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BUSD and USDP issuer Paxos have come under New York regulators’ radar. Although there is no specific reason for the investigation, reports revealed that the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) launched a probe into Paxos’ operations.

According to a recent report, someone familiar with this matter said the regulators are yet to clarify the reason behind the sudden investigation.

Why Is Paxos Under Investigation? While speaking to Bloomberg, a spokesperson for NYDFS refused to deliver a specific comment regarding the ongoing investigation. But they said the probing is part of the department’s initiative to protect consumers from the risks in cryptocurrency investments.

The spokesperson claims that NYDFS wants to understand the vulnerabilities and risks consumers and institutions might face from crypto market volatility.

Paxos became the issuer of BUSD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, after its partnership with Binance in September 2019. BUSD is the third-largest stablecoin by market capitalization. Paxos is also the issuer of USDP (Paxos Dollar), launched in 2018, and the developer of PAX Gold (PAXG), a gold-pegged Ethereum token. According to data from CoinGecko, USDP is currently the sixth-largest stablecoin by market cap.

Paxos has been in the cryptocurrency business since 2012. That was when the firm started and launched itBit, a crypto exchange. The firm obtained its BitLicense (a New York-issued license for crypto service providers) from NYDFS in 2015, granting it legal permission to carry out cryptocurrency-related operations in New York.

Earlier, rumors circulated that the US office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) might ask Paxos to withdraw its application for a full banking charter even though it obtained preliminary approval in April 2021. 

However, on February 9, 2023, Paxos debunked these rumors, clarifying that it did not refuse any such order from the OCC. The firm also claimed its BUSD and USDP token reserves have 100% collateral in US dollars and Treasuries.

Paxos is seemingly a compliant firm since it has a BitLicense. So the news of its investigation by the NYDFS comes as a surprise in the crypto space.

The recent regulatory probing of the stablecoin issuer by the NYDFS may be linked with the regulator’s new regulatory guidance. However, it is still uncertain since the regulators, Binance, and Paxos have not commented on the matter.

NYDFS Previous Regulatory Activities In Cryptocurrency Space Paxos’ investigation isn’t the first move in the crypto industry by the New York regulator. Over the past year, the NYDFS has launched investigations on some crypto firms, including Coinbase.

Cryptocurrency market following bitcoin crash | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com On January 4, the regulator launched an enforcement action on Coinbase, alleging that the exchange had 100,000 alerts regarding suspicious user transactions. As such, the NYDFS mandated the crypto exchange to pay a $100 million fine for NY financial services and banking laws violations and compliance deficiencies.

Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview.com

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Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) has commented on Twitter about the Department of Financial Services’ (NYDFS) directive to Paxos Trust Co. to stop minting new BUSD. As reported by the Wall Street Journal today, Paxos will continue to manage redemptions of the product.Existing BUSD’s remain fully-backed and redeemable through at least February 2024.

CZ explained that Paxos is regulated by the NYDFS and BUSD is a stablecoin wholly owned and managed by Paxos. As a result, BUSD’s market capitalization will only decrease over time.

Regarding the alleged lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Paxos, the Binance CEO has no inside information, although CZ did announce product changes on Binance regarding BUSD.

Binance CEO Is Puzzled Rumors are currently circulating in the crypto community that U.S. authorities SEC and NYDFS could target stablecoins, attacking a cornerstone of the crypto ecosystem. Crypto journalist Frank Chaparro tweeted:

SEC is on an absolute warpath. […] I wouldn’t be surprised if they are reviewing USDC, specifically. One senior executive at an exchange told me a few days ago that the SEC was effectively embarking on its own crypto version of the ‘Night of the Long Knives.’

Whether the situation is really as dramatic and U.S. authorities want to put an end to stablecoins per se, remains to be seen and is not really clear at the moment.  Binance CEO Zhao, for example, said that while he is “not an expert on U.S. laws,” but agrees with Miles Deutscher’s opinion in a tweet that stablecoins cannot be a security themselves.

“The SEC has labeled BUSD as an ‘unregistered security,’ and is suing its issuer, Paxos. But how on earth is a STABLECOIN considered a security, when it clearly doesn’t meet the Howey Test criteria. No one has ever had ‘the expectation of profit’ when buying BUSD,” Deutscher wrote.

Are US Authorities Starting A War On Stablecoins? This argument will be difficult for the SEC to refute, which illustrates that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may not have a problem with stablecoins per se, but with the issuers’ interest products.

This is further evidenced by the SEC suing Kraken over its interest product, which was not a “true on-chain” staking product, as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong explained. Another hint is that Paxos’ USDP stablecoin is not included in the announcement, and that the SEC’s crackdown on BUSD may be solely related to its deposit and interest product.

And Circle has a similar product that earns interest. Presumably that’s why the USDC issuer could come under SEC scrutiny, but not because of the stablecoin itself.

It is hard to imagine how a stablecoin can be classified as a security, otherwise the US dollar would have to be. But since Paxos and Circle operate on U.S. soil and offer interest products, they are easy targets for U.S. authorities.

Therefore, the current news and rumors must be considered carefully. Nevertheless, the attack by the U.S. authorities is of course a risk that stablecoin issuers will have to cope with.

In the long run, however, the current situation should pass and stablecoins should continue to flourish and serve as a cornerstone of the crypto ecosystem, even in the US.

At press time, Bitcoin was dragged down by the news and traded at $21,560. For the moment, BTC was able to stay above the support at $21,465 in the 1-hour chart, although the price saw a dip to a new February low at $21,429.

Bitcoin price, 1-hour chart | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com Featured image from Edwin Hooper / Unsplash, Chart from TradingView.com

TUSD and USDP gained popularity in market share, with TUSD leading the race. The mean dollar invested age, market capitalization, and exchange reserve metrics show TUSD and USDP’s steady growth. Recently, the stablecoin market experienced significant changes, creating an opportunity for other stablecoins, such as Pax Dollar [USDP] and TrueUSD [TUSD], to grab the market share. Since Binance’s [BUSD] decline following CFTC’s allegations, there has been a vacancy at the top of the list. Which of these stablecoins can take over the top spot?

USDP and TUSD mean dollar invested declines According to recent findings from Santiment, TUSD, and USDP have been significantly impacting the stablecoin market of late. The data revealed that TUSD’s mean dollar invested age stood at 159.39 at press time, the lowest it had been in the past 14 months. Similarly, the mean dollar invested age for USDP was 78.75, representing the lowest figure in the past 21 months.

Source: Santiment A high mean dollar invested age in the stablecoin market could be a positive sign, indicating that investors were confident in the long-term potential of cryptocurrencies and were holding onto them for extended periods. It could also imply a limited supply of sellers, leading to increased prices.

In contrast, a low mean dollar invested age may indicate new investors entering the market, driving the demand for stablecoins. 

USDP and TUSD market capitalization CoinMarketCap‘s data revealed that TUSD had a robust market presence at press time, with a market cap exceeding $2 billion and a 24-hour trading volume over $531 million. During this time, TUSD ranked as the 13th-largest coin by market cap and the fifth-largest stablecoin by market cap. Interestingly, TUSD’s 24-hour trading volume surpassed that of Maker [DAI], despite DAI being the fourth-largest stablecoin by market cap. 

In contrast to TUSD, USDP had a relatively smaller market presence, with its market cap exceeding $877 million and a 24-hour trading volume of over $22 million. USDP ranked as the 58th-largest coin by market cap and the sixth-largest stablecoin by market cap. While USDP’s press time market cap was impressive, its lower 24-hour trading volume suggested it may not be as actively traded as other stablecoins.

Analyzing the exchange reserve Exchange reserve is another important metric that indicates the popularity of stablecoins in the crypto space. According to CryptoQuant, USDP’s exchange reserve had seen mixed fortunes, but it has recently been on an uptrend, reaching over 115 million as of this writing. 

Source: CryptoQuant CryptoQuant’s data further suggested that TUSD has had a better exchange reserve run than USDP. The stablecoin’s exchange reserve has been relatively steady since its rise in January, with its press time value exceeding 513 million. This indicated that TUSD was being traded actively and held by investors on exchanges at the time of writing, reflecting its growing popularity in the crypto market.

Source: CryptoQuant Additionally, the growth of this metric meant that more investors were using these stablecoins to trade, indicating their importance as a reliable trading pair.

TUSD leads the stable race… for now The current regulatory issues surrounding BUSD and the recent bank run that impacted USDC have led investors to look for alternative stablecoins that offer greater stability and security. In this context, TUSD and USDP have emerged as potential contenders for the top spot among stablecoins.

However, based on the metrics discussed earlier, TUSD is better positioned to take the top spot if it becomes available. TUSD’s higher market cap and trading volume, coupled with its steady growth in exchange reserve, suggest it has a more established presence in the stablecoin market. 

In contrast, while USDP has shown growth in some metrics, it may not be as established as TUSD.  

Paxos joins Mercado Libre to offer Pax Dollar stablecoin in Mexico

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According to the latest on-chain data, the Layer-1 network Solana has hit a significant milestone in terms of the transfer volume of stablecoins this month.

Solana Overtakes Tron In Stablecoin Transfer Volume Data from the blockchain analytics platform Artemis shows that the stablecoin transfer volume on Solana has already surpassed $300 billion in January. This is the largest transfer volume recorded by stablecoins on the Layer-1 blockchain in a single month.

To put this figure into context, the Solana network registered $297 billion in stablecoin volume in the entire December. Meanwhile, the blockchain’s stablecoin transfer volume was about $11.56 billion in January 2023, reflecting an over 2,500% growth in the past year.

Stablecoin transfer volume across various blockchains in the past year | Source: Artemis From the chart above, it is clear that Solana’s stablecoin activity has been on a steady rise since October, increasing by more than 650% in the past few months.  This growth has also impacted the network’s share in the stablecoin market, with Solana now boasting about 32% market share.

Unsurprisingly, Ethereum leads the market for stablecoins, with its transfer volume already reaching almost $317 billion in January. Meanwhile, the Tron network trails Solana in third place, with a stablecoin volume of roughly $240 billion.

On Thursday, January 18, Paxos revealed the launch of its regulated stablecoin, USDP, on the Solana network. According to DefiLlama data, USDC remains the dominant stablecoin on the Layer-1 network, with a market cap of over $1 billion.

Paxos is thrilled to share our regulated stablecoin USDP is now live on the @solana blockchain! This integration makes it easier for anyone to access and use the safest, most reliable stablecoins in the market. Learn more here: https://t.co/0j4Kj0yyPk pic.twitter.com/1doexKvVmY

— Paxos (@Paxos) January 18, 2024

SOL Price Overview Despite Solana’s burgeoning network activity, the price performance of its native token SOL has somewhat dampened in the past few weeks. As of this writing, the Solana token is valued at $92, reflecting a 0.6% decline in the last 24 hours.

This sluggish performance in the past day underscores the altcoin’s challenges since the turn of the year. After reaching a multi-month high of $124 at the end of 2023, the SOL price has largely struggled to hold above the $100 mark.

According to data from CoinGecko, the Solana token is down by more than 5% in the past week. Meanwhile, the coin has declined by about double that figure since the beginning of 2024.

Nevertheless, SOL maintains its position as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in the sector, with a market capitalization of more than $40 billion.

Solana price faces downward pressure on the daily timeframe | Source: SOLUSDT chart on TradingView Featured image from Dreamstime/Aivaras Sakurovas, chart from TradingView

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The value of the stablecoin Pax Dollar (USDP), issued by the Paxos Trust Company, experienced a surge to a high of $1.28, triggering the liquidation of $529,000 in USDC for a market participant. 

Like regular stablecoins, USDP is designed to maintain a stable value equivalent to a U.S. dollar, providing a safe haven for traders against the volatility often associated with cryptocurrencies. However, the recent unexpected increase in price, spotlighted by PeckShield, has raised concerns.

The stablecoin uncharacteristically spiked to $1.2848 yesterday at 16:10 UTC before eventually witnessing a subsequent drop to its usual price of $1 four hours later. While the depeg went unnoticed by most, it had far-reaching effects on a trader’s loan position, triggering liquidations.

USDP price – April 17 | Source: Trading View The liquidation occurred on the decentralized finance (defi) platform Aave, where the trader had used USDP as collateral to secure a loan in USDC. Notably, in the defi ecosystem, loans are backed by other assets, with mechanisms in place to manage sudden shifts in market dynamics. 

On-chain data confirms that the trader lost the 529,000 USDC across sixteen uneven transactions from 16:16 to 20:09 UTC, coinciding with the period USDP lost its peg. The transaction label indicates that the liquidation process was automatically initiated by Aave’s built-in risk management algorithms.

While the USDP value spiked, the platform likely predicted a possible correction or a return to its normal pegged rate. Such a forecast can prompt preemptive liquidation to mitigate potential losses, especially if the borrower’s loan-to-value (LTV) ratio becomes unfavorable.

Issued by Paxos, USDP has faced certain setbacks in recent times, marked by occasional depegs. A 2023 research from SP Global suggested that USDP records the highest deviations from the U.S. dollar among the top stablecoins, having witnessed 7,581 mild depeg events in the 24 months leading to June 2023.

Pax Dollar Temporarily Unpegs Due to Trading Anomalies, Not Protocol Flaws, Says Paxos Spokesperson

Paxos Approved by Monetary Authority of Singapore for Stablecoin Issuance

Paxos acquires Membrane Finance for EU stablecoin expansion

Paxos, one of the leading regulated stablecoin issuers and tokenization platforms, has filed for regulatory approval to become a national trust bank.

Summary

Paxos has applied for a national trust charter license from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The crypto company eyes regulatory approval to convert its New York issued charter to a national trust charter. Paxos joins Circle and Ripple among companies seeking banking licenses in the U.S. Paxos, which issues PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoins, announced that it is looking to convert its New York Department of Financial Services trust charter into a national trust bank charter. 

The company’s application for a trust bank license is with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Approval to convert from an NYDFS-regulated trust to a national charter would allow Paxos to manage and hold assets on its customers’ behalf. A national trust charter would also allow the Pax Dollar issuer to accept cash deposits and offer loans under applicable regulation.

“For over a decade, Paxos has set the bar for regulatory oversight and compliance,” said Charles Cascarilla, chief executive officer and co-founder of Paxos. “By applying for a national trust bank charter, we are continuing to offer enterprise partners and consumers the safest, most trusted infrastructure available.”

Circle, Ripple also eye banking licenses Paxos became the first blockchain firm to obtain a limited trust charter from NYDFS in 2015. The company first filed for a national bank license in 2020, and regulators gave preliminary conditional approval in 2021. However, the application hit a snag and expired in 2023.

Commenting further on the fresh application, Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla, said:

“This is rooted in our belief in the transformative power of blockchain as a force for financial freedom. OCC oversight will help build on our historic commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety and transparency.”

OCC oversight will add to regulatory milestones across Europe and Asia with the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

The move also sees Paxos join other top digital asset platforms and companies eyeing banking licenses in the United States. 

Circle, the publicly-traded stablecoin issuer of USDC (USDC) and Ripple, the company behind the XRP (XRP) cryptocurrency and Ripple USD stablecoin, recently filed for national trust bank charters. At the moment, Anchorage Digital is the only U.S.-based digital asset platform with a national trust bank charter.

So far, the past month had seen some of the worst days in Bitcoin’s price history. Following the emerging coronavirus crisis, Bitcoin plunged from a high of over $10K in mid-February, to a current low of $3,600 reached March 12. Since then, the price had recovered to the $6,000 area, but March is not yet over.

The drop affected almost all of the cryptocurrencies and stablecoins were the only ones that saw their market cap increased.

Stablecoins’ Growth Amid The Sell-Offs As the name suggests, stablecoins find a valuable place among all cryptocurrencies because of their “stability”. In a market with generally high levels of volatility, traders can quickly exit their positions from a violently swinging coin and store their funds in a more stable digital asset, pegged to the USD in most cases.

A perfect example of their usage came last week when the market crashed over 50% in one single day. A recent report indicated that during the most significant stages of the sell-off, short term traders turned to stablecoins.

Therefore, even though the total market cap saw its value slashed in half from over $300m a month ago, most stablecoin are on the rise in that manner.

According to data from CoinGecko, USDC, the stable coin backed by Circle, had seen an increase of 55% in its market cap. Until February 27, all USDC was equivalent to $430 million. As of writing these lines, the market cap grew to almost $670 million. Paxos Standard (PAX) saw a minor increase of 9% to a current market cap of $230 million.

The biggest gainer has been BUSD (Binance USD), with an increase of over 100%. It seems rather logical since the coin is available on the leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume – Binance.

You may also like: UK Central Bank Eases Stablecoin Rules Following Market Response Coinbase Urges Congress to Treat Stablecoins Like Cash and Ease Crypto Tax Burdens Peter Schiff Blasts Jamie Dimon’s Push for Bank-Style Rules on Stablecoins Despite the above, True USD, Paxos and Gemini Dollar didn’t notice a significant change in their market cap, and MakerDAO saw a decrease of 30% in its market cap due to the recent instability of the promising project.

Still Far From Tether (USDT) Despite the new additions in the stablecoin market, Tether (USDT) is still well in the lead in this race. It’s the most widely used, and naturally, it has the largest market capitalization of over $4.5 billion. After the latest price crash, Tether is now the 4th biggest cryptocurrency by market cap.

As the majority generally prefer using it, USDT ERC-20 transactions noted an all-time high last year. Ultimately, they utilized almost 25% of the whole Ethereum network.

More recently, USDT ERC-20 balance on cryptocurrency exchanges has more than doubled in the past month, and it’s close to $1 billion.

USDT ERC 20 Balance On Exchanges. Source: glassnode.com However, the emergence of new stablecoins may soon threaten Tether’s dominance over the market. According to a recent report, USDC, PAX, TUSD, and DAI had surpassed USDT in terms of transfer counts at the start of the year.

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