Bitfinex Adds 4 Stablecoins--An Attempt to Take Space from Tether?

Crypto Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term Bitfinex announced on Tuesday, December 4th, that it has listed four new stablecoins: USDC, TUSD, PAX, and GUSD. Now, both Bitfinex and its “spinoff,” Ethfinex, offer support for six major stablecoins--Tether Dollars (USDT) and Dai by MakerDAO are also supported on both platforms.

“At Bitfinex and Ethfinex, we’re dedicated to providing high quality, an unbiased meeting place for every ecosystem and customer,” explained an official announcement from the exchange.

From today customers can access all major stablecoins at Bitfinex, as we introduce USDC, True USD, Paxos, and Gemini USD to our existing Tether and Dai offering.

Read more about our recent additions here: https://t.co/VCGSIfZbPd. — Bitfinex (@bitfinex) December 4, 2018

Addition of Stablecoins Could Imply an Effort to Distance Bitfinex from Tether

The adoption of these four other stablecoins can be seen as a step in the right direction for the exchange after it has faced several years of criticism from the cryptocurrency community over close ties between Bitfinex and Tether.

For a time, the two companies shared two key executives, Giancarlo Devasini and Phil Potter. The close ties, along with an explosion in the amount of Tether dollars in circulation, caused a number of conspiracy theories to form, alleging that both companies were working together to “print” Tether dollars that had no actual asset-backing; a years-long lack of a professional audit did not help either company’s case in the matter.

Things became even more serious when the New York Times published the findings of two researchers at the University of Texas suggesting that there could be some truth to the theories.

However, the companies seem to be taking some efforts to dispel the rumors and clean up their images. Potter, who was serving as Bitfinex’ chief strategy officer, resigned from the company in June. At the time, he explained that Bitfinex’ decision to pivot away from the United States was the main reason. Now, the listing of these four other stablecoins may suggest that Bitfinex is attempting to distance itself from Tether.

USDC is Making Waves

USDC, the dollar-pegged Stablecoin Stablecoin Unlike other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that have been designed to keep a stable value. Placing a greater emphasis on stability over volatility can be a huge draw for some investors. Many individuals can be turned off from large swings and uncertainty presented by cryptos relative to other traditional assets.Stablecoins control for this volatility by being pegged to another cryptocurrency, fiat money, or to exchange-traded commodities, including Unlike other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that have been designed to keep a stable value. Placing a greater emphasis on stability over volatility can be a huge draw for some investors. Many individuals can be turned off from large swings and uncertainty presented by cryptos relative to other traditional assets.Stablecoins control for this volatility by being pegged to another cryptocurrency, fiat money, or to exchange-traded commodities, including Read this Term created by Coinbase and Circle, seems to be on a pathway to widespread adoption.

#USDC momentum continues, Bitfinex USDC launch, and now over 70 companies supporting USDC. https://t.co/kg9lU39qP7 @Poloniex @circlepay @centre_io

— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) December 6, 2018

Bitfinex has now become one of more than 35 exchange platforms that offer trading options with USDC. Others include Coinhub, BitMax, Bitfinace, Fetch, Ethex, Ethfinex, and Tokenize Exchange. According to a blog post by Circle, more than 70 “exchanges, protocols, platforms, applications, and wallets” have adopted the use of USDC.