Cryptocurrency
Wyoming stablecoin: Are state digital currencies even possible?
In July, the American state of Wyoming shared an open job position for the head of its Stable Token Commission.
The executive will work alongside Wyoming’s governor, state auditor, state treasurer and four expert appointees to bring the state’s very own stablecoin to life.
While Wyoming was the first to pass a law on a state stablecoin, it isn’t the only state considering launching its own digital currency.
In April, a similar initiative was proposed in Texas, where lawmakers introduced bills for creating a state-based digital currency backed by gold.
However, the idea of state stablecoins raises many questions: How would they affect the monetary stability of fiat money and the power of the Federal Reserve? Could they be compatible with a central bank digital currency? Do people really want to return to a system with state banks printing their own monetary notes?
The Wyoming experiment
The Wyoming Stable Token Act was originally introduced in February 2022, in the midst of the crypto market crisis. The bill defines the Wyoming stable token as a virtual currency representative of and redeemable for one U.S. dollar held in trust by the state of Wyoming. Basically, the state would tokenize the federal currency on a 1:1 ratio with deposits.
NEWS–bipartisan group of top #Wyoming legislators proposed a bill for State of Wyoming to issue a #stablecoin, 100% backed by USTreasuries, where the State keeps the float. I see pros & cons (didn’t know it was coming) but❤️that Wyoming continues to explore cool #crypto ideas! https://t.co/BXbELukUQE
— Caitlin Long ⚡️ (@CaitlinLong_) February 17, 2022
Explaining why state lawmakers took such an interest in the digital token project, Chris Rothfuss, the minority leader in the Wyoming State Senate, told Cointelegraph:
“Wyoming needs to be able to transact in a digital currency — to accept payments, to make payments, and to do so without risk. The Wyoming stable token is the solution to that challenge.”
A notable reservation in Section 2 of the Stable Token Act makes the state’s attorney general responsible for monitoring the startup phase of the token’s issuance. Should the attorney general believe it contradicts federal or state law, the project would be frozen.
The bill also sets a deadline for the project: The commission’s director shall provide their report on the doability of the stable token no later than Nov. 1, 2023.
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Other than that, the document doesn’t specify much; instead, it establishes the Stable Token Commission with the authority to craft further details.
The legislation’s path wasn’t easy. In March 2022, Governor Mark Gordon vetoed the bill, saying he was “unconvinced” that the state’s Treasury was ready to implement the project safely.
Gordon criticized the lack of information and the cost of accounting services, blockchain development and other necessary expenses, and he was skeptical of the project’s purported benefits.
A year later, the governor applauded the effort made by legislators to enhance the document, but voiced new reservations:
“First and foremost, there was no overall plan (a ‘business plan’ for lack of a better term) or, if a plan exists, it did not appear to have been used to guide the legislators in crafting the legislation.”
On March 22, 2023, the Stable Token Act was passed into law without Governor Gordon’s signature. Gordon recognized the state stable token’s potential to “nurture Wyoming’s reputation as a leader in the digital asset world” and deemed the improvements made by the bill’s authors enough to allow it to become law.
The era of multiple stablecoins?
Neither the U.S. Federal Reserve nor any crypto-focused legislators have reacted publicly to the Wyoming project, but it is hard to imagine any kind of affirmative response, given that the American dollar was established precisely to provide a countrywide monetary standard and bring the currency under the purview of the federal government.
So, in principle, any state token project could contradict the logic of central bank currency to a similar degree as private cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, the potential value of Wyoming’s stable token is rigorously tied to the same old American dollar, which makes it less of a separate currency and more of a state-issued financial asset, similar to the state-issued notes for specie of the 19th century.
Rothfuss clarified, “We are not issuing a new currency. The Wyoming stable token is a digital representation of a U.S. dollar held in trust by the state of Wyoming on behalf of the tokenholder. We are not competing with the Federal Reserve — we are enabling a technology.”
Some observers still see a potential conflict between the states and the Fed. “Certainly, there will be a tussle between states and the federal government over the former attempting to issue their own stablecoins,” Brent Xu, CEO of Web3 bond-market platform Umee, told Cointelegraph.
But there could be a compromise in which the Federal Reserve allows states to issue stablecoins under a particular framework, he believes, noting the discussions concerning a national framework for stablecoins.
Zachary Townsend, CEO of Bitcoin-based life insurance provider Meanwhile, doesn’t see any potential problems with state stablecoins, as he believes that the very concept of a stablecoin is open to almost any entity, political or corporate, as the recent example with PayPal’s initiative has shown.
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He told Cointelegraph, “There are going to be tons of private stablecoins. If I just looked at my life and all the companies I have ‘accounts’ or ‘wallets’ or ‘balances’ with, those are going to transform to become stablecoins within a few years.”
This is something Peter Herzog, state policy lead at the Crypto Council for Innovation, can agree with. “There are a variety of models for stablecoins that involve different decisions around underlying collateral, governance and more,” he explained to Cointelegraph. For Herzog, it comes as no surprise that individual states with an active interest in crypto are continuing their experiments with new initiatives:
“Until we see a federal regulatory framework, it is likely that states continue to step in to create rules of the road to promote innovation and protect consumers.”
Japanese crypto exchange bitFlyer announced that it has completed its acquisition of FTX Japan, making it a fully owned subsidiary.
The deal, finalized on July 26, will have bitFlyer taking 100% ownership of FTX Japan’s outstanding shares.
Crypto Custody Services
In a Friday press release, bitFlyer detailed its plans to rebrand the newly acquired entity as “Custody New Company” by August 26, 2024. This new entity will focus on expanding bitFlyer’s crypto custody business, leveraging the company’s existing operational resources and advanced wallet technology.
“By acquiring all shares and management rights of FTX Japan, we aim to achieve sustainable growth,” bitFlyer stated. “We will leverage synergies within the bitFlyer Group to develop new services, benefiting not only FTX Japan and its customers but all stakeholders of the bitFlyer Group.”
According to bitFlyer, the Custody New Company will focus on meeting the growing demand for secure crypto asset management among institutional investors.
“The increasing need for institutional investors to enter the crypto asset market and the need for professional security measures drive our strategy,” bitFlyer explained. “We believe that providing advanced crypto custody services and crypto asset ETF-related services will add significant value to the bitFlyer Group.”
bitFlyer also said that it is prepared to address this demand with advanced security measures, using its expertise in blockchain technology and security. The company has developed a highly secure wallet, which will be integral to its new crypto custody offerings.
The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. However, they stated that it is exploring the provision of services related to cryptocurrency derivatives ETFs while awaiting further legislative developments in Japan, including tax regulations. These offerings are aimed at meeting the needs of financial institutions and trust banks.
FTX Japan’s History
The acquisition follows a sale order issued by the U.S. Court of Insolvency on July 16, 2024. FTX Japan has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since November 2022, following the collapse of its parent company, FTX. The Japanese arm had stopped exchange operations after the bankruptcy filing but continued managing customer assets.
FTX Japan was launched in June 2022, facilitated by the acquisition of fintech company Liquid Group and its subsidiaries, including Quoine Corporation, one of Japan’s first crypto exchanges.
Despite its promising start, FTX Japan faced issues just five months later when its parent company collapsed amid allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation of billions of dollars in customer funds. FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to reimburse $11 billion.
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[PRESS RELEASE – VILNIUS, Lithuania, July 26th, 2024]
In a significant move this July 2024, BTCC has launched up to 50x leverage on over 300 USDT-margined trading pairs. This development follows the successful introduction of 500x leverage on major trading pairs, including BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and DOGE. BTCC has now decided to elevate the futures trading experience by increasing the available leverage from 20x to 50x, setting a new standard in the crypto trading world where most exchanges only provide up to 20x leverage for their traders.
Since this launch, nearly 25% of orders have been placed with 50x leverage, showcasing the strong demand among traders. The 300+ cryptocurrencies feature many of the coins in the market right now, such as PEPE, SATS, WIF, SHIB, ZK, WLD, AVAX, and TON.
Alex, Head of Operations at BTCC, commented on the launch, “In June, we introduced 500x leverage on major pairs, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Our users have since been asking for higher leverage on other altcoins, especially memecoins. This feedback drove our decision to increase the leverage to 50x on over 300 trading pairs.”
The primary advantage of higher leverage can be the ability to open large market positions with a relatively small amount of capital, allowing traders to significantly amplify their potential profits. This feature can be attractive for experienced traders who can predict market movements. However, traders must be aware of the risks involved, and the stop-loss feature is an essential tool to help manage these risks effectively.
About BTCC Exchange
BTCC, established in 2011, is one of the world’s longest-serving and most reputable cryptocurrency exchanges. Known for its robust security measures and user-friendly platform, BTCC offers a wide range of features, including spot trading, futures trading, and copy trading, catering to both novice and experienced traders.
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A wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation has transferred 92,500 ETH, worth $294.9 million, after being inactive for nearly 6.6 years.
According to Lookonchain, these tokens have been held at the same address since 2017.
The Transfer Details
On-chain data indicates that the ETH was originally received from the Ethereum Foundation on September 1, 2015. The transfer, recorded on July 25, occurred just minutes after a smaller transaction of 1 ETH from the same wallet.
Before the transaction, the only other one from this address in the past seven years was a negligible movement of 0.000513 ETH 30 days ago.
An #EthereumFoundation-related wallet transferred 92,500 $ETH($294.9M) to a new wallet 9 hours ago after being dormant for 6.6 years.
Through on-chain tracking, it was found that these $ETH were received from the #EthereumFoundation on Sept 1, 2015.https://t.co/FKGsNCrBAT pic.twitter.com/vPOAMq4ccK
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 26, 2024
At writing time, Etherscan shows that the funds remain in the new wallet. The reasons behind this transfer are still unknown, and the Ethereum Foundation has not commented on the situation.
Before this, the organization had not engaged in any major selling activity in the current market cycle, causing speculation about a potential change in strategy.
Analysts noted that, historically, the Foundation had strategically sold large amounts of ETH during each bull market, often timing these sales with market peaks. The absence of significant sales in the current cycle had raised questions about whether the market peak was still ahead or if the Foundation had altered its approach.
On July 25, the price of ETH dropped by 10% as spot Ethereum ETFs experienced $133 million in outflows on their second day. The asset fell from nearly $3,500 to a multi-day low of $3,130. At the time of writing, the token is trading at $3,266, having increased by 3% in the last 24 hours.
Previous Ethereum Foundation Transfers
Earlier in July, other wallets linked to the Ethereum Foundation made some transfers. On July 17, according to on-chain analytics firm SpotOnChain, an Ethereum Foundation wallet and another connected to an Ethereum initial coin offering (ICO) participant transferred $12.5 million and $9 million worth of ETH, respectively, to Kraken.
Two #Ethereum Foundation/ICO-related wallets deposited 3,631 $ETH ($12.5M) to #Kraken in the past 2 days as the market rebounded:
1️⃣ Wallet 0xdb3 unloaded 2,631 $ETH ($9.01M).
• It received $ETH from the Ethereum Foundation and Ethereum ICO participant 0xAb0.
• Since June 8,… pic.twitter.com/rpEC1Fe4jj
— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) July 17, 2024
Since early June, these two wallets have deposited a total of 17,886 ETH, valued at around $65 million, to the centralized cryptocurrency trading platform, suggesting a possible sell-off.
In January, Arkham Intelligence identified a blockchain address associated with the Ethereum Foundation that sold $1.6 million worth of ETH.
Then, in April, Peckshield Alert reported that the Foundation had converted part of its ETH holdings into stablecoins, exchanging 100 ETH for 354,000 DAI during a time when ETH was trading above $3,600.
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