A Comprehensive Guide to Decentralized Stablecoins – Hacker Noon
A stablecoin is any cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to a single national fiat currency, a collection of fiat currencies, or a basket of goods in a consumer price index. A stablecoin can also be alternatively defined as a cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to the value of one or more financial assets that individually or collectively have a stable value.
From Commodity to Fiat and Now to Crypto: What Does History Tell Us?
Over time, there has been a tendency for political jurisdictions and residents to converge on a single currency. Monopoly over seigniorage is a source of political power and a valuable lifeline when sovereignty is threatened. Moreover a uniform currency, insofar as it is free of counterparty and liquidity risk, facilitates economic activity. But will digital currencies now reverse this trend toward uniformity, given the apparent ease with which they can be created? The information sensitivity of those units, evident in the fact that they trade at varying prices, suggests that they do not yet provide the core functions of money. So-called stable coins are intended to bridge this gap, but whether they can be successfully scaled up and maintain their stability is doubtful. The one unit that can clearly meet these challenges is central bank digital currency. But there would be both costs and benefits of moving in this direction.
The History of Money and the Future of Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies might appear to be a natural step in the evolution of money—from metal coins to paper notes to digital bits, with each step allowing for a more effective means of payment. However, as economic historian Barry Eichengreen argues in a recent NBER working paper, “there is no straight line from commodity money to fiat money and from there to crypto, nor from metallic currency to paper currency and from there to digital.” The history of money is replete with many strange episodes along the way.
Who is Actually Going to Buy Iran's New Cryptocurrency?
"Iran is creating a state-backed cryptocurrency. The options for the digital token are currently open. Reportedly, it’s initially only for crypto companies to do business with the Central Bank of Iran. Later, it will be used as a means to facilitate payments between Iran and other countries for goods and services. Iran was kicked off the SWIFT network last year, essentially disabling their ability to trade efficiently. In response, Russia and other partner nations announced they’re working on a SWIFT-alternative using the blockchain."
Why we don’t rate Tether, TrueUSD and other stablecoins - Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings
"Stablecoins are simply digital assets acting as proxies for a particular fiat currency. That’s what makes them stable. But it also takes away any semblance of achieving the core mission of cryptocurrencies — to give the people a new form of money only they control."
South Korean Fintech Firm Launches ‘First’ Won-Backed Stablecoin
"South Korea-based fintech firm BxB Inc. has launched the first supposed stablecoin backed by the Korean won, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Jan 29."
Europe To Launch Financial Mechanism To Conduct Business In Iran
"Germany, France, and Britain are set to launch a mechanism to allow financial flows to be sent to Iran that would not violate U.S. sanctions in an attempt to keep alive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. The so-called special-purpose vehicle (SPV), expected to come into force on January 31, will help European firms with legitimate business interests to use barter techniques to conduct business in Iran."
Iran Launches Gold-backed Cryptocurrency as Anticipation for Crypto-Rial Grows to Evade US Sanctions
"A gold-backed cryptocurrency has been launched in the Islamic Republic of Iran,. The cryptocurrency known as Peyman (the Persian word for covenant) is the fruit of cooperation between four banks and Ghoghnoos Company."
Maker Price Analysis - A complex stablecoin system » Brave New Coin
"Maker (MKR) is a smart contract platform leveraging Ethereum (ETH) to back and stabilize the value of a stablecoin called Dai (DAI). The MKR token circulating supply is currently 728,228, generating a market cap of US$285 million, with US$591,000 traded in the past 24 hours."
Tangem To Produce Physical Blockchain Banknotes for the Marshall Islands' Digital Currency Legal Tender
"Each Tangem card will take the form of a unique physical banknote with secure blockchain-enabled microprocessor inside and combine the familiar advantages of paper banknotes with the security of blockchain technology. These protected notes will be fully transparent, 100% secure, decentralized, and represent a controllable mechanism of currency issuance and circulation for the state."
Swiss Wallet Firm to Produce Physical Banknotes for Marshall Islands Digital Currency
"Tangem, a Switzerland-based ‘smart card’ wallet manufacturer will reportedly issue physical banknotes for the Sovereign (SOV), the state digital currency of the Marshall Islands, according to an announcement on Jan. 28."
Iran Lifts Bitcoin Ban to Make Way For 'Crypto-Rial' - Bitcoinist.com
"Iran is currently in negotiations with eight foreign nations as part of efforts to incorporate cryptocurrency payments into international payment transactions. This move comes as the country looks for ways to counter US-led economic blockade."
Hong Kong Gets its First HKD Backed Stablecoin | Fintech Hong Kong
"itspark, a cryptocurrency money transfer platform, has launched Sparkdex.HKD. The company claims that is the world’s first market-ready cryptocurrency pegged to the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)."
Iran Soon to Unveil Cryptocurrency With Aim to Skirt US and SWIFT: Source
"Iran could unveil its state-backed cryptocurrency at the Electronic Banking and Payment Systems conference in Tehran this week, local English-language news outlet Al Jazeera reported on Jan. 27. Iran, which has faced fresh sanctions from the United States since November, had previously planned to use blockchain-based financial tools as a way of sidestepping restrictions on its economic growth."
Digital Garage to Test Yen-Pegged Stablecoin on Blockstream Network - CoinDesk
"An arm of Tokyo-listed internet group Digital Garage is working with bitcoin infrastructure startup Blockstream to test the issuance of a Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin."
Will people ditch cash for cryptocurrency? Japan is about to find out
MUFG, which has also tested its own crypto-token, is far from alone. Mizuho Financial Group, a large holding company, has been experimenting with blockchain technology for several years as part of a project dubbed “J-Coin” and plans to release its own digital currency for retail payments in March. SBI Holdings, a big financial-services firm, says it’s building its own token, also for retail payments, called S Coin.
Bitcoin's Liquid Sidechain Welcomes Japanese Yen Stablecoin - Bitcoinist.com
Blockstream has announced Crypto Garage, a joint venture with Digital Garage and Tokyo Tanshi, to serve the Japanese Bitcoin market. The partnership will soon launch the Liquid sidechain based SETTLENET suite, the first application of which will be a yen-pegged stablecoin.
Bahamian financial sector shrinks by more than a third in six years - Central Banking
"The Central Bank of The Bahamas said the decline was largely due to a “shift in business models” and “de-risking” of financial institutions, but other figures could indicate the industry is in slow contraction."
Paytm, UPI, Visa may have new rivals as RBI mulls new norms — Quartz India
"“The Reserve Bank had announced that it would encourage more players to participate in, and promote pan-India payment platforms…The objective is to minimise the concentration risk in the retail payments market, from a financial stability perspective and to give a fillip to innovation and competition,” it said. The RBI will be accepting comments from the public and the other stakeholders on the matter till Feb. 20."
Signature Launches Institutional Payments Using Permissioned Ethereum Blockchain
"Commercial bank Signature Bank is launching a new payments platform for institutional clients powered by a permissioned version of the ethereum blockchain. Developed in partnership with trueDigital Holdings in New York, the Signet Platform lets Signature Bank clients move money in 30 seconds, 24-hours a day, seven days a week by converting U.S. dollars into tokens compliant with ethereum’s ERC-20 standard."
Signature Bank Unveils Proprietary Digital Payments Platform, Signet™ | Signature Bank
"The Signet Platform will leverage blockchain technology in its architecture, allowing Signature Bank’s commercial clients to make payments in U.S. dollars 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Signet Platform will be open to all commercial clients effective January 1, 2019 at 12:01 A.M. Eastern Time, and can be accessed then at www.signet.com. Transactions made on the Signet Platform settle in real time, are safe and secure, incur no transaction fees, and require a minimum account balance of $250,000. Typically, in the case of real-time payments, funds are transferred between two different institutions. With Signet, funds are transferred in real-time between commercial clients of Signature Bank, eliminating any dependence on a third party."
Japan: Regulators Approve Startup’s Bitcoin Sidechain Trial for Exchanges
"The product, dubbed Settlenet, uses Liquid as part of an arrangement allowing exchanges to issue yen-pegged stablecoins and trade against Liquid Bitcoin (L-BTC), Blockstream’s sidechain. The feature also makes use of so-called ‘atomic swaps,’ the ability to make cross-blockchain transactions without manually converting assets."
United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia Collaborate on New Cryptocurrency
"The cryptocurrency “will be strictly targeted for banks at an experimental phase with the aim of better understanding the implications of blockchain technology and facilitating cross-border payments.” The joint cryptocurrency project will also research the effect of a central currency on financial policies. The initiative reportedly seeks to protect customer interest, create standards for technology, and consider the cybersecurity risks while determining the impact of central currencies on monetary policies."
How an Israeli startup helped the Marshall Islands adopt a digital currency - Business - Haaretz.com
"The Marshall Islands’ plans to accept a digital currency called SOV as its official currency is shaking up the digital currency markets, and it’s happening thanks to an Israeli startup called Neema."
Neema and the Republic of the Marshall Islands | Guidepost Solutions LLC
"Guidepost Solutions advises financial technology company Neema on regulatory issues in connection with Neema’s development of SOV, a digital currency that has been approved as the official legal tender, i.e. fiat currency, of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Specifically, the Guidepost Solutions team supports Neema’s efforts to build into the SOV programming state-of-the-art controls to meet all Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements. For this engagement, Guidepost Solutions registered with the U.S. Department of Justice as an agent of the Republic of the Marshall Islands."
