National Australia Bank Becomes Second Australian Bank to Build Stablecoin
The National Australia Bank (NAB) aims to launch an Australian dollar-pegged stablecoin (AUDN) in the middle of 2023. Its purpose would be to allow its customers to settle transactions in real-time using Australian dollars, and several other purposes including "carbon credit trading, overseas money transfers and repurchase agreements." The stablecoin will launch on the Ethereum and Algorand blockchains. NAB is the second major Australian bank to be involved in the creation of a stablecoin. Earlier, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) teamed up with crypto custodian Fireblocks to mint a stablecoin pegged to the Australian dollar.
"There is no law that bans U.S. banks from issuing paper or digital private banknotes, American Institute for Economic Research senior fellow Thomas Hogan writes."
Credit Rater Moody Preps Crypto Stablecoins Scoring System
Moody’s is reportedly working on a scoring system for stablecoins that will include an analysis of up to 20 stablecoins based on the quality of attestations on the reserves backing them. The project is still in early stages and apparently won’t represent an official credit rating.
Federal Reserve issues policy statement to promote a level playing field for all banks with a federal supervisor, regardless of deposit insurance status
The Federal Reserve Board issued a policy statement to promote a level playing field for all banks with a federal supervisor, regardless of deposit insurance status. The statement makes clear that uninsured and insured banks supervised by the Board will be subject to the same limitations on activities, including novel banking activities, such as crypto-asset-related activities. The statement also makes clear that uninsured and insured banks supervised by the Board would be subject to the limitations on certain activities imposed on national banks, which are overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The equal treatment will promote a level playing field and limit regulatory arbitrage... The Board generally believes that issuing dollar- denominated tokens (dollar tokens) using distributed ledger technology or similar technologies on open, public, and/or decentralized networks, or similar systems is highly likely to be inconsistent with safe and sound banking practices. The Board believes such tokens raise concerns related to operational, cybersecurity, and run risks, and may also present significant illicit finance risks, because—depending on their design—such tokens could circulate continuously, quickly, pseudonymously, and indefinitely among parties unknown to the issuing bank. Importantly, the Board believes such risks are pronounced where the issuing bank does not have the capability to obtain and verify the identity of all transacting parties, including for those using unhosted wallets.
Stablecoins: Growth Potential and Impact on Banking
"In this paper, we discuss the current use cases and growth opportunities of stablecoins, and we analyze the potential for stablecoins to broadly impact the banking system. The impact of stablecoin adoption on traditional banking and credit provision can vary depending on the sources of inflow and the composition of stablecoin reserves. Among the various scenarios, a two-tiered banking system can both support stablecoin issuance and maintain traditional forms of credit creation. In contrast, a narrow bank approach for digital currencies can lead to disintermediation of traditional banking, but may provide the most stable peg to fiat currencies. Additionally, dollar-pegged stablecoins backed by adequately safe and liquid collateral can potentially serve as a digital safe haven currency during periods of crypto market distress. "
Conclusion of HKMA discussion paper on crypto-assets and stablecoins
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued the consultation conclusion to the discussion paper on crypto-assets and stablecoins. Respondents were supportive of regulating stablecoins with a risk-based and agile approach. The respondents also broadly supported the need to take into account the latest market developments and draw reference from the discussion of international regulatory bodies when developing the relevant regulatory regime. he HKMA will announce the regulatory arrangements and next steps in due course.
"Although the terminology used to define stablecoins is currently ambiguous, they can be broadly defined as a specific type of crypto-asset that aims to maintain a stable value relative to a specified currency, asset, or pool of currencies/assets. This paper characterises different types of stablecoins according to the stabilisation mechanism used and analyses the current stablecoins’ market. It also describes the regulatory framework applicable to stablecoins in a few selected jurisdictions. The main focus of the paper is the identification of the main risks associated with stablecoins, particularly the so-called global stablecoins, i.e., those stablecoins with a potential to be adopted across different jurisdictions and achieve a substantial volume. Finally, the paper concludes that continuous monitoring of the stablecoins’ market should be pursued, given their increasing relevance and potential impact on the financial sector."
Membrane Finance launches EUROe on Ethereum - EUROe
Finland-based Membrane Finance has released a fully-reserved stablecoin backed by the euro. The company is licensed by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA) and claims that the new ”EUROe” coin is “the first and only ... crypto stablecoin.regulated by an EU-based financial authority.
Using trades between the stablecoin treasury and private investors, we quantify how improved arbitrage design stabilizes the price of the dominant stablecoin, Tether. We identify two 2019 design reforms: migration of Tether from the Omni to the Ethereum blockchain and decentralization of issuance. These reforms increased investor access to arbitrage trading with the treasury, reducing the absolute size of peg deviations by half. Further evidence for the importance of arbitrage design is present in the stability mechanism of the stablecoin DAI and in the creation of authorized merchants for the pegged coin WBTC.
Policy Statement on Section 9(13) of the Federal Reserve Act
The US Federal Reserve Board issued a policy statement that said that issuing dollar-denominated tokens on open, public, and/or decentralized networks, or similar systems is highly likely to be inconsistent with safe and sound banking practices. The Board believes such tokens raise concerns related to operational, cybersecurity, and run risks, and may also present significant illicit finance risks, because—depending on their design—such tokens could circulate continuously, quickly, pseudonymously, and indefinitely among parties unknown to the issuing bank. Importantly, the Board believes such risks are pronounced where the issuing bank does not have the capability to obtain and verify the identity of all transacting parties, including for those using unhosted wallets.
Stablecoin giant Tether records surprise $700 million profit
Tether said in a new USDT attestation report that it made a $700 million net profit in Q4 2022. The company says it has added the money to its USDT reserves. Tether said its latest quarterly results were buoyed by interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which have resulted in higher yields on government debt. Tether makes money from various fees, including a $1,000 withdrawal fee (with a minimum withdrawal requirement of $100,000), as well as investments in digital tokens and precious metals as well as issuing loans to other institutions. https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/53L8YRM4ZHCEeqlpKbc3Q8/846eb5a7f53a47d53676ee3fbb1b3062/Std_ISAE_3000R_Opinion_BDO_31-12-2022_Tether_CRR.pdf
A new report from JP Morgan and Oliver Wyman touts the benefits (versus stablecoins) of blockchain-based deposit tokens issued by licensed depository institutions which evidence a deposit claim against the issuer. However, it points out that while deposit tokens that run on public unpermissioned networks offer the greatest degree of interoperability and benefits, private permissioned ledgers introduce fewer challenges for regulated institutions, and would require appropriate alternative controls to create a trusted environment for funds transfers.
PayPal Pauses Stablecoin Work Amid Regulatory Scrutiny of Crypto
PayPal is reportedly pausing work on its stablecoin as regulators increase scrutiny of cryptocurrencies and Paxos, a key partner in the project, faces a probe by the New York State Department of Financial Services. A PayPal official confirmed that the firm is exploring a US dollar backed stablecoin, adding that “if and when we seek to move forward, we will, of course, work closely with relevant regulators.”
Tether taps Cantor Fitzgerald to help oversee bond portfolio: Report
The WSJ is reporting that financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald is helping Tether oversee a $39 billion bond portfolio comprised of United States Treasury securities. The report indicates that some firms on Wall Street are willing to support crypto service providers despite ongoing regulatory concerns facing the industry. "
Billions Of Tether’s Reserves Were Stored At Cantor Fitzgerald, Capital Union And Ansbacher
"Forbes has learned that Tether moved $37 billion of its reserves to an offshore bank called Capital Union in 2021. The move occurred after settling with the New York Attorney General’s office over claims it had misrepresented its finances. Tether also enlisted another Bahamian bank, Ansbacher, to hold some of its reserves. Tether has additionally been using New York financial services giant Cantor Fitzgerald as a custodian of U.S. Treasury bills. (Tether recently reported that more than half of its consolidated assets were in Treasuries last quarter.)"
Paxos Trust will stop minting new Binance USD (BUSD) tokens starting from February 21, 2022 in accordance with directions and coordination with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). All existing BUSD tokens will remain fully backed and redeemable through Paxos until at least February 2024. Customers will be able to convert their BUSD tokens to Pax Dollar (USDP) another Paxos-issued stablecoin. https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/alerts/Paxos_and_Binance
Crypto Firm Paxos Faces SEC Lawsuit Over Binance USD Token
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued Paxos a Wells Notice for allegedly selling unregistered securities by issuing BUSD. That characterization typically hinges on the Howey Test, under which an investment contract exists if there is an "investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others." https://paxos.com/2023/02/13/paxos-issues-statement/
"The crypto ecosystem relies on stablecoins as a cheap and plentiful form of dollar liquidity. If all stablecoins were classed as securities, dollar liquidity for onshore crypto exchanges and platforms would dry up as stablecoin issuers either went offshore or out of business. It is very hard to see what would replace it, at least in the short term: U.S. dollars (and other fiat currencies) are not liquid on crypto exchanges, because to move them around requires banks, and non-USD stablecoins have gained little traction thus far. So trading crypto onshore would become much more expensive and considerably riskier. The dollar liquidity drought could also severely impact DeFi, because that relies on stablecoins (or derivatives of stablecoins) as collateral. So the SEC's action could bring down the onshore crypto ecosystem. "
"There are long-running boring debates about whether certain sorts of cryptocurrencies are “securities” subject to the SEC’s jurisdiction. The SEC tends to think that almost everything in crypto is a security; most crypto companies think that almost nothing is a security. (Very few crypto companies register their token or product offerings with the SEC, and the SEC sometimes sues them for doing unregistered securities offerings.) The general rule — called the “Howey test” — is that a security is “the investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others.” A lot of crypto projects look a lot like that, but you can debate the specifics."
Morgan Stanley: Falling Stablecoin Issuance Is Negative Sign for Crypto Trading
“Rising market prices enticed traders to take on more leverage, in the form of borrowing stablecoins, which was then used to buy more crypto,” analysts Sheena Shah and Kinji Steimetz wrote. “Falling market prices were catalyzed by a reduction in crypto liquidity caused by traders closing long crypto positions, followed by redemptions of the stablecoin received.”
Circle allegedly complained to regulator re Binance stablecoin
"It’s likely the Circle NYDFS complaint did not refer to the Ethereum stablecoin for which Paxos is responsible. Binance issued pegged stablecoins using the same BUSD branding on other blockchains, which were meant to be backed one-for-one by the Ethereum BUSD issued by Paxos. However, records show they were not fully backed at all times in the past. Binance claimed there was a process issue resulting in timing differences which have been corrected."
Binance issues BUSD on other chains, including its own-brand blockchain Binance Chain. Together these amount to about a third of the total issuance of BUSD. It doesn’t create it out of thin air but uses the Ethereum BUSD as the 1:1 backing asset. This wrapping of a token to make it usable on another blockchain network is commonplace in crypto, but not without risks. The obvious ones are who has keys to the wallets and how to ensure the 1:1 backing is in sync. It turns out that BUSD on other chains was not always 1:1 backed in the past, although Binance said it rectified the process last year. It claimed the issues were a timing difference and it now rebalances more regularly.
"BUSD is natively issued on Ethereum, thus limiting its usage outside of the Ethereum ecosystem. In order to extend BUSD’s utility to other blockchains, Binance offers a wrapped version of the stablecoin, Binance-Peg BUSD, which is designed to track the value of the original, ERC-20 BUSD at a 1:1 ratio. “Wrapping” tokens is blockchain lingo for creating versions of the original asset that are transportable to other chains for the sake of increasing interoperability and the interconnectedness of the digital asset space. Normally, the value of wrapped tokens is secured by locking the collateral of the original asset, which is the case with Binance-Peg BUSD."
How We Back Binance-Peg BUSD (and Explaining Historical Discrepancies)
"Recent news reports have shone a light on Binance-Peg BUSD (“PBUSD”) and how it doesn’t always appear to have been completely backed by BUSD issued by Paxos. PBUSD is minted on several blockchain networks including BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, and TRON. PBUSD has always been, and continues to be, 100% collateralized. However, the collateral has not always been stored in a single, dedicated wallet in real time so that the 1:1 backing was not always immediately visible to users. Binance undertook a project to centralize the collateral in a single, dedicated wallet; this was completed on 04 January 2023 so that users have visibility into the 1:1 backing of PBUSD. Minting of PBUSD now only takes place after collateral is added to the dedicated wallet. Centralization of collateral for all Binance-backed tokens into dedicated collateral wallets will be completed by 09 February. This will be visible in the Proof of Reserves system that we are continuing to develop."
Stablecoins Are Not New. So Why Are Regulators Attacking Paxos?
It’s clear regulators prefer interacting with banks because banks are centralized and easy to control. Reading between the lines, the real risk stablecoins pose is creating a system less amenable to government efforts of control. But technological progress is not going to stop. Economic activity is simply going to move elsewhere in the world if we continue down this path. United States regulators believe they face a choice between allowing or banning stablecoins, but in reality they face a choice between allowing stablecoins onshore or having them be primarily offshore. Already, the biggest winner of the current U.S. attack on crypto is likely Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer with a less-than-reputable past. Stablecoin tether (USDT) is growing again while Circle’s USDC and the Paxos-issued BUSD, both of which are more transparent, more regulated and safer for consumers, are shrinking.
The Banque de France (BdF) published a paper on the impact of stablecoins on the financing of the real economy. The largest stablecoins manage their peg with the US dollar by holding safe short-term assets such as US dollar-denominated commercial paper (CP). The paper suggests that US CP isssuers react to the increasing demand for stablecoins by issuing more CP. The authors exploit the fact that reserve asset policies vary across stablecoins and over time to confirm that the relationship between stablecoins and CP market is effectively due to the purchase of CP by stablecoin issuers.
"Let’s take a look at one of the biggest stablecoins in crypto, the USDC token. Using a few specific examples, we will show: (1) stablecoins are regularly used by dubious actors to move massive sums of money internationally with minimal oversight, (2) stablecoins are regularly used in fraudulent transactions, and (3) stablecoin issuers provide shadow banking services for other crypto entities that are unable to access traditional banking services. "
"For stablecoins to flourish as widely used payment vehicles they require a proper regulatory framework. A good starting point is to adhere to the principle of “same risk, same activity, same regulation.” Another worthwhile principle is to not recreate the wheel. With this in mind, this Commentary offers some suggestions as to how stablecoins and their issuers could be regulated using the existing regulatory frameworks that are applied to retail payments-system providers and deposit-taking institutions. These existing frameworks include the Bank Act, its provincial statutory counterparts, and the relatively recent Retail Payments Activities Act. We paraphrase the Financial Stability Board’s high-level recommendations for global stablecoins – many of which apply in a domestic setting as well – and assign the legislation/recommendations/authority based on the Canadian context." [Jeremy Kronick & Mark Zelmer, CD Howe]
"Proof of reserves is all the rage on crypto platforms. The idea is that if the platform can prove to its customers' satisfaction that their deposits are fully matched by equivalent assets on the platform, their deposits are safe. And if the mechanism they use to prove this uses crypto technology, that's even better. Crypto tech solutions have surely got to be much more reliable than traditional financial accounts and audits - after all, FTX passed a U.S. GAAP audit. No, they aren't. Proof of reserves as done by exchanges like Binance does not prove that customer deposits are safe. It is smoke and mirrors to fool prospective punters into relinquishing their money, just like claims that exchanges and platforms are "audited" or have "insurance". There are no audits in the crypto world, there is no insurance, and as I shall explain, proof of reserves proves absolutely nothing." [Frances Coppola]
Coinbase will add support for Euro Coin (EUROC) on the Ethereum network (ERC-20 token)
Coinbase will support for Euro Coin (EUROC) on the Ethereum network (ERC-20 token) and trading will commence as soon liquidity conditions are met, in regions where trading it is supported. The EUROC token will launch with the "experimental" label, designated for new or low volume tokens on the exchange.
