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The European Union is proposing new sanctions to choke off a ruble-backed stablecoin that’s fueling sanctions evasion. The bloc aims to ban all EU entities from trading the A7A5 token, which has processed $68 billion in transactions since launch, reports Bloomberg. Owned by Moldovan fugitive banker Ilan Shor and Russia’s state lender Promsvyazbank, the stablecoin boasts 41.6 billion tokens in circulation worth $496 million as of September 26th. The coin was created by the payments firm A7, which was hit with US penalties earlier this year. EU leaders say the coin directly helps Russian firms dodge Western restrictions via crypto swaps through exchanges like the blacklisted Garantex, and the move is designed to escalate pressure on Moscow’s digital workarounds amid the ongoing war with Ukraine. The EU’s measures will need unanimous EU approval and would also target banks in Russia, Belarus and Central Asia for enabling the crypto stablecoi...

Fintech firm Ripple Labs is applying for a US banking license to boost the trust of its RLUSD stablecoin and deepen its ties in the traditional financial system. In a July 2 X post , Ripple’s CEO Brad Garnlinghouse confirmed the news following an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal. In his post, he said the company is applying for a license with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).  The move, according to him, is part of Ripple’s “long-standing compliance roots.” Ripple Seeks To Boost Trust In RLUSD Stablecoin As GENIUS Act Progresses If Ripple Labs receives the US banking license, it would create a “new (and unique!) benchmark for trust in the stablecoin market,” Garlinghouse said. This is because the firm would be under both federal and state oversight, given the New York Department of Finance Services already regulates Ripple USD (RLUSD), the company’s stablecoin product. Garlignhouse’s confirmatio...

World Liberty Financial, the Donald Trump-endorsed and Justin Sun-advised cryptocurrency firm, has launched a stablecoin, USD1, that has very quickly become one of the largest in the world. However, despite this multi-billion-dollar growth, the token provides effectively no transparency; no audits, no attestations, not even a transparency webpage that purports to show its holdings. The token is offered in partnership with BitGo, which does have a website page dedicated to the token. However, while the page does claim that the token is “100% backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits and other cash equivalents,” it provides no additional evidence or insight beyond that.  Is World Liberty Financial a dead project? Read more: Every token in World Liberty Financial’s portfolio is down bad This lack of transparency contrasts USD1 with other popular stablecoins, including tether (USDT), USDC, the Paxos stablecoins, and many others...

In what is a testament to its dominance, stablecoin issuer Tether generated more profit than BlackRock in 2023. Indeed, the $10 trillion asset manager earned $5.5 billion last year. Alternatively, the USDT issuer generated a remarkable $6.2 billion. The output shows that the crypto company edged out the traditional finance giant by $700 million last year. Tether recently saw its USDT stablecoin reach a market cap of $119 billion. Moreover, the asset dominates an impressive 75% of the market share, easily leading the sector ahead of firms like Cirlce and even PayPal. The performance shows the growing interest in stablecoins, and Tether’s position atop the growing industry. Tether generated more profit than BlackRock $BLK in 2023. Tether: $6.2 billion BlackRock: $5.5 billion pic.twitter.com/QqonDFfWL9 — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) September 20, 2024 Also Read: Stablecoin Issuers are 18th Largest US Treasury Holder: Bernstein Tether Out Earned BlackRock by $700 Million in 2023 ...

Tether’s USDT stablecoin is fueling a surge in scams in Asia, a recent report from the UN’s office on drugs and crime says. According to a report seen by the Financial Times, USDT has become a key tool among criminal gangs in Southeast Asia, many of whom are using the stablecoin for money laundering and to operate illegal online gambling platforms. “Online gambling platforms, especially those operating illegally, have emerged as among the most popular vehicles for cryptocurrency-based money launderers, particularly for those using Tether.” The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime While the scale of USDT’s involvement in illegal cases is not explicitly addressed, the UN’s office on drugs and crime noted a “rapidly growing use of sophisticated, high-speed money laundering […] teams specializing in underground tether” in recent years. You might also like: DoJ captures $9m in Tether’s USDT from “pig butchering” operation ...

Ahead of the launch, Binance said it would offer zero maker fees for all FDUSD trading pairs. The recently introduced stablecoin , FDUSD, which was scheduled to be listed on Binance on July 26, 2023, at 08:00 (UTC), enabling trading for FDUSD/BUSD and FDUSD/USDT spot and margin trading pairs has now been postponed to restart at 2023-07-26 14:00 (UTC) due to FDUSD pairs’ liquidity providers experiencing technical issues . Binance released a statement that it will halt trading for First Digital USD (FDUSD) on 2023-07-26 09:45 (UTC) and cancel all pending FDUSD orders, to ensure its users' protection. First Digital Group announced the launch of the First Digital USD United States dollar-pegged stablecoin on June 1. First Digital Group, comprising First Digital Trust, a custodian and trust firm based in Hong Kong said the upcoming debut and listing of its stablecoin, First Digital USD (FDUSD), issued by FD121, would be on Binance. The announcement was made on July 26, 2023. Screens...

A number of stablecoins associated with Justin Sun — most notably TUSD, a US dollar derivative owned and operated by US-based tech company Archblock and Asian consortium Techteryx — have been struggling amid rumors that Prime Trust, one of its only US dollar on- and off-ramps, had paused minting and redemptions. BitGo, a cryptocurrency security and trust company, is rumored to be in talks to purchase the company. TUSD admitted to an issue on June 9, saying, “…mints via Prime Trust are paused.” It added that “TUSD minting and redemption services remain unaffected” and that its “partnerships with other banking institutions remain intact.” This would almost certainly be a reference to the other trust previously holding funds for TUSD, a Hong Kong-based entity called First Digital. However, Chinese and US users alike were complaining on Telegram and Twitter, stating that redemptions were taking longer than expected . Control of TrueUSD private keys transferred to Te...

Persistent worries about Binance’s solvency, increased regulation of the crypto sector and questionable use cases are chipping away at BUSD’s market capitalization. Stablecoins in the cryptocurrency market help provide USD pegged tokens within the volatile industry. In bull markets, the market capitalization of stablecoins tends to decrease as investors flock to more volatile assets and in bear markets, investors seek shelter in low volatility stablecoins thus increasing their market caps. On Jan. 26, the total market capitalization for stablecoins like Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD) and Dai (DAI) is over $131 billion. Stablecoin supply dominance. Source: Glassnode Stablecoins are so crucial to the future of crypto, that Moody’s, a well-respected analytics agency, is planning to develop a scoring system. The scoring system may help reduce the speculation and fear that some investors have with stablecoins. Such fear amid a lack of stablecoin transparency has led o...

The Central Bank of Iran is considering developing a stablecoin with the Russian Federation as a means of payment in international commercial transactions. The development was revealed by Alexander Brazhnikov, executive director of the Russian Association of Crypto Industry and Blockchain. Russia and Iran are both on the list of countries sanctioned by western powers. Brazhnikov suggested that the currency will be pegged to gold. The prospective currency would function in Astrakhan’s special economic zone, where Russia has started to allow Iran ian goods. Duma deputy Anton Tkachev acknowledged the existence of the talks. Moreover, Tkachev is a member of The Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology, and Communications. However, Tkachev said the discussion would enter the state level when the crypto industry is fully regulated. The regulation of cryptocurrencies should see the light of day in 2023. Russia and Iran join hands in crypto Russia does not...