Stablecoin

DeFi protocols launch stablecoins to lure new users and liquidity, but does it work?

In the wake of UST’s collapse, several DeFi platforms launched their own stablecoins to lasso new users and liquidity but are investors willing to take on the risk in return for 20% APY?

Stablecoin projects have been thrust into the limelight over the past month as the popularity of algorithmic stablecoins and the collapse of the Terra project put a spotlight on the important role dollar-pegged assets play in the crypto market.

In response to the void left by UST, multiple protocols have released new stablecoin projects in an effort to attract new users and capture liquidity. Generally speaking, the DeFi sector is full of gimmicks that are designed to entice user participation and it’s possible that the recent stablecoin launch programs are simply the next trending tactic being used to boost TVL on DeFi platforms. 

Let’s take a look at some of the newest stablecoins to hit the market and what impact they may or may not be having within DeFi.

USDD

One of the biggest stablecoin projects to launch recently is USDD, a decentralized algorithmic stablecoin on the Tron (TRX) blockchain. Since launching on May 5, USDD has experienced rapid growth in terms of its circulating supply, which currently sits near 601.86 million and its integration within the Tron ecosystem is relatively widespread.

USDD market cap growth. Source: CoinGecko

USDD is also available on the Ethereum (ETH) network and the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), which has helped to increase the tokens distribution along with providing additional yield opportunities.

There are multiple liquidity provider pools available to USDD holders that offer 20% APY or more across various protocols, including JustLend, SunSwap, Ellipsis and Curve. In the time since USDD launched, the price of TRX has increased 17% from $0.07 to its current price of $0.0818 after briefly hitting a high of $0.092 on May 31.

fUSD

Fantom recently released fUSD, its first native stablecoin, which is an over-collateralized and can be minted using Fantom (FTM), USD Coin (USDC), Dai (DAI), SpiritSwap (SPIRIT) and wrapped Tether (fUSDT) as collateral.

In an effort to attract more liquidity, the Fantom Foundation set the fUSD staking reward at 11.3% and created a fUSD to USDC swap interface that allows users to purchase fUSD and repay their positions to avoid liquidations.

At the time of writing, the circulating supply of fUSD stands at 60,993,403 and it is trading at a price of $0.7112, which is significantly below its $1 peg.

aUSD

Following the official launch of the first parachains within the Polkadot ecosystem, the Acala decentralized finance platform released aUSD as the first native stablecoin for Polkadot projects.

aUSD is an over-collateralized stablecoin that can be minted by pledging Polkadot (DOT), staked Polkadot (LDOT), Kusama (KSM), staked KSM (LKSM), Acala (ACA) or Karura (KAR) as collateral.

Pledging LDOT and LKSM as collateral allows DOT and KSM holders to continue earning staking rewards while simultaneously being able to borrow collateral against their holdings.

On March 23, Acala joined with nine other parachain teams to launch a $250 million “aUSD Ecosystem Fund” that is designed to support early-stage startups planning to build strong stablecoin use cases on any Polkadot or Kusama parachain.

As of May 31, 6.31 million aUSD have been minted and the amount of pledged capital locked on Acala stands at $91.53 million.

Related: UK government proposes additional safeguards against stablecoin failure risks

OUSD

Origin protocol’s OUSD is a stablecoin that is fully backed by more recognizable stablecoins like USDC, USDT and DAI.

OUSD market cap growth. Source: CoinGecko

Users can mint OUSD by pledging their stablecoin collateral on the Origin Dollar protocol and earn a yield of 12.79% by holding OUSD in a wallet. Yields that are paid to OUSD holders come from automated strategies managed by smart contracts that put the deposited funds to work in DeFi.

After briefly dropping to a low of $0.967 on May 12 during the height of the UST fallout, OUSD has, for the most part, maintained a price above $0.996 and has a current circulating supply of 63,605,444.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Binance’s CZ says he is ‘skeptical’ about the Terra relaunch

Binance CEO CZ voices skepticism around the relaunch of the Terra blockchain and its new LUNA token following the latest fiasco.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, expressed skepticism around the revival plan for the Terra ecosystem and the launch of the new LUNA token.

“I try not to predict what the community will do. […] Many are skeptical. I’m one of those guys,” said CZ in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph.

Following the collapse of TerraUSD (USD), the Terra ecosystem’s stablecoin, CZ criticized its team for not handling the crisis properly and pointed at the project’s flaws that led to the crash. Still, Binance is now actively participating in Terra’s revival plan by hosting the airdrop of its new LUNA token.

As CZ pointed out, despite the widespread skepticism around the Terra relaunch, Binance has a responsibility to help users affected by the crash of LUNA.

“We still need to ensure continuity of people’s access to liquidity. […] We have to support the revival plan hoping that it may work,” he explained. 

According to CZ, the Terra fiasco should serve as a warning to projects that rely on unsustainable business models based on “aggressive incentives.”

As he pointed out, crypto projects such as Terra offer high yields to attract people in the hopes that once there are enough users, they will become profitable.

“We should really look at them in a fundamental way to measure that more revenue, more income is generated than just an incentive payout,” CZ pointed out. 

Check out the full interview on Cointelegraph’s YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Tether’s reported bank partner Capital Union shares its crypto strategy

Tether stablecoin’s reported bank partner Capital Union supports a large variety of digital assets as part of its trading and custody services.

Capital Union, a Bahamas-based bank that reportedly holds a portion of reserves by the Tether (USDT) stablecoin issuer, has been actively involved in the cryptocurrency industry.

The banking institution has rolled out crypto trading and custody services to its professional clients as part of the bank’s trading desk, a spokesperson for Capital Union told Cointelegraph on Tuesday.

“We work with a few selected trading venues and liquidity providers and a handful of custodians and technology providers, which allows us to support a large variety of digital assets as part of our trading and custody services,” the firm’s representative said.

Capital Union’s crypto-related services still represent a “fairly small portion” of its business, which is mainly focused on providing traditional wealth management and investment services, the representative noted.

The spokesperson did not elaborate either on what cryptocurrencies are supported on Capital Union’s platform or when they were launched, stating:

“We do not have a directional view on crypto markets or on any specific coins but as a forward looking financial institution have chosen to enable our professional clients to trade in this new asset class should they desire to do so.”

According to the representative, Capital Union has also been working actively on developing “transactional blockchain related capabilities” as the bank expects this to be an area of “significant disruption for the financial industry.”

Capital Union’s latest crypto-related remarks follow a Monday report claiming that Tether held some of its reserves at the Capital Union bank. The company’s representative declined to confirm or deny the bank’s involvement in Tether’s operations to Cointelegraph, citing confidentiality reasons. The only publicly available information from the bank is included in Capital Union’s annual reports, the person added.

Related: Stablecoin supplies and cash reserves in question amid crypto exodus

Founded in 2013, Capital Union managed $1 billion of assets by the end of 2020. The bank partnered with Chainalysis in April 2022 to ensure the safe and compliant rollout of its crypto solutions like trading and custody. According to the bank’s spokesperson, the Bahamas was one of the first nations to adopt a regulatory framework known as the DARE Act in 2020.

“As a locally regulated bank, this allows us to offer crypto-related services to our clients, which are financial institutions, financial intermediaries and professional investors,” Capital Union’s representative said.