"I think banks should be able to issue dollar IOUs on whatever digital substrate they see fit, whether that be an Azure SQL database, an Oracle database, or a blockchain. And they should be allowed to get deposit insurance for any of those dollars, regardless of the substrate on which those dollars are recorded. The medium should be irrelevant."
"Your own personal estimation for whether to go with a traditional remittance or stablecoins will differ from mine, of course, depending on how cheap your local cryptocurrency exchange is (as well as that of your counterparty), and the availability and price of options like Wise or Western Union. Just make sure you include all stablecoin-related fees so that you're not mistakenly comparing apples to oranges. Stablecoins don't work for me, but they might for you."
Stablecoin Runs and the Centralization of Arbitrage
A paper by Yiming Ma, Yao Zeng, and Anthony Lee Zhang analyzes the run risk of USD-backed stablecoins and uncover a dilemma between stablecoins’ price stability and financial stability. They show that panic runs exist even though general investors only trade stablecoins in secondary markets with flexible prices. Run incentives are reinstated by stablecoin issuers’ liquidity transformation and the fixed $1 at which arbitrageurs redeem stablecoins for cash in the primary market. The authors discover that more efficient arbitrage amplifies run risk. This explains why stablecoin issuers only authorize a small set of arbitragers even though it comes at the expense of maintaining a stable secondary price. In other words, the centralization of arbitrage embeds an inherent tradeoff between run risk and price stability. The paper's findings are based on a model and a novel dataset on stablecoin redemptions, trading, and reserve assets. Calibrating the model, the authors find a higher run risk for USDT, the largest stablecoin, compared to USDC, the second-largest stablecoin. However, even USDC bears significant run risk due to its less concentrated arbitrage and more concentrated deposit holdings.
Intelligent design: stablecoins (in)stability and collateral during market turbulence
"How does stablecoin design affect market behavior during turbulent periods? Stablecoins attempt to maintain a “stable” peg to the US dollar, but do so with widely varying structural designs. The spectacular collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and the linked Terra (LUNA) token in May 2022 precipitated a series of reactions across major stablecoins, with some experiencing a fall in value and others gaining value. Using a Baba, Engle, Kraft and Kroner (1990) (BEKK) model, we examine the reaction to this exogenous shock and find significant contagion effects from the UST collapse, likely partially due to herding behavior among traders. We test the varying reactions among stablecoins and find that stablecoin design differences affect the direction, magnitude, and duration of the response to shocks. We discuss the implications for stablecoin developers, exchanges, traders, and regulators."
"Whatever the reason for the Fed’s reluctance to permit TNB to get off the ground, it is sad to see financial policy makers turn down such an obvious boon to financial stability and efficiency, and slow walk it to regulatory death, despite what appear to be clear legal rights of TNB to serve its customers and the economy."
One Way to Prevent an SVB-Style Collapse? Fed Bank Accounts
"The Fed has raised several concerns about narrow banks. The main one is that in times of stress they’d be too attractive as a haven. Money could pour out of Treasury bills, high-quality bonds or even accounts at conventional banks, amplifying risks to the broader financial system. Narrow banks could also make it harder for the central bank to manage short-term interest rates. And because conventional banks could end up holding few deposits, they might do less lending, making loans more expensive and credit harder to get."
Circle Takes Euro Coin Multi-Chain with Launch on Avalanche
Circle launched its Euro Coin on Avalanche, the first in a series of expected multi-chain launches, following the initial launch on Ethereum last year (2022). Circle currently maintains two fiat-based stablecoins, USD Coin (with a market capitalization of about $29 billion), and Euro Coin ($48 million).
The IMF published a paper that considers stablecoin tax treatment and associated challenges, and the challenges of achieving neutrality. Without greater tax certainty and tax neutrality than what is currently available, stablecoins will not be able to properly fulfill their promise as an alternative means of payment. Gaps and mismatches in tax treatment between tax jurisdictions may create distortions and opportunities for abuse.
Japanese Banking Giant MUFG to Deploy Stablecoins on Public Blockchains
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) plans to deploy and distribute bank-backed stablecoins on different public blockchains. The Japanese bank has partnered with Datachain, a blockchain interoperability company, and Toki, a cross-chain bridge, to allow the interoperation of these licensed stablecoins along several blockchains using its Progmat Coin protocol. The announcement comes after Japan's revised funds’ settlement law passed in 2022 came into take effect to allow financial institutions to issue stablecoins. Stablecoin issuance on public blockchains doesn't seem to be explicitly covered in the legislation as summarized in a slide deck from Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) and this document, although a white paper published by the country's Liberal Democratic Party implies that clarity on this issue would be forthcoming, which I suppose has indeed arrived.
"The new stablecoin using the Bitcoin blockchain was created by Stably, a Delaware-based startup. The dollar-pegged stablecoin is called #USD, and it takes the most fundamental unit of Bitcoin, called a ‘satoshi’ or ‘sat’ for short, and turns those smaller units into tokens that represent a claim against US dollars held by a custodian. It is the first stablecoin that is native to the Bitcoin blockchain, whereas others, like Rootstock or Sovryn, offer Bitcoin-collateralized stablecoins on layer two architectures."
Circle Singapore Obtained Major Payment Institution (MPI) License
Circle's Singapore affiliate received its Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Major Payment Institution (MPI) license for digital payment token services in Singapore, after having obtained in-principle approval last November. It allows Circle Singapore to offer digital payment token services, cross-border money transfer services and domestic money transfer services in the city-state. Circle is the issuer of USDC stablecoin.
"Many types of so-called stablecoins have tried to meet the market’s demands for digital money, only to go wobbly. Instead, the future of online payments lies in commercial bank deposit tokens, which can and should be issued within the current two-tiered monetary system and work in tandem with central bank digital currencies."
The Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation published in the EU Journal
Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has been published in the official European Union Journal. MiCA will now enter into force at the end of June 2023, and 12 months later for stablecoins, (e.g., e-money tokens and asset referenced tokens) and in 18 months for general crypto-assets and crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2023:150:TOC
Tether's USDT Stablecoin Was Once Backed by Chinese Securities
Tether once backed its USDT stablecoin with commercial paper issued by Chinese firms, according to documents released by New York’s Attorney General (NYAG). However, Tether says that all of those securities were rated A2 or better, for what that's worth. The NYAG released the documents in response to a freedom of information request from Bloomberg News, following an earlier unsuccessful request by CoinDesk. [The whole Bloomberg article is worth a read, as it details a number of other questionable USDT reserves management practices.]
Cross-border payments made easy with Digital Money
"Starting today, you can get a first impression on this new approach for cross-border payments as SAP is launching a pre-view of the SAP Digital Currency Hub that showcases how easy cross-border payments with Digital Money will become in the future. (Rather than using traditional payment rails, business partners agree on settling a cross-border transaction with USDC or EUROC.)
JP Morgan rolls out JPM Coin blockchain payments in euro
JPM Coin, which JP Morgan launched in 2019 to move dollars, has gone live with euro transactions. Germany’s Siemens AG conducted the first euro payment on the platform. JPM Coin can only move money between JPM branches or to other JP Morgan clients. Hence the bank refers to the solution as blockchain-based bank accounts. JPM Coin is a tiny part of JPMorgan’s payments business. The bank has used it to process about $300 billion of transactions since its launch, versus the nearly $10 trillion of payments it processes overall on a daily basis.
TUSD Depegs Amid Doubts On Backing, New Crypto Drama?
Dollar-pegged stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD) is trading at a discount relative to Tether (USDT), hitting a low of 80 cents on June 28, 2023. TUSD is the #5 stablecoin in terms of market capitalization ($3.1 billion versus Tether's $83.4 billion and USD Coin's (USDC's) $28.2 billion on June 28, according to CoinGecko.com). The spike is being attributed to questions around TUSD's reserves, some of which is purportedly being held and/or managed by troubled Prime Trust Bank, and rumors regarding holders' inability to redeem TUSD.
"In May 2022, there was a run on Terra, an algorithmic stablecoin whose price broke its peg of $1 and crashed to zero. The run spilled over to the entire stablecoin sector, with stablecoins backed by riskier assets heavily affected and investors fleeing to less risky U.S.-based stablecoins regulated by U.S. authorities. As the digital asset ecosystem continues to grow, its potential to affect traditional financial markets and a broader section of households and firms could grow accordingly."
FSB finalises global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities and markets, and "global stablecoin" arrangements, to promote the comprehensiveness and international consistency of regulatory and supervisory approaches. They build on the principles – ‘same activity, same risk, same regulation’; high-level and flexible; and technology neutral. The recommendations focus on addressing risks to financial stability and do not comprehensively cover all specific risk categories related to crypto-asset activities.
PayPal to Issue Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin Based on Ethereum
PayPal is entering the crypto-asset market with its own "PayPal USD" (PYUSD) U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin. The Ethereum-based token will be available to PayPal users in the U.S., who will be able to transfer PYUSD between PayPal and supported external wallets, fund goods and services purchases, or convert any of PayPal's supported crypto-assets to and from PYUSD. PYUSD is issued by New York-based Paxos Trust and fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries and similar cash equivalents, and will be redeemable on demand for dollars. https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2023-08-07-PayPal-Launches-U-S-Dollar-Stablecoin
PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin is triggering apprehension
PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin, announced on August 7, 2023, is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. treasuries and similar cash equivalents, and can be redeemed 1:1 for U.S. dollars, which all sounds good. However, according to Sasha Hodder, the PTUSD terms of service there will be full know-your-customer (KYC) intrusion, and PayPal can reverse any transaction, so it would have all of the potential censorship capabilities of a CBDC. And according to Jamiel Sheikh's analysis of the underlying code, PayPal can freeze and unfreeze accounts, and wipe a frozen account and burn its tokens. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jamiel_pyusd-activity-7094414458965356544-XSwc/
Federal on its program to supervise novel bank activities
The US Federal Reserve Board (FRB) published additional information on its program to supervise novel activities in the banks it oversees. Novel activities include complex, technology-driven partnerships with non-banks to provide banking services to customers; and activities that involve crypto-assets and distributed ledger or "blockchain" technology. The Fed also provided additional information on the process for Fed-supervised state banks to follow before engaging in certain dollar token or stablecoin activity, including demonstrating to its Fed supervisors that it has appropriate safeguards to conduct the activity safely and soundly.
Comparison of the Smart Contracts of PayPal PYUSD and USDC
Lars Ulbricht compared the smart contracts of the PayPal PYUSD and Circle USDC stablecoins. He found that they differ in terms of the degree and method of centralization and intervention. PYUSD's contract exhibits a more traditional approach with more control over the contract and the option to wipe accounts, while USDC enables a decentralization of minting whilst maintaining crucial control mechanisms. It is important to note that how these functionalities will be used will depend on the governance models employed by each organization. So while PYUSD seems to be just a little bit more centralized, the theoretical abuse possibilities don’t differ too much from USDC.
Monetary Authority of Singapore finalizes stablecoin regulatory framework
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published the features of a new regulatory framework that seeks to ensure a high degree of value stability for stablecoins regulated in Singapore. It will apply to single-currency stablecoins (SCS) pegged to the Singaporean dollar or any G10 currency. SCS reserve assets will be subject to requirements relating to their composition, valuation, custody and audit, to give a high degree of assurance of value stability. SCSs must hold minimum base capital of 1 million Singapore dollars ($740,000) and provide redemption within no more than five business days of a request. https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2023/mas-finalises-stablecoin-regulatory-framework
Coinbase Acquires Stake in Circle, Dissolving USDC Issuer Centre
USDC stablecoin issuer Centre Consortium has been dissolved after Coinbase acquired a minority share in Circle Internet Financial. Circle will remain as the issuer of USDC, bringing any Centre governance and operations responsibilities in-house, and revenue from interest earned on the dollar reserves backing USDC tokens will continue to be shared between the two firms, but the split will now be equal. https://www.circle.com/blog/ushering-in-the-next-chapter-for-usdc
Edelcoin is a stablecoin backed by a basket of precious and base metals which are used across various industries, including medicine, medical research, electronics, aerospace, military, energy, telecommunications, and navigation. These metals include Copper Isotope, Nickel Wire (NP1, NP2), and Caesium 133, each with unique applications and supply circumstances.
Binance to 'Gradually' End Support for BUSD Products
Binance will "gradually" end support for its BUSD stablecoin, removing it from spot and margin trading pairs. Users have been asked to convert their BUSD into other assets by February next year. Binance is also delisting BUSD as a loanable asset on September 6 and will cease withdrawals of Binance-peg BUSD tokens via BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon and Tron on September 7. A decision to end support for BUSD has been expected since BUSD issuer Paxos was ordered to stop minting the coin in February.
Tether's Stablecoin USDT 'Has a Peg Stability Problem', Claims Analyst
USDT has a peg stability problem compared to other stablecoins. Its redemption fee and minimum means it’s often rational for USDT holders to sell the token on the market rather than redeem it for USD with Tether. As liquidity has dwindled, the market is no longer able to absorb significant USDT selling. Tether charges a 0.1% fee for fiat withdrawals over $1,000, meaning that USDT is redeemable at $0.99, with the minimum fiat withdrawal or deposit set at $100,000. Another catch is that users have to pay a non-refundable amount of $150 for “verification,” which, according to Tether, “is intended to ensure that only those who are serious about establishing an account apply.”
Circle says its USDC stablecoin was as diversified as possible. Is that accurate?
Circle has "no remorse" over its decision to hold $3.3B at SVB. It was "as diversified as possible" and blames banking for its woes, which is "extremely difficult" for crypto firms. However, Circle's stablecoin competitor, Paxos, didn't have single-bank exposure. As the screenshot below shows, $185.5 million worth of deposits held to back Paxos's USDP stablecoin were spread over thousands of banks using deposit placement networks like IntraFi, and were thus insured by the government. For the remainder, Paxos obtained $72 million worth private insurance. Only $10.9 million in deposits were effectively unprotected, a small 1.3% sliver of USDP's total assets. Rather than keeping 8% of its assets lodged at a second tier bank without insurance, why didn't Circle follow Paxos's risk reduction strategy?
