Cryptocurrency stablecoin Tether (USDT) really does have fiat reserves equal to the value of tokens in circulation, Bloomberg claimed in a report today, Dec. 18. Citing “bank statements” it had “reviewed,” the publication became the latest source to add fuel to the controversy surrounding Tether, which has raged online since a series of legal tussles and banking reshuffles began last year. According to the statements, Tether, which issues and notionally backs up each unit of USDT with $1, had a combined fiat bank balance equal to or even higher than circulating USDT from September 2017 to July 2018, the latest …

Crypto exchange Binance has added Circle’s USD-pegged stablecoin USD Coin as a quote asset for several new trading pairs in its combined Stablecoin Market (USDⓈ). The exchange has announced this in an official post published Dec. 14. USD Coin (USDC), first announced by Goldman Sachs-backed Circle this May, and released in September, is one of a host of new stablecoins notionally pegged 1:1 to a major fiat currency. This November, Binance, currently the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trade volume, had rebranded its Tether (USDT) Market as the combined USDⓈ market to allow for the support of more trading …

SolarisBank and Stuttgart Exchange Group are jointly developing infrastructure for a cryptocurrency exchange, Cointelegraph Germany reports Dec. 12. The Stuttgart Exchange, founded in 1860, is the second-largest stock exchange in Germany and the ninth-largest in Europe. SolarisBank, on the other hand, is a German fintech company established in 2015 that holds a banking license and offers a “Banking as a Platform” service. This news goes along with the plans announced by the exchange in May to release a zero-fee cryptocurrency trading application. The two companies’ crypto exchange, “which is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2019,” will have …

Popular stablecoin Tether has announced 1:1 redemptions of USDT to fiat, while affiliated crypto exchange Bitfinex added two new Tether-fiat trading pairs, according to announcements from both firms Tuesday, Nov. 27. Tether announced the direct redemption of Tether to fiat along with a major redesign of its platform for the verification of new customers. According to the official announcement, the update allows users to redeem their tokens on the Tether.to platform at a USDT to fiat ratio of 1:1. All Tether deposits and withdrawals are zero-fee, while fiat transfers are are subject to commissions. Tether customers will be limited to …

The governor of the Bank of Thailand (BoT) has said that it will take three to five years for countries to switch from using cash to using digital currencies. The bank governor’s comments were reported by the Thai News Agency (TNA), a subsidiary of the Thai state-owned public broadcaster, Nov. 17. The central bank’s governor, Dr. Veerathai Santiprabhob, stated that digital currency would not replace fiat currency right away “because of complication[s], a readiness of people and an efficiency of technology.” Although the BoT has not issued a central bank-backed digital currency (CBDC) yet, the Thai central bank is “now …

Crypto loans company Salt Lending Holdings Inc., once associated with high-profile crypto industry stalwart Erik Voorhees, is facing a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe over its 2017 $50 million token sale, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Nov. 15. Founded in 2016, Salt — which uses clients’ crypto holdings as collateral against fiat currency loans — is reported to have received a subpoena from the securities regulator this February, according to “sources familiar with the matter.” Among other issues, the SEC is said to be investigating whether Salt’s 2017 token sale was a noncompliant securities offering (i.e. whether …

The Bank of America (BoA) has won a patent for a system for enterprises to store customers’ crypto deposits, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) yesterday, Nov. 13. The patent, first filed in mid-June 2014, outlines the background to the invention by stating that “as technology advances, financial transactions involving cryptocurrency have become more common,” and noting: “For some enterprises, it may be desirable to aggregate cryptocurrency deposited by customers in an enterprise account.” The patent filing outlines different interactions between customers’ crypto holdings and an enterprise account, with the latter functioning to securely store (or “aggregate”) …

Switzerland-based fintech firm X8 AG has received a certification from the Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) for its Ethereum-based stablecoin, Reuters U.K. reports Nov. 12. SRB is a leading Sharia consultancy and audit firm licensed by the central bank of Bahrain. It reportedly has a presence in twelve countries, and holds the market share of over 13 percent of Saudi Investment Companies licensed by the country’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA), and over 21 percent of the Cooperative Insurance Firms Listed on the Saudi stock-exchange market. The debate over whether or not cryptocurrencies are Sharia-compliant has centered on their compatibility with the …

Two pro-cryptocurrency candidates have won seats to become governors of the U.S. states of California and Colorado in the country’s midterm gubernatorial elections, fintech news outlet TrustNodes reports Nov. 7. In the California race, Democrat contender Gavin Newsom sealed 59 percent of the electorate’s support to defeat the Republican Party’s John Cox. According to local newspaper The Sacramento Bee, Newsom brought crypto onto the party political scene as early as 2014, when he became one of the first high-profile politicians to accept campaign donations in Bitcoin (BTC). The newly-elected California governor notably counts crypto entrepreneurs the Winklevoss twins as donors, …

Former U.S. federal prosecutor and current cryptocurrency VC executive Kathryn Haun recently took part in a debate on crypto with Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman, posted on YouTube by crypto venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Nov. 2. The debate, hosted by Mexican tech company KIO Networks and moderated by local business journalist Rodrigo Pacheco, was reportedly held in Mexico in September 2018. A former federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and current general partner at a16z, Haun was representing the optimistic approach towards crypto-related technologies. Krugman, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in …

The chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee on Financial Markets has claimed that the entity is considering the launch of state-backed cryptocurrency pegged to the Russian ruble, Russian radio news station Govorit Moskva reported Friday, Nov. 2. Speaking at a press conference on the increase of the household debt load, Chairman Anatoly Aksakov expressed his confidence that the government will back a cryptocurrency, “but it will be a ruble-pegged cryptocurrency.” The deputy clarified that the implied coin will represent a blockchain-powered stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the ruble. Aksakov further described the model of creating the stablecoin, stating that the cryptocurrency …

The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance has launched its fiat-to-crypto exchange in Uganda today, Oct. 24, according to an official announcement on Medium. Binance Uganda, Binance’s first fiat-to-crypto exchange in Uganda, has officially launched live trading, enabling users to buy two major cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) — with local fiat currency Ugandan shillings (UGX). The exchange had announced last week that Binance Uganda would open this week. Today’s statement reads that Binance Uganda is also a “first step” to the expansion of crypto exchange markets for a “more inclusive ecosystem that will involve fiat currencies.” According to …