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Paxos Trust Company launched Paxos Crypto Brokerage, a new product offering that enables companies to integrate crypto-asset buying, selling, holding and sending capabilities into their own applications. Paxos Crypto Brokerage is an API-based solution that provides access to the crypto-asset market while managing the underlying regulatory and technological complexity. Revolut US is the first partner to leverage Paxos Crypto Brokerage for US customers of its consumer banking application (see above).

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is reportedly investigating stablecoin issuer Paxos. The full scope of the investigation is unclear. Paxos' stablecoins include the Pax dollar (USDP) and Binance USD (BUSD). Paxos has been in the news recently over rumors the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - a federal bank regulator - may ask it to withdraw its application for a full banking charter. Paxos has denied these rumors. Paxos also holds a virtual currency license (BitLicenses) issued by NYDFS.

Wedbush Securities will begin using blockchain technology to settle certain stock trades, using Paxos on a pilot basis. Paxos recently tested same-day settlement of trades on the blockchain. Paxos currently operates its blockchain-based settlement system under a "no-action" promise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Meanwhile, Paxos is applying to become a clearing agency with the SEC, which would make the cryptocurrency custodian one of just two clearing agencies in the U.S., joining the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).

Paxos will now disclose on a monthly basis the specific financial instruments backing its USDP and BUSD stablecoins, in addition to its attestations. These reports will provide the CUSIP numbers of all instruments backing USDP and BUSD, showing that Paxos only backs its stablecoins with cash, overnight loans secured only by US Treasuries, and US Treasuries with a less than 90 day maturity. As a Trust Company chartered by the New York State Department of Financial Services ("NYDFS"), Paxos is legally required to hold all regulated stablecoin reserves in bankruptcy remote, fully-segregated accounts and in only cash and cash equivalents.

Paxos Trust will stop minting new Binance USD (BUSD) tokens starting from February 21, 2022 in accordance with directions and coordination with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). All existing BUSD tokens will remain fully backed and redeemable through Paxos until at least February 2024. Customers will be able to convert their BUSD tokens to Pax Dollar (USDP) another Paxos-issued stablecoin.

U.K. challenger bank Revolut expanded its cryptocurrency services to the United States, where it launched fiat banking services in March 2020. Customers in 49 states can now purchase, store, and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum through the Revolut app. It is using Paxos' plug and play brokerage service (see below) with Paxos handling all the regulatory matters, since the U.S. trust company also acts as Revolut's crypto-asset custodian. https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/paxos-presents-paxos-crypto-brokerage-service-revolut-as-first-customer/

Paxos is rebranding its stablecoin from Paxos Standard (PAX) to Pax Dollar (USDP) so it is more easily identifiable as a US dollar-backed token. The updated USDP smart contract will go live on August 31, 2021. PAX has always maintained reserves that are 100% cash or cash equivalents, which for Paxos means short-term Treasury bills.

Binance and stablecoin issuer Paxos announced a partnership to integrate a new deposit gateway on Binance.com that will allow traders to exchange fiat directly for PAX on the Paxos platform and benefit from the stablecoin's liquidity on the Binance exchange.

Paxos Trust Company has completed a same-day settlement of US-listed equity trades in partnership with Instinet and Credit Suisse on its Paxos Settlement Service permissioned blockchain solution. Paxos said the project demonstrated its ability to enable same-day settlement for trades conducted throughout the day. In the current system, settlement can only occur the same day if trades are completed before 11 AM ET and therefore is rarely utilized. The platform is said to be interoperable with the legacy clearing system and can facilitate settlement on any time cycle.

Paxos Trust lawyer and chief compliance officer Dan Burstein claims that Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC are unregulated "stablecoins" in name only. Paxo-issued Paxos Standard (PAX) and Binance Dollar (BUSD) are approved and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). That means each token is backed by reserves in the safest instruments, such as bank deposits insured by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or short-term maturity US Treasuries. Gemini Dollars (GUSD) issued by Gemini Trust Company, are similarly NYDFS regulated

Paxos Trust lawyer and chief compliance officer Dan Burstein claims that Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC are unregulated "stablecoins" in name only. Paxo-issued Paxos Standard (PAX) and Binance Dollar (BUSD) are approved and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). That means each token is backed by reserves in the safest instruments, such as bank deposits insured by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or short-term maturity US Treasuries. Gemini Dollars (GUSD) issued by Gemini Trust Company, are similarly NYDFS regulated.

Paxos raised about $142 million from its series C round of funding from investors including Paypal. The New York-based company, which provides blockchain-based services to financial institutions and operates a cryptocurrency exchange, has raised more than $240 million in funding so far. Paxos has also submitted an application to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become a federally regulated bank. It already has a trust charter and a number of other regulatory certifications.

A select group of U.S. equity trades is being settled using a private blockchain as Paxos Trust Co. pushes for approval to offer its service to more dealers. Broker-dealers Credit Suisse Group AG and Nomura Holdings Inc.'s Instinet are swapping cash for stocks using the Paxos Settlement System, the first operational use of a private blockchain in U.S. equity markets, Paxos co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Charles Cascarilla said in an interview. He expects Societe Generale SA to join soon.

The Paxos Settlement Service has gone live, allowing for the simultaneous exchange of cash and a select number of U.S.-listed securities on Paxos' own private version of ethereum.

Bank of America joined Credit Suisse and Nomura's Instinet on Paxos Trust's blockchain-based stock-settlement network that settles trades in minutes rather than days. Paxos Settlement Service is a private, permissioned blockchain solution designed to allow two parties to bilaterally settle securities trades directly with each other. The platform is interoperable with the legacy clearing system and can facilitate settlement on any time cycle. Bank of America has been conducting internal transactions for the past few months and, if approved as a clearing agency, will offer the service to clients next.

The U.S. SEC granted Paxos no-action relief to settle equity securities trades on a blockchain platform for broker-dealers. Credit Suisse and Société Générale would be the first two companies to utilize the new Paxos Settlement Service.

Binance became the first crypto exchange to implement the fiat gateway of stablecoin operator Paxos. The Paxos Fiat Gateway allows its users to swap between dollars and stablecoins on a one-to-one basis.

Paxos filed an application with the OCC to create the Paxos National Trust that would operate out of New York. The company, which already has a New York trust charter and a slew of licenses, currently offers cash custody, gold custody, cryptocurrency services, digital asset issuance, securities clearing, commodities trading and other services.

"It's likely the Circle NYDFS complaint did not refer to the Ethereum stablecoin for which Paxos is responsible. Binance issued pegged stablecoins using the same BUSD branding on other blockchains, which were meant to be backed one-for-one by the Ethereum BUSD issued by Paxos. However, records show they were not fully backed at all times in the past. Binance claimed there was a process issue resulting in timing differences which have been corrected."

The NYDFS reportedly said that Paxos was unable to administer the token in a "safe and sound" manner and "violated its obligation to conduct tailored, periodic risk assessments and due diligence refreshes of Binance and Paxos-issued BUSD customers to prevent bad actors from using the platform.