STABLECOINS
Moody warns of stablecoin adoption risk
Moody's Investors Service has warned that the recent turmoil in the traditional banking sector and USDC losing its peg could negatively impact stablecoin adoption and increase calls for regulation. The credit rating agency believes that fiat-backed stablecoins like USDC could face new resistance, limiting their stability and potentially causing a run on banks holding Circle's assets, which could lead to the depegging of other stablecoins.
Depegging of USDC and DAI Saves Borrowers $100 Million
The depegging of USD Coin (USDC) and Dai (DAI) from the US dollar resulted in more than $2 billion in loan repayments on decentralized lending protocols Aave and Compound, with borrowers saving a total of over $100 million. USDC and DAI started heading back toward their peg, and repayment activity tapered off in the following days.
Overnight collapse of two traditional banks triggers chaos
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank caused major chaos, resulting in stablecoins depegging from the U.S. dollar. The federal government has taken action to protect depositors, and President Joe Biden has vowed to hold those responsible accountable.
FTX Continues to Move Funds Amid Ongoing Investigations
Addresses associated with FTX and its subsidiary, Alameda Research, have reportedly transferred $145 million in stablecoins to various platforms, as the cryptocurrency exchange faces demands to return funds to different groups of investors amid ongoing investigations and lawsuits.
Binance converts remaining $1 billion in Industry Recovery Initiative to native crypto amidst concerns around stablecoins
Binance co-founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, announced on March 13 that the exchange will be converting the remaining $1 billion funds in its Industry Recovery Initiative to native crypto amid concerns surrounding stablecoins. This decision was made following the depegging of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin caused by the failure of three major crypto-friendly banks - Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate Bank, and Signature Bank.
Aave Freezes Stablecoin Trading Amid Price Volatility
Lending protocol Aave has temporarily halted trading of stablecoins and set the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio to zero due to the recent price volatility on USD Coin (USDC) following its depegging on March 11. Aave's decision was based on an analysis by decentralized finance risk management firm Gauntlet Network, which recommended a temporary pause of all v2 and v3 markets. The LTV ratio determines how much credit can be secured using crypto as collateral and is calculated by dividing the amount of credit borrowed by the value of the collateral.
USDC Holders Panic Sell Amid Solvency Concerns
On March 10, concerns about the solvency of USD Coin (USDC) led several holders to panic sell their holdings and switch to other stablecoins. One user lost over 2 million USDC in a failed attempt to exchange them for Tether (USDT) using KyberSwap's decentralized exchange aggregator. Tron founder Justin Sun reportedly withdrew 82 million USDC and exchanged them for Dai (DAI) using Aave v2, while IOSG Ventures sold 118.73 million USDC for 105.67 million USDT and 2,756 Ether (ETH). The USDC price has since slowly recovered, and Circle, the company behind USDC, disclosed holding $3.3 billion at the Silicon Valley Bank.
Banks increase risks to stablecoins
The death of the Terra ecosystem triggered a bear market in 2022, causing losses in billions, affecting investor sentiment, and intensifying the regulatory spotlight over cryptocurrencies. Recently, Circle's disclosure that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) did not process its $3.3 billion withdrawal request led to the depegging of its USD Coin (USDC). This event caused Binance CEO CZ to believe that traditional banks are a risk to stablecoins that are usually pegged 1:1 with fiat currencies, like the U.S. dollar.
US Federal Reserve to Create Cryptocurrency Team Amid Concerns Over Unregulated Stablecoins
The US Federal Reserve is planning to establish a specialized team of experts to keep up with developments in the cryptocurrency industry, specifically focusing on stablecoins. The move comes amid concerns that unregulated stablecoins could put households, businesses, and the broader economy at risk. While acknowledging the transformative potential of cryptocurrencies, the Federal Reserve believes that appropriate guardrails need to be in place to ensure that the benefits of innovation can be realized.
Binance pivots to stablecoins after SEC regulatory action
Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has turned to alternative stablecoins such as TrueUSD (TUSD) and decentralized stablecoins, following a regulatory action against its native stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD), by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Binance was forced to seek alternatives after the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) asked BUSD issuer Paxos Trust to stop minting new BUSD altogether.
IMF Prioritizes Regulation over Ban on Crypto
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports regulating digital money and prioritizes differentiating between central bank digital currencies and crypto assets, such as stablecoins. The IMF's Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, clarified that the nuclear option to ban cryptocurrencies remains on the table, but the agency would prefer to pursue good regulations, predictability, and consumer protection.
Financial Services Reforms Advance UK Crypto Ambitions
The U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, laid out a number of reforms aiming to "drive growth and competitiveness" to the country's financial services sector. The reforms include consulting on proposals for the establishment of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), extending a crypto tax break for investment managers and creating a sandbox that lets firms and regulators test new technologies.
Russia Plans to Use Digital Rouble In Settlements with China, Says Lawmaker
Russia used to resist legalizing crypto. However, it is now willing to embrace the use of cryptocurrency for cross-border payments due to geopolitical tensions.
Bank of America Says Binance to Benefit from Increased Supply of Its Own Stablecoin
BAC has given more clarification on how Binance’s automatic conversion of other stablecoins could impact its business as well as its own BUSD stablecoin.
Bit.com Rolls Out USD Perpetual Trading for Diversification Purposes
To eliminate overreliance on a single type of stablecoin, Seychelles-based crypto exchange @Bit.com has rolled out USD perpetual trading, starting with BTC/USD and ETH/USD pairs.