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Aave V3 Launch Delayed By Ethereum Voting Process

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In a surprise turn of events, the highly-anticipated launch of Aave V3 has been delayed by an Ethereum voting process. Earlier this week, the platform’s team member Graham tweeted that the upgrade, which includes a host of new features such as cross-chain asset functions and community contribution tools, was set to occur this week.

However, yesterday, it was announced that an Aave Ethereum V3 proposal was up for voting, which will activate its Ethereum pool (3.0.1) by completing all the initial setup and listing WBTC, WETH, wstETH, USDC, DAI, LINK, and AAVE, all of which have already been pre-approved by the community.

According to the announcement post, this governance proposal activates the Aave V3 Ethereum pool (3.0.1) by completing all the initial setups and listing the above-mentioned assets. All its addresses can be found in the network’s address book.

The delay in the launch of Aave V3 is due to the fact that the Ethereum pool was still running V2. After careful consideration, the community decided to deploy a fresh V3 instead of upgrading the V2 pool for increased compatibility between the V3 pools and less general complexity. 

The assets to be listed and their respective configurations have been discussed in the governance forum and decided in the snapshot that is mentioned in the announcement post.

Additionally, security procedures have been taken to ensure the proposal execution is simulated within the tests and the resulting pool configuration is tested for correctness. Further, the proposal has been tested using forks on the Aave interface, and its companies have reviewed the code.

This is a momentous occasion for Aave and the entire decentralized finance community, as this upgrade promises to take the platform to new heights. The community is eagerly awaiting the results of the voting and the official launch of Aave V3.

Aave Team Member’s Tweet

According to a January 15th tweet from team member Graham about the launch of Aave V3, it is expected to reduce costs by 20-25% significantly and is set to revolutionize the decentralized lending platform. The new version will also come with efficient mode and other upgrades. However, the community is excited about the launch and is eagerly waiting for the release.

In his tweet, the member disclosed several other organizations’ hard work and dedication in the lead-up to the highly-anticipated launch. The member gave shout-outs to bgdlabs, a Web3 development initiative contributing to the platform. 

Additionally, the member tagged Chaos Labs, the economic security and risk management platform for DeFi protocols, and Gaunt Let Network for their contributions and efforts over the past few weeks that have helped make the launch a reality.

Related Reading | Ethereum Liquid Staking Market Booms With Lido & Rocket Pool Leading The Way: Report

JFSA Will Allow Overseas Stablecoins Domestic Distribution In 2023

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The Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA) will allow the domestic distribution of stablecoins minted overseas beginning in 2023, as reported by local media on December 26th.

Japan was one of the first advanced countries to establish stablecoin legal regulations and investor protections. Japan passed a law in June requiring tokens to be backed by the yen or another fiat currency and ensuring that owners may redeem them for their face value.

However, the report claims that JFSA plans to apply the updated “Revised Payment Services Act” set to take effect next year after amending Cabinet Office regulations and developing guidelines.

The report stated:

The guidelines will show detailed rules based on the revised Payment Services Act. For domestically issued stablecoins, the issuer will be required to prepare collateral assets as collateral.

Regarding stablecoins issued overseas, which are scheduled to be lifted, the distributors who handle the tokens in Japan will be required to protect the assets. Issuers can only be banks, trust organizations, and fund transfer service providers.

Its distributors are expected to be required to keep track of transaction details, including identities, as a countermeasure against money laundering.

The upper remittance limit will be 1 million yen ($7500) per transaction. The target markets for stablecoins are currently unknown, although it’s possible that it will be US Circle and Coinbase-produced USD Coin (USDC).

“Algorithmic Stablecoins” May Subject To Tight Regulation

On the other hand, according to the report, the FSA may in the future tighten laws on “algorithmic stablecoins” based on presentation materials made by Amaya, FSA’s international deputy director-general.

The report pointed out that because algorithmic stablecoins are also uncollateralized, they could spread to the financial market in the case of a failure, similar to the collapse of UST (TerraUSD). “It cannot be denied that it lacks reliability in comparison.”

Besides this, the report also highlights that:

Stablecoins were also mentioned at the Digital Agency’s Web 3.0 Study Group in October. The perspective was that stablecoins could also be useful for local community DAOs.

When towns undertake small-scale Web3 projects aimed at regional rejuvenation, one of the research group members indicated that stable coins with stable pricing would be helpful.

Related Reading |  The AAX Scandal: The Arrest Of Top Executives On Fraud Charges In Hong Kong 

Binance’s CZ Responds To Withdrawals Surge Amidst Investors’ Concern

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Binance’s latest proof of reserve has been the cause of concern for investors. A report by Nansen revealed that crypto market maker Jump Trading became the largest withdrawer from Binance.

Jump’s net withdrawals from the exchange came to be $146 million of digital assets in the past seven days, analyst Andrew of Nansen noted.

These withdrawals included $102 million in Binance USD [BUSD], the exchange’s stablecoin issued by Paxos; $14 million of Tether’s USDT; and $10 million of ether [ETH]. The tweet further read,

Normally Jump has massive inflows/outflows to exchanges This time is different — Jump has redeemed $245 million in BUSD on the month, $106 million in the past week, and $30 million in the past 24 hours Working very hard to cash out & not get burned again.

Investors began to rush in withdrawing funds after a Reuters report about the U.S. prosecutor’s office considering charging Binance and its executives with money laundering and sanctions violations.

CEO Changpeng Zhao or CZ slammed the news as FUD [fear, uncertainty, and doubt] and urged everyone not to worry.

Having said that, there has been a general unease over Binance’s financial health.

Tron’s Justin Sun recently withdraw a total of $50 million from the exchange, which might have further exacerbated the panic. Sun then made an effort to ease the tension by tweeting a link to Etherscan where he had redeposited $100 million USDC into the exchange.

Binance’s Withdrawals Hit Nearly $2B In 24 Hours

On-chain data by Nansen also showed withdrawals across all chains have hit almost $2 billion in a span of 24 hours. Some of the recipients of this inflow included Paxos and Huobi.

Following the reports, Binance tweeted that it was temporarily suspending USDC withdrawals as it engages in a token swap between USDC and BUSD [which is managed by Paxos].

CZ clarified that until the bank launches operations in the United States, it will not be possible to update the account ledgers necessary for this swap at a New York-based bank. He added that Sun’s Binance deposit was a step in the deployment of BUSD onto TRON.

“These are 1:1 conversions, no margin or leverage involved. We will also try to establish more fluid swap channels in the future. In the meantime, feel free to withdraw any other stablecoin, BUSD, USDT, etc,” he added.

Coinbase: USDT TO USDC Conversion Fees To Be Waived Off

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Investor confidence has been damaged as a result of the consecutive failures of companies in the cryptocurrency industry. Because of this, businesses offering trader-investor services that have remained afloat do not have extremely high expectations for profitability.

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, stated in a recent interview with Bloomberg that the exchange’s income is expected to drop by almost half this year. He compared the figures to previous year’s and said,

“Last year in 2021, we did about $7 billion of revenue and about $4 billion of positive EBITDA, and this year with everything coming down, it’s looking, you know, about roughly half that or less.”

Based on adjusted EBITDA, Coinbase had predicted it could only lose $500 million in 2022. The business at the time did not give a forecast for total revenue for the entire year. Bloomberg pointed out that Armstrong’s estimate was comparable to the $3.2 billion that analysts had predicted.

It is well known that Coinbase’s primary source of income is transaction fees. The company’s revenue of approximately $7.4 billion in 2021 was derived in a staggering 88% from fees imposed on regular traders’ transactions.

The volume settled on Coinbase has been trending downward despite periodic increases. As shown below, compared to January’s $2.5–$5 billion, the exchange-traded volume has recently been circling the $1 billion threshold. Thus, Coinbase’s revenue would be affected harder if the boring trend continued.

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Source: CoinGecko

Coinbase Urges Users To Convert To Trusted Stablecoin

In a new campaign that showcases the calibre of reserves that support Circle-owned USD Coin, Coinbase is waiving the conversion fees for users who want to move to a “trusted stablecoin” (USDC).

In a blog post published on Friday morning, Asia time, Coinbase stated,

“The events of the past few weeks have put some stablecoins to the test and we’ve seen a flight to safety……… We believe that USD Coin (USDC) is a trusted and reputable stablecoin.”

For all international retail clients converting USDT to USDC as of right now, according to the firm, there are no costs.

According to on-chain data, USDT is presently trading for 99 cents on Coinbase and is the third most actively traded digital asset there, accounting for 5% of the trading volume.

Circle Warns Of Ongoing Phishing Activity Targeting USDC Token Holders

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On November 24th, Circle, a leading provider of financial technology and the creator of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, tweeted a warning about an ongoing phishing activity that aims to trick users into sending USDC tokens to malicious addresses.

According to the statement:

The scammers are pretending to be from @centre_io. There is not a new version of USDC in the marketplace. Please do not fall for this.

However, a recent study by the Interisle Consulting Group shows that phishing is at its peak. So far this year, there have been over one million phishing attacks alone – a 61% increase from last year. Not only does it represent a significant threat to many users out there, but it also poses real consequences for companies.

Moreover, Phishing attacks targeting wallets and exchanges specifically have increased dramatically in the cryptocurrency space. Phishers successfully attack virtual currency using methods they have used against traditional financials.

The number of cryptocurrency-related phishing attempts rose by 257% yearly. Crypto wallets were the most often targeted companies, and over 80% of the generic top-level domains (gTLD) identified for phishing were fraudulently registered.

StraitsX’s Partnership With Circle

The company also issued a press release on November 24th, announcing that to grow their network, Circle Internet Financial and StraitsX, a Southeast Asian payment system, have teamed up. Through the StraitsX platform, users may swap USDC and deposit it into their personal or company accounts.

The press release said:

With USDC being one of the fastest-growing stablecoins in the world and a widely requested asset from partners on StraitsX, the integration aims to better serve its business, corporate, institutional and retail users. 

As of November 24th, 2022, over 20 million USDC has been traded through this new exchange, “the StraitsX OTC desk,” and the strong demand for digital assets on the platform has tripled what it was in 2021, according to the press release.

Aymeric Salley, Head of StraitsX, also asserts that this relationship is the first time they have worked directly with another stablecoin issuer, and they look forward to additional partnerships with similar-minded companies like Circle.

Vice President of Asia Pacific for Circle, Raagulan Pathy said:

We are excited to partner with StraitsX and we look forward to them offering the stability of USDC to their customers in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

Related Reading | Solana Loses About $180M In Crypto On FTX

Here’s How TRON’s Justin Sun Reacted To Cash Out Rumors

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The founder of the TRON blockchain Justin Sun clarified that the recent transfer of USDC with Circle is only “internal capital deployment and allocation,” shutting down rumors of cashing out.

These “in and out” moves according to Sun would be a routine affair, meaning as the business expands, the amount of related fund sorting and allocation will also increase simultaneously.

For the development of the industry is a good thing. We are highly optimistic about the blockchain, vigorously recruit, and continue to increase our holdings of TRX, HT and other TRON series of Domenico fiat currencies, and become a glorious fiat currency holder!

BlockBeats, a Chinese news website that first covered the news, cited on-chain statistics of Sun transferring a total of 2.36 billion USDC to Circle, since May 12 [after the crash of UST and LUNA].

The transfer raised eyebrows especially after Sun became a member of the newly formed Huobi Global’s advisory board, which last week outlined the cryptocurrency exchange’s future objectives, TronWeekly reported.  

The crypto entrepreneur also revealed in an interview with Bloomberg that he owns “tens of millions” of HT, the Huobi digital exchange’s native token.

TRON Founder-Backed HT Token Grew By 80%

Following that appearance, rumors about Sun’s alleged holdings started to spread. Chinese reporter named Colin Wu tweeted that 74 million had been transferred from Huobi’s official wallets to wallets linked to the founder of Tron.

The value of HT increased by an astounding 80% over the course of the week, nearly wiping out all losses it had experienced since the year’s beginning.

The founder of Tron further stated that he wants to concentrate on Huobi’s international growth and, if regulations permit, eventually bring the exchange back to China, where it was originally based before leaving last year amid a broader crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry.

Apart from that, the TRON ecosystem got a major boost by signing a crucial agreement with the Dominican Republic government to serve as its designated national blockchain infrastructure.

Following the Caribbean island nation’s approval of Virtual Asset Business legislation in May 2022, the cooperation was established.

The government of Dominica has given the go-ahead for TRON to release Dominica Coin [DMC], a blockchain-based fan token, to support the island nation’s efforts to promote awareness of its natural heritage and tourist attractions on a global scale.

Coinbase Introduces Commission-free USDC Trading for Global Acceptance

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Coinbase, one of the oldest exchanges, was founded in 2012 and has a dedicated fanbase. The exchange has also been shown to be the pioneer in opening the door for many crypto enthusiasts.

Stablecoins have a devoted following of their own. USDC, USDT, and BUSD appear to be maintaining their leadership positions. Nevertheless, Binance just made the decision to remove all USD currencies from its list, including the USDC, TUSD, and USDP. The deposits were also automatically changed to BUSD by the exchange.

The market share of USDC then decreased as Binance accounted for the majority of USDC volume. Coinbase recently announced that it will offer commission-free trading, extending its support for USDC.

Coinbase implements move to improve USDC global access

The adoption of USDC has been lower outside the US, according to Coinbase. It emphasizes that the hefty costs consumers must pay for the conversion of their local currency are the primary cause of this. Coinbase has introduced commission cost transactions in an effort to lower this hurdle and increase global usage.

Along with Circle, Coinbase is one of the co-founders of USD. Stablecoins, such as the USDC, offer significantly more stability and accessibility, than the exchange notes in its release.

“Coinbase will waive commission fees when customers buy or sell USDC via any fiat currency on Coinbase, from AUD to ZAR.“

Since USDC’s value is tied to the US dollar, it experiences far less volatility than the erratic cryptocurrency market. Many even think of stablecoins as a backup means of storing wealth since that inflation has affected every country on the planet.

Additionally, stablecoins have shown to be a far superior method of transferring money. This is primarily because international money transfers can now be done more quickly, cheaply, and securely.

Coinbase is adamant that USDC and other stablecoins will become a more integral part of the future web3 ecosystem’s fiat on-ramp. Users who own USDC can engage with cutting-edge new dApps in sectors including trade, insurance, saving, lending, and borrowing since USDC is a reliable medium of exchange in these domains.

Many of the most intriguing and cutting-edge apps being created inside DeFi are powered by USDC, which has become one of the most widely used stablecoins.

Binance to Halt USDC Trading, Announces That USDT Won’t Have the Same Fate

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The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has acknowledged that it does not currently have any plans to “auto-convert” Tether (USDT) to Binance USD (BUSD), but that this “may change.”

A spokesperson for Binance confirmed to Cointelegraph that there are no plans at the moment to do the same for USDT, but added that this may change in the future:

“We do not have plans to auto-convert USDT to BUSD as of now, but may change.”

The spokesperson added that the decision to stop providing most trading services for USDC and the auto-conversion is “not temporary measures” and “will continue.”

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Binance to Halt USDC Trading, Announces That USDT Won't Have the Same Fate 3

Binance to discontinue USDC trading

The cryptocurrency exchange shocked the market on September 6 by announcing it would stop supporting USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, along with USDP Stablecoin (USDP), and TrueUSD on its platform (TUSD).

On September 29, users who are still holding any of the three stablecoins will start to automatically convert those holdings to BUSD at a 1:1 ratio over a 24-hour period.

While Tether USDT, the largest stablecoin by market cap, was not mentioned, Binance claimed that the decision was made to improve liquidity and capital efficiency for users.

According to a Sept. 6 tweet from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the company is “just merging all liquidity into one pair” and will provide users with the “best price, lowest slippage” rather than delisting the three stablecoins.

Additionally, the exchange will switch most of the pairings over to BUSD and remove the extensive list of spot trading asset pairs paired to these stablecoins.

Users should also be cautious about using USDC in the exchange’s staking, savings, liquid swaps, or loans because those services will also be discontinued for that asset.

Binance’s action coincides with a brief suspension of Ether (ETH) and Wrapped ETH (wETH) withdrawals and deposits on particular networks from September 6 until the end of the month.

Amazon.eth ENS Domain Receives $1 Million Worth USDC Bid

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The Ethereum Name Service, or ENS, domain Amazon.eth was offered one million USDC on Tuesday by an unidentified wallet address on OpenSea.

But there was no response to the offer to acquire the Ethereum Name Service domain, and no deal was made. Despite the fact that the domain name was last sold five months ago for 33 Ether, which was equivalent to almost $100,000 at the time.

Was the ENS owner unaware of the bid?

It is unknown at this point if the owner was simply unaware of the offer, did not think it was close to fair value, or whether the bidding and domain owner accounts were linked in an effort to artificially inflate the asset’s worth or generally a wash trade.

Other bids for the Ethereum Name Service domain currently stand at little under $6,200 USDC, according to statistics from Opensea. Ethereum Name Service has confirmed the legitimacy of the domain name, which is registered to anonymous OpenSea user 4761BF.

Ethereum Name Service is a blockchain naming protocol that enables users to transfer and receive cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens as well as save avatars and profile photos for usage across devices.

Users would have to first link one‘s wallet and enroll an address before listing a .eth domain for sale on OpenSea.

While many cryptocurrency fans choose unique or imaginative names for the Ethereum Name Service fomains, others have started domain-flipping.

Ethereum Name Service domains containing the names of well-known organizations would be registered in advance, and if the organization later decided to enter the Web 3.0 arena, it would then demand a premium fee for the domain.

Over 1.67 million.eth domains have been registered since its launch in 2017, with roughly 482,000 owners.

USDC provider’s silver lining shines bright via stablecoin plans

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One of the most well-known stablecoins offered worldwide is USD Coin (USDC-USD). It serves as the foundation for countless exchanges and has mostly avoided the sticky circumstances that Tether (USDT-USD), its major rival, has encountered. This month, the token is increasing its reserves, which is positive news in and of itself. However, there is more good news for the stablecoin supporters: Circle, the coin’s parent firm, plans to go public by the end of the year.

Circle and Coinbase introduced USDC in the latter part of 2018. The underlying trading activity on Coinbase is one of the stablecoin’s main applications. The introduction represented the first time one could purchase and sell cryptocurrency using a currency that is still tethered to the U.S. dollar because Coinbase hadn’t supported stablecoins up until that moment (USD). But it has developed into much more than that since then. Currently, users use tens of thousands of dapps, exchanges, and DeFi platforms to transact billions of dollars in USDC.

USDC’s circle’s 19 principles

As part of the company’s efforts to influence US stablecoin legislation, Dante Disparte, the head of Circle’s government work, presented a list of 19 principles for stablecoin regulation on July 18.

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Source: circle.com

For those who have been following the discussion on stablecoin issuance, the guiding principles—privacy, continued issuance by non-banks, and coexistence with a hypothetical central bank digital currency—are fairly well known. After Tether, Circle’s USDC, which has a $45 billion total supply, is the second-largest stablecoin.

Disparte further added,

“The preservation of bank and non-bank dollar digital currency issuance promotes competition, a level playing field, and rules-based upgrades in the financial system. Bank-like risks should be addressed with scale-appropriate bank grade levels, including asset liability management, operational and enterprise risk management considerations.”

In December, Disparte gave testimony to the Senate about stablecoins. At the time, he was already promoting a similar multifaceted strategy for stablecoin regulation, which has been heavily requested by the sector. The Treasury, on the other hand, has advocated for restricting issuance to “insured depository institutions,” which are typically banks. Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, has also frequently appeared in congressional hearings on cryptocurrencies.