Binance conversions will lead to more USDC flowing into the exchange: Circle CEO
"Binance's move to automatically convert USDC and two other stablecoins may lead to more USDC flowing into the exchange, according to the CEO of Circle, which issues the coin. "Binance is trying to consolidate dollar liquidity w cash equivalent stables. That’s good for liquidity and market depth," said Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire on Twitter."
"At face value, it’s a vote of confidence for tokens like USDC and USDP, with Binance effectively stating that the value of those tokens are reliable enough to be allowed permanent 1-to-1 redemption with its own BUSD across withdrawals and deposits. Tether’s USDT, the largest stablecoin by market value, was notably left out of the party."
Binance Will Change Stablecoin Policy – What Should Investors Know?
Binance will stop supporting trading in spot pairs that include these stablecoins, but will allow users to withdraw funds in the form of these stablecoins. In other words, the trading of these stablecoins will no longer be supported, but Binance users will be able to withdraw amounts denominated in these stablecoins.
House Stablecoin Bill Would Put Two-Year Ban on Terra-Like Coins
Legislation to regulate stablecoins being drafted in the U.S. House of Representatives would place a two-year ban on coins similar to TerraUSD, the algorithmic stablecoin that collapsed earlier this year. It would be illegal to issue or create new “endogenously collateralized stablecoins." The definition would kick in for stablecoins marketed as being able to be converted, redeemed or repurchased for a fixed amount of monetary value, and that rely solely on the value of another digital asset from the same creator to maintain their fixed price.
Stablecoin restriction dropped from E.U. digital asset framework
"A new draft of the markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) regulation, expected to be the final version of the rulemaking, obtained by The Block shows that limitations on the use of U.S. dollar-pegged tokens within the E.U. have been removed."
Republican Lawmakers File Amicus Brief in Support of Custodia Bank’s Legal Battle With the Federal Reserve
Seven U.S. Republican lawmakers have thrown their weight behind Custodia Bank in its ongoing legal battle to get a master account at the Federal Reserve.
How we can regulate stablecoins now—without congressional action
The Brookings Institution published a paper that proposes a US federal framework for the issuance of stablecoins within the existing regulatory framework for insured depository institutions, a structure that would not require any new legislation. Under current law, the Comptroller of the Currency could authorize a national trust bank charter, organized as an operating subsidiary of an insured depository institution, to create stablecoins through the use of a dedicated trust vehicle. The Comptroller would adopt standards limiting the investment of stablecoin reserves to high quality liquid assets and address redemptions and operational resilience, among other matters. The proposed framework guarantees that holders of a failed stablecoin are paid out rapidly and in full, because it uses the same resolution process by which failed banks are wound up.
The European Union is stifling stablecoin adoption
Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation framework, as of the latest draft, limits the volume for stablecoin payments to $200 million per day. This is too low of a cap to gauge its success and is ultimately only helpful in stifling innovation and hindering what these assets can offer. Take the perspective from Belgium, where, as of July 1, 2022, all merchants must offer at least one digital payment solution. But, here’s the catch — cryptocurrency and stablecoins are not accepted as valid forms of digital payment under this provision.
Regulating the Crypto Ecosystem: The Case of Stablecoins
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a Fintech Note that provides key elements that should feature in any stablecoin regulatory arrangement. Stablecoins have experienced periods of rapid growth, accelerated links with traditional finance. Without proper regulation, contagion risks to wider financial sector will increase. Global regulation for stablecoins should be comprehensive, consistent, risk-based, flexible, and focus on their structural features and use. Requirements on stablecoins should cover the entire ecosystem and all its key functions, and there should be additional oversight for systemic stablecoin arrangements. In markets where risks are growing quickly, authorities should take immediate action by using all the tools at their disposal. For effective implementation, domestic and international collaboration are key.
Non-euro stablecoin transaction cap revived in MiCA
"A daily transaction cap for non-euro stablecoins has been reinserted into the European Union’s draft rules for cryptocurrencies. The cap will limit transactions using stablecoins denominated in other currencies, like the U.S. dollar, to €200 million transacted per day, multiple sources confirmed to The Block. "
"This paper examines the financial stability risks associated with tokenized cash, a subset of stablecoins fully reserved with cash and cash equivalents. Using a combination of on-chain data together with uniquely collected wallet address labels, we construct empirical measures of liquidity ratios and run off rates on the largest cash token and characterize its users and their behavior. The overall circulation of tokenized cash is largely insulated from crypto price movements, though price changes correlate with re-balancing between smart contracts and private wallets. A liquidity ratio calculation, similar in concept to Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), indicates that tokenized cash has at least two times the amount of High-Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) when compared to the worst observed gross outflow over 30-day ahead periods. We discuss the implications of tokenized cash on safe asset creation, credit supply, and monetary policy transmission. The adoption of tokenized cash can reduce moral hazard risks from public guarantees and expand credit provision through market-based lending enabled by smart contracts."
Tether Increases US Treasury Portfolio, Cuts Commercial Paper Holdings to Below $50M
Tether has cut its commercial paper holding to less than $50 million, as of September 30, and increased its holding of U.S. Treasuries to 58.1% of its total portfolio from 43.5% of its total portfolio as of June 30, according to a Tweet by its Chief Technology Officer, Paolo Ardoino.
Stablecoin Technology and Related Security Considerations
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a technical paper on the ways in which stablecoins are architected and implemented. This includes a descriptive definition, commonly found properties, and distinguishing characteristics, as well as an exploration of stablecoin taxonomies, descriptions of the most common types, and examples from a list of top stablecoins by market capitalization. This document also explores related security, safety, and trust issues with an analysis conducted from a computer science and information technology security perspective as opposed to the financial analysis and economics focus of much of the stablecoin literature
FSB warns stablecoins aren't 'stable', recommend action around crypto assets
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) released two crypto-related reports, one on high-level recommendations for crypto-asset regulation that prescribes a “same activity, same risk, same regulation,” approach to digital assets, and the other an assessment of how broadly stablecoin issuers would meet the “high-standard” criteria set by the group in 2020. Citing limits on redemptions, including the ability to delay or deny them, the FSB found that most users have to sell stablecoins on exchanges in order to liquidate them, and the price could drop below the value of the currency that the coin is pegged to. The FSB also cast doubt on how most stablecoins would be able to maintain their pricing under market stress.
The real reason Circle de-risked its USDC reserves?
"Back in 2020-21, Circle was investing USDC's reserves in all sorts of riskier assets. Then it shifted to a 100% Treasury bill policy. Why? Circle feared being classified as an 'investment company' as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940." (HT @jp_koning) See page 70 here: https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001876042/d372f208-1c41-4909-b529-f2b0614fc1ea.pdf
"The global rise in interest rates is finally beginning to percolate into the stablecoin sector. One of the effects of this rise is that centralized stablecoins, which by default pay 0% to holders, are introducing backdoor routes for paying interest to large customers. While large stablecoin holders may be benefiting from this trend, small holders of stablecoins are being ignored. Small stablecoin holders need to unite. By working together through a StablecoinDAO, their bargaining power vis-a-vis the big stablecoin issuers improves. They may be able to negotiate the same interest payments that large stablecoin customers are getting... A StablecoinDAO would work along the same lines as a high-interest savings ETF. People would deposit their stablecoins -- USD Coin, Gemini Dollar, Binance USD, USDP, Tether, Dai -- into a smart contract. In return they'd get a new stablecoin called, say, UniteUSD, which would be redeemable on demand into any of the DAO's underlying stablecoins. UniteUSD itself would be useful. It could be used for purchases, deposited into smart contracts, or traded on decentralized exchanges and whatnot. StablecoinDAO would have the authority to swap one underlying stablecoin out with a new one. That potential threat would give the DAO the necessary leverage to negotiate interest payments."
Stablecoins Come Into Focus in EU’s MiCa Legislation
Regulatory guidance and oversight are topics that regularly intrude in the stablecoin market and are sure to shape the future of the ecosystem. Last week, the European Council voted in favor of the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation, set to come into force in 2024, to provide greater transparency and accountability to individuals and businesses operating in the crypto industry with stablecoins given special treatment. In particular, the new rules forbid the collection of interest by investors on stablecoins, which could provide motivation for securitization of tokenized retail money-market funds or commercial bank deposits, which do not fall under MiCA and are free to pay interest.
“JP Morgan already enables tokenized U.S. dollar deposits with JPM Coin. Now it plans to enable blockchain-based Euro deposits ‘soon’… Most blockchain financial applications sit under JP Morgan’s Onyx division. This includes Onyx Digital Assets with an intraday DLT repo application, Liink for messaging around conventional payments and JPM Coin. It’s also experimenting with using JPM Coin on a public blockchain as part of Project Guardian, its Singapore DeFi experiments with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.”
Here’s why Silvergate is delaying its planned stablecoin launch
Silvergate Capital no longer plans to launch its own payments-focused, dollar-pegged stablecoin this year. Company executives said the delay is related to regulatory compliance, not technical issues, underscoring that the technology was ready when Silvergate acquired it from Diem.
Increasing access to USDC internationally: commission-free trading via non-USD currencies
Coinbase says the adoption of USD Coin has been “more conservative” outside of the United States, which it believes is a result of international currency conversion fees. The U.S. exchange said there is currently three times more USDC bought with U.S. dollars as compared to other currencies. The exchange said it is aiming to “build more on-ramps for users to access USDC,” and will be waiving fees for all customers who buy or sell USDC using any fiat currency.
The macroeconomic impact of cryptocurrency and stablecoin economics
The World Economic Forum’s (WEF's) Digital Currency Governance Consortium has published a summary of the earlier-published comprehensive analysis of the macroeconomic impact of cryptocurrency and stablecoins. The project had two objectives: (i) to project economic outcomes of crypto and stablecoins given various possible high-level regulatory paths and (ii) to arm policymakers and business leaders with the projections to inform decision-making. The rising concern around the potential spillover effects of crypto and stablecoins on the financial system was another impetus.
Singapore lays down the law for crypto trading and stablecoins
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published two consultation papers proposing strict regulatory measures to reduce the risk to consumers from cryptocurrency trading while supporting the development of stablecoins as a credible medium of exchange. One of the papers is focused on reducing the risk to consumers from speculative trading in cryptocurrencies, requiring that digital payment token (DPT) service providers ensure proper business conduct and adequate risk disclosure. The other paper is focused on ensuring that stablecoins have a high degree of value stability, including imposing capital requirements on nonbank issuers. https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2022/mas-proposes-measures-to-reduce-risks-to-consumers-from-cryptocurrency-trading-and-enhance-standards-of-stablecoin-related-activities
UK Stablecoin Rules Approved by Lawmaker Committee
U.K. lawmakers agreed on new rules for stablecoins, as the government promised to consult on further crypto-asset regulations and a digital pound in coming weeks. The Financial Services and Markets Bill builds upon existing measures to broaden regulations of stablecoins and mentions “Digital Settlement Assets” (DSA) as a new term, moving away from the use of “crypto assets.” According to the U.K. government, “crypto assets use some form of distributed ledger technology (DLT),” whereas DSA includes stablecoins, “given their potential to develop into a widespread means of payment.” https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3326/stages/16949
Fed skeptical about bank-issued stablecoins on open permissionless DLT networks
US Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr shot across the bow of any bank plans to issue dollar-denominated stablecoins on open permissionless distributed ledger technology (DLT) networks. "It remains an open question whether banks can engage in such arrangements in a manner consistent with safe and sound banking and in compliance with relevant law... [Banks] may not be able to track who is holding their tokenized liabilities, or whether they are being used in risky or illegal activity.
Custodia Bank's master account lawsuit against Fed likely to advance
"Judge Scott Skavdahl of the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming said he likely would not dismiss the lawsuit Custodia Bank filed against the [Fed] earlier this year. Following oral arguments from all parties, Skavdahl declined to issue a ruling from the bench on the Fed's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. He noted that the scope of the suit might be adjusted but the matter would likely survive "in some form." Custodia, a Wyoming-chartered special-purpose depository, sued the Fed in June, hoping to compel it to make a decision on the company's roughly two-year-old application for a master account with the Kansas City Fed."
New York Justice Department Probes Stablecoin Tether Bank-Fraud Claims
"Last year, federal prosecutors in Washington warned top officials at Tether that they could be charged for allegedly deceiving banks they used to move cash, people familiar with the situation said at the time. But after months of legal wrangling, the case has been transferred within the department, according to people familiar with the matter.
US Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan took over the inquiry in recent weeks, the people said, asking not to be named discussing the confidential case. His office, based in the Southern District of New York, has been one of the most aggressive in pursuing suspected cryptocurrency crimes and recently secured a guilty plea from a person affiliated with one of Tether’s payment processors."
"This paper discusses a decentralized finance (DeFi) application called MakerDAO. The Maker Protocol, built on the Ethereum blockchain, enables users to create and hold currency. Current elements of the Maker Protocol are the Dai stable coin, Maker Vaults, and Voting. MakerDAO governs the Maker Protocol by deciding on key parameters (e.g., stability fees, collateral types and rates, etc.) through the voting power of Maker (MKR) holders. The Maker Protocol is one of the largest decentralized applications (DApps) on the Ethereum blockchain and is the first decentralized finance (DeFi) application to earn significant adoption. The objective of this paper is to analyze and discuss the significance, uses, and functions of this DeFi application."
EU Delays Vote on MiCA Crypto Legislation Until February
"European Union (EU) lawmakers [reportedly] won’t vote on the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) until February, likely meaning further delays in the landmark licensing regime for crypto companies within the bloc. A previous tentative plan for the parliament to vote at its December plenary session has been abandoned given the length and complexity of the text. EU procedures require legal acts such as MiCA, which was negotiated in English, to be available in all the bloc's 24 official languages."
