DFC

“[I]t seems that we have integrated the [Libra investment] token into the Libra coin in some way such as to produce a return, which would then deem it [the Libra coin] to be a security." (U.S. Rep. Al Green at a September 24 SEC oversight hearing)

The Celo price stability protocol can be thought of as a hybrid crypto-collateralization/seigniorage-style model, designed in a way that we believe offers the best of all three approaches. The protocol supports an ecosystem of stable currencies, the first of which, the Celo Dollar, will be pegged to the US Dollar.

"Celo is an open blockchain-based platform for fast, stable, secure digital payments, Celo’s mission is to enable a monetary system that creates the conditions for prosperity for all."

"It's important to separate the genuine worries about Libra from the hyperbole. Facebook is a controversial company these days. But French monetary sovereignty is unlikely to fall at the hands of Libra. Let’s not forget that the existing payments networks — the MasterCard and Visa networks as well as the international correspondent banking system — don’t always provide consumers with low prices. Any new competition will help consumers get cheaper and better payments options."

The token with the highest daily and monthly trading volume is Tether, whose market capitalization is more than 30 times smaller. Tether’s volume surpassed that of Bitcoin’s for the first time in April and has consistently exceeded it since early August at about $21 billion per day.

TABB Group director of fintech research Monica Summerville looks at the developing regulatory framework for cryptoassets and the future of tokenization.

Switzerland is more worried about cryptocurrency projects developing outside official scrutiny than about the Facebook-conceived Libra project, which is being handled with openness, the head of Swiss financial supervisor FINMA said on Tuesday.

Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc. and Stripe Inc. are undecided about formally signing onto Libra’s organizing charter because they’re concerned about maintaining positive relationships with regulators who have reservations about the project, the people said.

One of the key selling points of Facebook’s Libra project was that it would prove a boon the world’s 1.7 billion-strong unbanked community. Over in Africa, however, the humble mobile phone has been fulfilling such a role for the past 20 years.

Policy executives from the Libra Association have been summoned to an October 3 meeting in Washington DC, and on the 14th representatives from the companies are slated to meet in Geneva to review a charter for the Libra Association and appoint a board of directors.

Like the European Union, Facebook's Libra Association has 28 members, and both organisations face defections in the coming weeks. Brexit could be accompanied by Vexit and Mexit, according to reports.

Coinbase customers can now earn interest on their USDC stablecoin holdings at a 1.25% annual rate, paid out on a monthly basis.

Pocketful of Quarters (PoQ), a gaming startup looking to issue tokens on the ethereum blockchain. PoQ may legally sell its Quarters tokens to consumers without registering them as securities, the SEC Division of Corporation Finance wrote in its second no-action letter to a company seeking to launch a token sale. (The first was granted in April to TurnKey Jet, a business-travel startup.)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a “no-action” letter to TurnKey Jet, Inc., agreeing that tokens used by the business-travel startup are not securities. The regulatory stamp of approval is contingent upon the company using its tokens under certain conditions.

PayPal is on the verge of quitting Facebook’s Libra project as three people familiar with the situation said it had pulled out of a key meeting in Washington on Thursday.

"Even if antitrust enforcement moves forward, social welfare regulations are also required. This is why there have also been calls for the creation of a new regulatory agency focused on digital platforms. Such an agency would need to be able to address not only concerns about competition but also these broader social welfare concerns. Essentially, then, we need a robust public interest framework for platform regulation."

A study done by the University of Texas published in June of last year was making the claim that Bitcoin’s price was majorly affected by the issuance of new USDT tokens. Just recently, research performed by TokenAnalyst.io shows that when Tethers are issued, the Bitcoin price rises as much as 70% of the time.

This short paper introduces the Libra project and analyses the potential responses open to regulators worldwide.

This is a nice capsule summary of the existing stablecoin landscape, although bizarrely it doesn’t include USDC which is #2 by market cap.

“MakerDAO and DeFi more generally are helping to provide an answer to the question that hangs over crypto. After the bubble, then crash, of 2017 and 2018, it’s natural to ask, ‘What do we use this stuff for?’ DeFi is the first legitimate answer to the question. DeFi is starting to have its moment because it’s the next chapter for crypto.”

Bitfinex in conjunction with EOSFinex, its decentralized trading platform, have announced that they had successfully completed a “chainswap” to convert $5 million worth of Tether stablecoins onto the EOS blockchain protocol.

Here is a quick survey of the SDR and the many appearances it makes in modern life. The SDR is a fairly minor currency, but it is surprising to see some of the economic nooks and crannies where it is being used.

A WIRED analysis finds that 15 of the 27 founding members of the Libra Association are directly or indirectly tied to Facebook. The total includes members that employ former Facebook executives, members whose boards include Facebook board members, and numerous ties through common investors.

A class action lawsuit was filed today against Bitfinex, Tether and others  was filed in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York. The new federal court class action lawsuit alleges over $1.4 trillion in damages suffered by class members.

LEO is a curiosity in the crypto space, spawned after an initial exchange offering (IEO) by Bitfinex that ran until June 10. According to the claims of Bitfinex, the exchange raised $1 billion from private placements. Conveniently placed, the IEO in effect offset the $900 million debt to Tether, Inc.

Roche Freedman filed a class-action suit claiming that stablecoin firm Tether and its affiliate crypto exchange Bitfinex have been involved in defrauding investors, manipulating markets and concealing illicit proceeds, the firm’s founding partner Kyle Roche tweeted on Oct. 7.

Anchorage, one of the 28 Libra Association founding members, will allow organizations developing products and services on Telegram's blockchain-based Telegram Open Network platform, to store their gram online currency securely when it launches next month.

In a letter filed to the New York State Supreme Court Tuesday, attorneys for Bitfinex, Tether and other affiliated entities wrote that a request made by the NYAG’s office relating to a $900 billion loan between sister companies Bitfinex and Tether should be denied.

Two U.S. lawmakers - Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii - have asked three payments giants Visa, Mastercard and Stripe to reconsider their partnerships with Facebook-led proposed stablecoin project, Libra.

Thirty different blockchain companies and nonprofit organizations plan to fork the Libra crypto project to build their own permissionless version, dubbed OpenLibra. OpenLibra will function as a stablecoin pegged to the actual Libra cryptocurrency.