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Tether Controversies Continue: Does the World’s Largest Stablecoin Have a Future?

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Tether

The crypto market crash of 2018 had brought a lot of troubles for the crypto world, and very difficult time, even for the best and strongest of projects. However, this was also a moment when stablecoins got their chance to shine. Due to the fact that they are pegged to other assets of value, such as fiat currencies, other cryptos, and alike — they were able to keep their prices stable and avoid volatility.

Among them, Tether (USDT) emerged as the most popular and largest of stablecoins. However, the coin also had a misfortune of getting involved in one controversy after another. As a result, many have started disregarding the coin, but even so, it still remains one of the largest cryptocurrencies, currently with $2.78 billion-large market cap.

However, the question of how many more scandals will USDT get involved with remains.

Tether scandals keep emerging

The first big issue with Tether came after it was noticed that it avoids audits which would confirm that all of its coins are backed by an appropriate amount of USD. Scandals continued throughout 2018, and even in 2019. One of the most recent ones came when the project updated its terms and conditions in March of this year. The problem was that it failed to make the changes known to the public.

If any traditional PLC did this, it would face massive consequences, including regulatory sanctions, as well as governmental, media, and even investor uproar. However, when it comes to Tether, the situation is more complex.

The new update claims that reserves which provide Tether coins with the value might include assets other than fiat currencies. Many have taken this as a discreet confirmation that Tether truly does not have enough funds to actually back its coins with $1 per coin.

Another, more recent event, got Tether involved in another controversy when one of the major exchanges — Bitfinex — used $850 million in USDT to cover its own losses. This was a major scandal due to the fact that the used coins were, supposedly, owned by investors, and not the exchange itself. What’s more, it appears that both, Tether and Bitfinex are operated by the same firm — iFinex Inc., which is registered with the British Virgin Islands.

This streak of scandals reflects badly not only on Tether but also on the entire crypto industry. What’s more, it puts the industry in jeopardy at the time when a stable project that would act as a true store of value is highly necessary. Meanwhile, Tether has still not provided a clear insight into its funds, not even to a reputable third party which would be able to confirm the state of things to investors.

Tether alternatives proving their worth

With Tether getting involved in one scandal after another, a number of other stablecoins emerged, trying to offer a more decent service. One example is TrueUSD, which also claims to be completely backed by USD. The difference between TUSD and USDT is that TrueUSD allowed insight into its accounts, thus confirming that it is telling the truth.

The company behind the audit, Cohen & Company Accounting Firm, confirmed that TrueUSD has an appropriate amount to cover its circulating supply. This is also not the only stablecoin that was able to confirm its value. diamDEXX, also known as DIAM, also offers stablecoins, although its tokens are backed by diamonds.

This is a popular project as diamonds have been acting as a store of value for a long time, and they represent a trusted asset that can protect and secure wealth. As mentioned, the company is also fully audited by IDEX, a trusted diamond exchange with a nearly two decades worth of reputable history. The company’s CEO, Jeremy Dahan, stated that seeing investors get disappointed in crypto is becoming a common occurrence.

He mentioned that Tether’s scandals caused investors to start speculating on its price when it should be a stable store of value. With a situation like that, Tether appears to be moving away from what it means to be a stablecoin.

While the stablecoins, in general, are a good thing for the crypto world — a trend which is likely to remain for as long as cryptos remain volatile — the same cannot be said about Tether. Stablecoins need to be transparent, even more so than regular cryptocurrencies. The absolute minimum requirement would be that they are audited by a trusted third party which would confirm that their value is real. Without that, they might as well be a scam.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.

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Altcoins

XNO Token of Xeno NFT Hub listed on Bithumb Korea Exchange

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 25th January, 2021, // ChainWire //

Xeno Holdings Limited (xno.live ), a blockchain solutions company based in Hong Kong, has announced the listing of its ecosystem utility token XNO on the ‘Bithumb Korea’ cryptocurrency exchange on January 21st 2021.

Xeno NFT Hub (market.xno.live ), developed by Xeno Holdings, enables easy minting of digital items into NFTs while also providing a marketplace where anyone can securely trade NFTs.

The Xeno NFT Hub project team includes former members of the technology project Yosemite X based in San Francisco and professionals such as Gabby Dizon who is a games industry expert and NFT space influencer based in Southeast Asia.

NFT(Non-Fungible Token) technology has recently gained huge focus in the blockchain arena and beyond, making waves in the online gaming sector, the art world, and the digital copyrights industry in recent years. The strongest feature of NFTs is that “NFTs are unique digital assets that cannot be replaced or forged”. Unlike fungible tokens such as Bitcoin or Ether, NFTs are not interchangeable for other tokens of the same type but instead each NFT has a unique value and specific information that cannot be replaced. This fact makes NFTs the perfect solution to record and prove ownership of digital and real-world items like works of art, game items, limited-edition collectibles, and more. One of the ways to have a successful…

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Altcoins

Should Crypto Projects Devote Resources to Community Growth and Marketing?

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2020 has been an incredible year for crypto as investors have generated windfall profits and crypto projects have seen their businesses gain the spotlight they’ve been looking for.  While Bitcoin has received most of the attention after major institutional investors announced they were accumulating the increasingly scarce asset, many altcoins have also seen their fair share of glory.  When looking at all the big winners of the past year, the first project that probably comes to mind is Chainlink, having appreciated by more than 550% YTD and now valued at over $4.5 billion.  But, the actual biggest winner of the year is HEX with a YTD return of over 5,000%.

I mention both of the above projects as they have each taken slightly different paths to achieve greatness.  Chainlink has devoted resources toward building a fundamentally sound business with many strategic partnerships while HEX has spent vast sums of money on marketing and promotion.  Both approaches are valid, but one thing is certain, it is absolutely imperative for crypto projects to let the crypto community know what makes them special.  Of course, one of the reasons that makes crypto so valuable is the powerful blockchain technology that most projects are utilizing.

Cryptocurrency vs. Blockchain Technology

It’s important to make a distinction between blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.  Although they are often used interchangeably, they are different.  Blockchain technology and crypto were both created after the 2008 financial crisis, but cryptocurrency…

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Altcoins

XENO starts VIP NFT trading service and collaborates with contemporary artist Hiro Yamagata

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 24th December, 2020, // ChainWire //

The XENO NFT Hub (https://xno.live) will provide a crypto-powered digital items and collectables trading platform allowing users to create, buy, and sell NFTs. Additionally it will support auction based listings, governance and voting mechanisms, trade history tracking, user rating and other advanced features.

As a first step towards its fully comprehensive service, XENO NFT Hub launched a recent VIP service to select users and early adopters in December 2020 with plans for a full Public Beta to open in June 2021. 

“NFTs are extremely flexible in their usage, from digital event tickets to artwork, and while NFTs have a very wide spectrum of uses and categories XENO will initially focus its partnership efforts and its own item curation on three primary areas: gaming, sports & entertainment, and collectibles.”, said XENO NFT Hub president Anthony Di Franco.

He also added “This does not mean we will prohibit other types of NFTs from our ecosystem However, it simply means that XENO’s efforts as a company will be targeted into these verticals initially as a cohesive business approach.”

Development and Procurement Lead, Gabby Dizon explained, “Despite our initial focus, we found ourselves with a unique opportunity to host some of the works of Mr. Hiro Yamagata. We are collaborating with Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to enshrine some of his artwork into NFTs.”

Mr. Yamagata has…

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