One of the most popular USD-backed cryptocurrency stablecoin Tether (USDT) is undergoing through a phase at this time. Tether’s market cap is on a steep fall over the last week, dropping from $2.7 billion to less than $2.2 billion at the press time. According to the charts on CoinMarketCap, there is more than 20% uprooting in Tether’s valuations in the last week.
Over $550 Million USDT Tokens Pulled Out of Circulation
During the first half of October 2018, Tether pulled out hundreds of millions of dollars worth USDT tokens in circulation. This withdrawal of Tether tokens from the crypto market is likely to be the major reason behind the fall. Yesterday, on October 16, Tether added a total of 250 million USDT tokens to its treasury.
This is because Bitfinex crypto exchange sent two payments of 200 million and 50 million to Tether’s treasury address. This information is based on the Blockchain data provided by Omni, a second-layer protocol on the bitcoin blockchain which provides infrastructure to Tether (USDT) tokens.
Last week, Bitfinex sent nearly $300 million worth USDT tokens to the Tether treasury address. On October 9, Bitfinex sent $100 million USDT tokens followed by another $200 million on October 14. Note that Bitfinex shares the same management with Tether which is also one of the reasons causing the transparency concerns for Tether.
In a word with , Bitfinex’s communications director Kasper Rasmussen said that “the supply of USDT decreases upon redemption.”
“Hypothetically, when the supply of USDT on Bitfinex surpasses a certain level required for maintaining operations (i.e. a seamless flow of deposits and withdrawals), a batch of USDT would be sent from Bitfinex to Tether for redemption against fiat USD. This subsequently lowers the circulating supply of USDT whilst the fiat USD previously held by Tether goes to the redeeming party.”
More Trusted Stablecoin Alternatives to Tether
Crypto trades often use stablecoin to quickly execute their trades in the crypto market. Moreover, it also eliminates the hassle of undergoing crypto-to-fiat conversion every time while making the trade. However, the controversial operations of Tether have caused several professional traders to seek alternate and trusted stablecoin options in the market.
Previous reports suggest that Tether tokens were used by Bitfinex to artificially inflate the price of bitcoin. Later, Tether and Bitfinex both have refuted the claims. However, a number of stablecoin projects released over the last few months have given traders better alternatives to Tether.
Crypto exchange Gemini and Paxos recently their own stablecoins versions. Called as the Gemini Dollar and Paxos Standard Stablecoin, both are pegged to the U.S. Dollar in 1:1. Both of them are considered as more trusted stablecoin options reason being they are approved and regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
Moreover, as Tether controversy continues to gain steam, crypto exchange are switching to these alternatives. Recently, OKEx exchange for four new stablecoins: TrustToken’s TrueUSD (TUSD), , the Gemini Dollar (GUSD), and the Paxos Standard Token (PAX).
Gemini Dollar Gains Momentum As Tether Sinks
As expected, a more trusted Tether alternative – Gemini Dollar (GUSD) is now hogging the limelight. As Tether’s valuation continued to sink, Gemini Dollar made its new all-time high of $1.19 on Tuesday. At the press time, GUSD is trading at $1.02 according to the data on .
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Hong Kong-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange BTCC is reportedly launching services in South Korea this month. In addition to a cryptocurrency exchange, the company will offer a wallet service, a mining pool, and a consumer payments service, according to its Korean website.
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BTCC Expanding Into South Korea
BTCC, formerly known as BTC China, is launching services in South Korea on Oct. 31, according to the Investor. The beta service will start this month and the exchange “will make its official debut in November,” the publication added.
“The world’s first cryptocurrency exchange BTCC is preparing to open in Korea,” the company wrote on its Korean website’s homepage. Four services are listed: an exchange, a wallet service, a mining pool, and a service to facilitate consumer payments. “BTCC is establishing an on / offline payment system using cryptocurrency,” its website states, adding that it “is expanding services for real-life use.”
The news outlet elaborated:
BTCC said it will expand its footprint through strategic tie-ups with local and global firms.
Founded in 2011, BTCC was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world by trading volume before the Chinese government cracked down on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in September last year. The government’s action caused all major cryptocurrency exchanges to exit China and move their operations overseas.
Following the crackdown, BTCC shut down its operations in China and re-launched its services in . The company is now headquartered in Hong Kong but serves a global customer base. The new BTCC exchange offers the trading of five cryptocurrencies against the USD — BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, and DASH. In addition, the latter four cryptocurrencies can be traded against BTC. The BTCC Korea exchange, however, has not announced which coins will be supported.
Cryptocurrencies supported on the main BTCC website.
Korean Cryptocurrency Ecosystem
The South Korean cryptocurrency market is dominated by four exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit. Bithumb is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the country by trading volume while Upbit is the largest by the number of coins listed. Upbit, which offers the trading of 164 coins in 276 markets, is a partner of U.S.-based exchange Bittrex and is backed by Kakao Corp., the operator of the country’s most popular chat app, Kakao Talk.
On Oct. 12, Bithumb confirmed that it was sold to a consortium led by a well-known plastic surgeon, as news.bitcoin.com previously .
Another major cryptocurrency exchange that exited China and entered the South Korean market following the Chinese government’s crackdown is Huobi. The exchange its Korean operations in March, offering the trading of over 100 coins in over 200 markets, according to its website.
What do you think of BTCC expanding into South Korea? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and BTCC.
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