cryptovest.com
Virtual asset market Bitfinex and its sister Ethereum ERC20-orientated exchange Ethfinex have launched a package of US dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies. The moves were made simultaneously on Tuesday and came around two weeks after the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) began an investigation into Bitfinex and Tether (USDT) links and their alleged role in the manipulation of the Bitcoin (BTC) price.
Bitfinex and Ethfinex listed several of the new 1:1 US dollar collateralized coins: USD Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Paxos Standard Token (PAX), and True USD (TUSD). Both exchanges added one trading pair for all of the cryptos: with the US fiat currency. The four projects bring the total number of backed stablecoins on Bitfinex and Ethfinex to six as the platforms already support USDT and Dai (DAI).
Currently, among the recent newcomers in the stablecoin market, USDC is the best performing asset with $178.8 million in value, which puts it at number 31 in the cryptocurrency market capitalization list, followed by PAX at number 32 with $175.2 million market cap, and the Winklevoss’ twins project GUSD with $60.6 million at 69. TUSD, which was launched several months before this year stablecoin euphoria, ranks 28 with $201 million in value while Dai, introduced in late 2017, sits at number 64 with $63.3 million market cap. Tether, the seventh most-valuable crypto, has more than $1.85 billion in capitalization.
Looking at another major characteristic, 24-hour trading volume, Tether is again the leader among stablecoins with $2.8 billion, followed by Paxos Standard Token ($70.2 million), True USD ($24 million), USD Coin ($12 million), Dai ($4.3 million), and Gemini Dollar ($1.5 million) as per Coinmarketcap data.
“Bitfinex and Ethfinex list every major stablecoin in commitment to providing a coin agnostic platforms,” Bitfinex said in a statement.
The Bitfinex move, branded as an effort to bring competition to USDT, comes as US authorities have tightened up their efforts to investigate the links between Bitfinex and Tether Ltd, the entity behind USDT. Bitfinex and Tether Ltd share the same management team. Last month, the DOJ launched a criminal probe into an alleged role of both entities in illegally shifting the Bitcoin price and began to work with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on that investigation.