of the day. Flight to quality. — Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth… Read More

February 10, 2022 @ 5:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on stablecoins or digital assets tied to fiat currency. The Hearing was driven by the recent report by the President’s Working Group (PWG) on Financial Markets. While stablecoins are not (yet) systemically worrisome,… Read More

December 29, 2021 @ 7:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Coin Metric State of the Network Report #135 notes that decentralized finance (DeFi) has experienced tremendous growth during the past few years. At present, the most widely-used metric to measure DeFi adoption is called “Total Value Locked”, or TVL. According to Coin Metrics researchers,… Read More