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☆ Ripple to launch U.S. dollar stablecoin, taking on a $150 billion market dominated by Tether, Circle
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesCrypto startup Ripple is the latest major player to jump into the $150 billion stablecoin market with the launch of a digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar. The move would pit Ripple against stablecoin giants like Tether, which is behind the largest stablecoin UDST, and USDC issuer Circle. Payments giant PayPal , meanwhile, launched its own U.S. dollar stablecoin called PayPal USD, a stablecoin backed by U.S. dollars and dollar equivalents that is issued by crypto firm Paxos. watch nowTether is the market leader for stablecoins with a market capitalization of $106.3 billion, according to CoinGecko data. "In fact, the number one request we get from the XRP community is to launch a USD-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger."

Persons: Jakub Porzycki, Brad Garlinghouse, he's, Garlinghouse, Tether's, USDT, USDC, MoneyGram Organizations: U.S, SEC, Nurphoto, Getty, U.S ., PayPal, CNBC, Bank, FinCEN, Santander, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Southern, of Locations: U.S, Europe, Asia, New York, Ireland, Singapore, of New York

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bitcoin isn't the only asset experiencing a late summer slump. It has shrunk by almost a tenth this year, standing at $124.4 billion as of Sept. 14. A jump in the dollar index on interest rate hikes last year was accompanied by a big rise in stablecoin volumes, he added. Yet all is not equal: Dollar-pegged Tether, the biggest stablecoin, is bucking the losing trend. Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Michelle Price and Pravin CharOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: James Butterfill, CoinGecko, Paolo Ardoino, Paxos, USDC, TerraUSD, Dante Disparte, it's, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price Organizations: U.S ., New York Department of Financial Services, U.S, Silicon, Bank —, Thomson, Reuters Locations: South America, Central Asia, U.S, Washington

☆ Altcoin trading volume is off its first-half highs. Here's what it will take to get it back
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Altcoin trading is limping along, despite initially getting a boost from a key July court ruling that gave Ripple a partial victory over the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, this is not a strong enough narrative to take over the broader theme of deterioration in crypto market structure, said Park added. "This has serious implications for altcoin trading, as the shift in focus to alternatives like FDUSD or TUSD has created a bottleneck for pairs trading that is often how altcoin liquidity is gauged and accessed," he added. "At its peak, there were over 300 BUSD trading pairs and the number is steadily decreasing as BUSD is ceasing its operations." Wolfe Research's Rob Ginsberg noted this week that weak price action and low trading volume largely define the trading of altcoins in the current market.

Persons: —, Jeff Park, Glassnode, altcoins, Binance Launchpad, Stablecoins, CryptoQuant, Changpeng Zhao, Wolfe, Rob Ginsberg, Seasonality, Crypto, Dessislava Aubert, Michael Bloom Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, Bitwise Asset Management, SEC, Polygon, CNBC, Binance, BTC Locations: Solana, New York, BUSD's, altcoins, China

REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - PayPal's (PYPL.O) stablecoin is likely to succeed where Facebook's failed, thanks to the payment giant's standing in Washington and policymakers' greater understanding of the issues in the last three years. "From a policy perspective, there is a seismic difference between Facebook's Libra and PayPal's stablecoin," said Isaac Boltansky, director of policy research for brokerage BTIG. Dan Dolev, a senior analyst at Mizuho, said PayPal USD is not a game-changer for PayPal investors. When Facebook unveiled Libra, a stablecoin whose operations were based in Switzerland and which was pegged to a basket of currencies, executives made no secret of their ambitions. Facebook rebranded Libra, scaled it back and moved the project to the United States, in a bid to win U.S. regulatory approval.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch, stablecoin, Facebook's, Christopher Giancarlo, PayPal's, Isaac Boltansky, Dan Schulman, Dan Dolev, Maxine Waters, Joe Biden's, Janet Yellen, Yellen, TerraUSD, stablecoins, There's, Jack Fletcher, Patrick McHenry, Hannah Lang, Andrea Shalal, Pete Schroeder, Niket, Michelle Price, Matthew Lewis Organizations: PayPal, REUTERS, Rights, U.S ., Facebook, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Reserve, Meta, Paxos Trust, New York State Department of Financial Services, Mizuho, Financial Services, Treasury, Congress, prudential, Republican, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Washington, U.S, Switzerland, United States, transact, stablecoins, Bengaluru

☆ PayPal is diving deeper into crypto by launching its own stablecoin—what investors should know
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

PayPal has added a new cryptocurrency to its roster: PayPal USD (PYUSD). On Monday, the online payments service became the first major U.S. financial company to launch its own U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin. PayPal USD is "100% backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries and similar cash equivalents," according to a Monday press release. Additionally, PayPal's stablecoin is redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars, which means one PayPal USD can be redeemed for one U.S. dollar and vice versa. Notably, Paxos was ordered to stop issuing Binance's dollar-pegged stablecoin, BUSD, by the New York State Department of Financial Services in February.

Persons: PYUSD, Paxos, PayPal's, Dan Schulman Organizations: PayPal, U.S ., U.S, Paxos Trust Company, New York State Department of Financial Services

Da Ponte denied a Bloomberg report that the payments processor paused development of its stablecoin in February. But da Ponte argues this troubled backdrop is exactly why PayPal is poised to succeed. Then there's the hypothetical digital dollar that would be the Fed's take on a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. "We have a large base of consumers; we have a large base of merchants," da Ponte said of PayPal's "two-sided network." Da Ponte sees PayPal's more than 20-year tenure in the payments space as one of the company's chief advantages in the stablecoin market.

Persons: Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal's, Da Ponte, Paxos, it's, Ponte, stablecoins, Nic Carter, Stablecoins, Carter, Andy Bromberg, Andreessen Horowitz, Bromberg, PYUSD, Jeremy Allaire, Allaire, Patrick McHenry, McHenry Organizations: PayPal, CNBC, Bloomberg, SEC, New, Regulators, Valley Bank, U.S ., U.S, Castle, Ventures, Companies, Eco, Coinbase Ventures, Paypal, Facebook, Financial Services, America Locations: U.S, New York, Bromberg, web3, United States, R, DexTools

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPayPal launches dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Brent Xu, the founder and CEO at Umee, discusses the price movement of altcoins as regulatory uncertainty has weighed on investors this year. He also provides his outlook for these cryptocurrencies.

Persons: stablecoin, explainers, Brent Xu Organizations: PayPal, Paxos, CNBC Crypto, CNBC

☆ PayPal bets on crypto's future with US-dollar-backed stablecoin PYUSD
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The stablecoin, PayPal USD, is fully backed by the US dollar and is “designed to reduce friction” for payments within virtual spaces and provide faster, cheaper transfers of money across borders. But PayPal is betting on a future in which digital currency is more mainstream and merchants may request payment in stablecoins to avoid credit card processing fees. In May 2022, the “algorithmic” stablecoin TerraUSD collapsed when the crypto token backing it, Luna, collapsed. The value of PayPal USD, or PYUSD, doesn’t rely on a complex algorithm the way Terra did. In other words: every PayPal USD should be worth $1.00, no matter what.

Persons: ”, Dan Schulman, Stablecoins, Stablecoins aren’t, TerraUSD, Luna, Kwon, Charles Cascarilla Organizations: New, New York CNN, PayPal, Securities, Exchange Commission, Paxos Trust Locations: New York, cryptocurrencies, Venmo, Terra

☆ PayPal becomes first major fintech to launch dollar-backed stablecoin
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Jaiveer Shekhawat | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File PhotoAug 7 (Reuters) - Payments giant PayPal (PYPL.O) said on Monday it has launched a U.S. dollar stablecoin, becoming the first major financial technology firm to embrace digital currencies for payments and transfers. Prior attempts by major mainstream companies to launch stablecoins have met fierce opposition from financial regulators and policymakers. Meta's (META.O), then Facebook, 2019 plans to launch a stablecoin, Libra, were foiled after regulators raised fears it could upset global financial stability. PayPal's stablecoin, dubbed PayPal USD, is backed by U.S. dollar deposits and short-term U.S Treasuries, and will be issued by Paxos Trust Co. Argus Research Corp analyst Stephen Biggar said PayPal's brand name makes the stablecoin launch significant but the company has been associated with crypto previously so it's not a surprise.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch, PayPal's stablecoin, Stephen Biggar, PayPal's, Jaiveer Singh, Manya, Tom Wilson, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Shounak Dasgupta, Shinjini Organizations: PayPal, REUTERS, European Union, U.S . House Financial Services, U.S, Paxos Trust, Argus Research Corp, Visa, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Britain, United States, Bengaluru, London

☆ PayPal launches first dollar-backed stablecoin from a major U.S. financial institution
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

PayPal on Monday launched a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin to help facilitate payments as its latest addition to its suite of crypto services. The new asset, called PayPal USD (PYUSD), was designed to address the "emerging potential" to "transform payments in web3 and digitally native environments." PayPal said the stablecoin's function is to reduce friction for in-experience payments in virtual settings and allowing direct flows to developers. PayPal USD is issued by Paxos, which also previously issued the dollar-pegged, Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD. Paxos was ordered by the New York State Department of Financial Services in February to stop issuing BUSD, which marked the beginning of this year's decline in the stablecoin market cap.

Persons: Dan Schulman, Paxos, they're Organizations: PayPal, Monday, U.S ., Paxos, New York State Department of Financial Services Locations: U.S, web3

☆ The stablecoin market has shrunk this year while bitcoin has rallied — What investors should know
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Bitcoin is up more than 75% this year, but the market capitalization for stablecoins has dwindled during the same period. "This is unusual as often the market capitalization of stablecoin increases during rallies and decreases during downturns, matching the trend of the overall crypto market," JPMorgan analyst Steven Alexopoulos said in a note Thursday. "An explanation for the decline of the stablecoin market may be due to investors preferring the higher returns of bitcoin and Ethereum or even traditional assets (benefiting from a rise in interest rates)." In July, it hit an all-time high of $83.8 billion and now accounts for 68.5% of the overall stablecoin market. Tether's prominence Instead of focusing on declines in USDC, investors could point to Tether's growth as evidence of stablecoin inflows, for example.

Persons: Bitcoin, Steven Alexopoulos, bitcoin, USDC, Steven Lubka, Swan, David Wells, Coinbase, Lubka, Michael Bloom Organizations: U.S ., JPMorgan, Drivers, Bank, U.S, Services, Enclave Markets, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission Locations: New York, Silicon, SVB, U.S, USDC

☆ Crypto’s biggest headwinds this year are hurting stablecoins. Here’s what investors need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Stablecoins are like cash in crypto markets: They are supposed to be pegged to the value of a stable asset, such as the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins play an important role bridging traditional and digital currencies and giving market participants access to crypto trading and protocols. For many, that makes them a proxy for the amount of fiat money entering and leaving crypto, Panigirtzoglou said. Republican negotiators walking out of the high-stakes debt ceiling talks Friday also has implications for stablecoins. Tether and Circle's USDC hold about 65% and 57%, respectively, of their stablecoin reserves in T-bills, according to the companies' attestation reports.

Major players are hoping that the SEC and Washington takes, what crypto watchers see as bluffs, seriously and soften the hard line that regulators have taken on the industry. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said last week that the SEC was on a "lone crusade" with its tough actions against certain crypto companies. "The SEC is a bit of an outlier here," Armstrong told CNBC's Dan Murphy in an interview in Dubai. But he's created some lawsuits, and I think it's quite unhelpful for the industry in the U.S. writ large." "The biggest fear of crypto companies is that regulation will cause panic among crypto investors and prices will go down.

☆ Binance 'could be in big trouble' as the CFTC lawsuit alleges the crypto behemoth dodged regulators and breached laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Binance is being blow-torched from all angles as US regulators close in on the world's largest crypto exchange. The CFTC sued the exchange this week for violating US financial laws, whilst some reports suggest Binance has engaged in secret fund transfers. On Monday, the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and Zhao himself, for allegedly breaching US financial laws. Following the shocking implosion of Sam-Bankman Fried's FTX exchange late last year, concerns have risen whether Binance faces similar risks. If US authorities decide the links meant the crypto exchange had control over the US platform, it could expose the company to enforcement action.

☆ Bitcoin’s market dominance is climbing. Here’s what that says about interest rate expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bitcoin's market dominance has been climbing in March and is now up to levels not seen since June. Investors use it to determine which parts of the crypto market are outperforming or underperforming relative to their peers. When bitcoin dominance climbs, it implies that bitcoin is doing well, but more specifically, it means its outperforming altcoins. Bitcoin dominance has risen steadily since March 8, the day after Silvergate Bank announced its voluntary liquidation. "That's reflecting a view that a lot of macro investors have, that we're either at or very near the bottom of this macro cycle."

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued crypto exchange Coinbase a Wells notice, warning the company that it identified potential violations of U.S. securities law. "Based on discussions with the Staff, the Company believes these potential enforcement actions would relate to aspects of the Company's spot market, staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Wallet," Coinbase said in a regulatory filing. A Wells notice is typically one of the final steps before the SEC formally issues charges. Coinbase described the investigation as "cursory," and said the Wells notice provided relatively little information about potential violations. The SEC sent a Wells notice to stablecoin issuer Paxos in February.

☆ Why stablecoin company Circle is set to be the big winner in crypto after the collapse of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The collapse of three crypto-friendly banks is a boon for stablecoin issuer Circle, investors said. Slivergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature all imploded in the space of a week. Circle keeps its reserves at BNY Mellon, which helped its stablecoin USDC recover after SVB's fall. Circle, the company behind the stablecoin USDC, is set to come ahead in the aftermath of the collapses of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank, according to several investors and founders. One risk, however, is that recent bank failures prompt regulators to bar crypto companies, including Circle, from accessing the US banking system altogether.

☆ What the failures of Signature, SVB and Silvergate mean for the crypto sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In this article BTC.CM= Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTA man entering Signature Bank in New York City on March 12, 2023. ReutersA lot of crypto's problems in the last year originated in the stablecoin sector, beginning with TerraUSD's collapse last May. Now that it is clear that SVB depositors will be made whole, Carter tells CNBC that he expects USDC to trade at par. The Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) and Signature's Signet were real-time payment platforms that crypto customers considered core offerings. Meanwhile, Circle has already publicly said that it is shifting is assets to BNY Mellon now that Signature bank is closing.

☆ Stablecoin USDC breaks dollar peg after revealing $3.3 billion Silicon Valley Bank exposure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Circle has $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USDC reserves at collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank, the company said in a tweet on Friday. Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday in the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, roiling global markets and stranding billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors. Circle said in a tweet on Friday that it and USDC "continue to operate normally" while the firm waits for clarity on what will happen to Silicon Valley Bank depositors. loadingCircle did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the dollar peg, sent outside of U.S. working hours. The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance said in a tweet on Friday it had no exposure to Silicon Valley Bank, as did Tether Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino.

☆ Crypto firm Circle reveals $3.3 bln exposure to Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. cryptocurrency firm Circle has $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USD Coin reserves at the collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank, the company said in a tweet on Friday. The stablecoin company's announcement comes after startup-focused SVB collapsed on Friday in the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, roiling global markets and stranding billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors. Boston-based Circle said last week it had moved a "small percentage" of USDC reserve deposits held at Silvergate to its other banking partners. The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance said in a tweet on Friday it had no exposure, as did Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. Stablecoin issuer Paxos and crypto exchange Gemini tweeted they do not have any relationships with SVB.

☆ Crypto bank Silvergate says it'll shut down as the market meltdown claims its 1st mainstream casualty
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the bank is the best path forward," Silvergate Capital, the holding company for Silvergate Bank, said Wednesday. But the combination of the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest-rate hikes and FTX's collapse in November cast a shadow over its future. Last week, Exness strategist Wael Makarem warned of the potential fallout for the crypto market and industry. "As a result, the market could be exposed to new price corrections while investors could be concerned about a potential impact on other market players," he said. Read more: Troubled crypto bank Silvergate sees regulators swoop in to try to help it stay afloat

☆ Crypto firm BKCoin hit by emergency asset freeze over alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme that paid for co-founder's rent and vacations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The SEC Monday took emergency action against crypto firm BKCoin and its co-founder for allegedly running a fraud scheme. The company allegedly ran a $100 million Ponzi scheme that paid for its co-founder's rent and vacations. The asset freeze marks US regulators' intense crackdown on the crypto sector following FTX's collapse. BKCoin and Kang assured investors their money would be used to trade crypto, and that the company would generate returns for investors through separately managed accounts. "This action highlights our continued commitment to protecting investors and uprooting fraud in all securities sectors, including the crypto asset arena," said Eric Bustillo, director of the SEC's Miami office.

☆ Factbox: Silvergate crisis: Crypto industry majors drop embattled lender
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

La Jolla, California-based Silvergate, one of the most influential banks in the digital asset industry, also said it has made a "risk-based decision" to discontinue the Silvergate Exchange Network that enabled crypto payments. loadingCoinbase Global (COIN.O):The crypto exchange said it was no longer accepting or initiating payments to or from Silvergate. loadingCrypto.com:A spokesperson for the crypto exchange said in an emailed statement to Reuters it was temporarily suspending USD deposits and withdrawals via Silvergate out of caution. Gemini:The crypto firm said on Twitter it has stopped accepting customer deposits/processing withdrawals via automated clearing house (ACH) and wire transfers through Silvergate on the Gemini exchange. loadingCboe Clear Digital:The company said it would be pausing all transactions with Silvergate Bank at this time until further notice.

☆ Why Silvergate’s post-FTX financial woes could spell trouble ahead for crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Further, the spillover into a traditional bank and its stock price could fuel regulators' arguments that crypto poses a systemic risk. The big problem in crypto is that to buy bitcoin, you eventually have to interact with the traditional banking system. Silvergate's crypto bet worked for the bank, particularly in bull markets. A big part of Silvergate's crypto banking efforts was the Silvergate Exchange Network, better known as SEN, a platform that institutions used to move money to crypto exchanges. Custodia is a Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution designed to bridge the crypto and traditional banking systems.

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