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According to a Financial Times report, China plans to allow the launch of its first stablecoin. Hong Kong policymakers recently passed legislation that allows licensed businesses to issue tokens backed by any fiat currency. According to Chen Lin, director of the Centre for Financial Innovation and Development at the University of Hong Kong, China has become increasingly interested in crypto and stablecoins. The coming of the US dollar-backed stablecoin era was seen as a way to revive the USD’s lustre. A yuan-pegged stablecoin could challenge the USD stablecoin sector and further strengthen China’s de-dollarization plans. Is a Yuan-Pegged Crypto a Part of China’s De-Dollarization Plans? Source: Watcher.Guru Stablecoins have seen a significant rise in popularity over the last few years. Dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies are also seen as a way to revive the US dollar. According to David Sacks, the White House cryptocurrency czar, dollar-pegged crypto assets will increase the...

Illicit crypto currency addresses received $24.2 billion in 2023, showing a decrease from the estimated $39.6 billion in 2022, as per Chainalysis. In 2023, the value received by illicit crypto totaled $24.2 billion representing nearly a 39% decrease from the 2022 losses, which amounted to $39.6 billion, according to the latest research report published by Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm. The landscape of crypto crime saw a shift in the types of assets involved. While Bitcoin (BTC) previously dominated, stablecoins now constitute the majority of illicit transaction volume, data shows. Chainalysis says the change aligns with the broader trend of stablecoins gaining prominence in legitimate crypto activities. Illicit transaction volume by asset type | Source: Chainalysis You might also like: EU sanctions Russians from owning crypto businesses However, certain forms of illicit activities, such as darknet market sales and ransomware extortion, still predomina...

Binance’s depleting USDC reserves has become a hot topic in the crypto ecosystem, especially after Coinbase CEO’s quip during the company’s Q2 earning call. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance released its latest proof-of-reserves (PoR) on Aug. 1, offering transparency into its crypto reserves. However, the movement of its USDC reserves at the time of Silvergte's collapse caught many people’s attention and became a topic of discussion on X. The latest reserve audit suggests Binance holds more than enough crypto and cash to cover the user funds. The ratio of Binance's net balances to its customers' net balances is more than 100% for all its assets as shown in the snapshot below. Binance asset reserve ratio to customer funds. Source: Binance While the report presents a healthy financial situation for Binance, its USDC reserve movements post-Silvergate collapse and the depeg of the stablecoin was the main topic of discussion. The PoR shows that Binance’s USDC balance decreas...

The vote was passed to fully collateralize Frax Finance's native stablecoin, thus phasing out its algorithmic backing. The community of decentralized finance stable coin protocol Frax Finance has voted to fully collateralize its native stable coin Frax (FRAX), marking an end to the algorithmic backing of the protocol. The FIP-188 governance proposal initially posted on Feb. 15 reached a quorum following a 98% vote in favor, according to a snapshot on Feb. 23 — which would change the collateralization model of FRAX. “The time has come for Frax to gradually remove the algorithmic backing of the protocol,” last week’s proposal read. Near unanimous vote to move $frax to 100% CR over time. Seems like @fraxfinance serious about making it clear it’s a stable worth holding with no incentive and completely backed with exogenous collateral. Will be interesting to see it scale$fxs https://t.co/fSQXpmsge3 — 0xChaos (@0xCha0s) February 23, 2023 It explained that the original protocol incl...