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"The SEC has put significant limits on Paxos's experiment. Only about 140 of the most actively traded, least volatile stocks, like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Bank of America Corp. , are eligible for the project. The number of trades Paxos can settle will also be capped at 1% of average daily trading volume of those stocks, according to the SEC's letter."

Silvergate Bank specializes in reaching debanked bitcoiners, joining several other financial institutions including Metropolitan Bank, Signature Bank, and Cross River Bank in catering to the financial needs of the growing cryptocurrency space. Silvergate's crypto clients include Gemini, Kraken, Bit Flyer, Paxos, trueUSD, Coinbase, Polychain Capital, and Bitstamp.

CryptoCompare has revised its exchange rankings and the world's largest crypto exchange by traded volumes. The top ten crypto exchanges are Gemini, Paxos' itBit, Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, Liquid, OKEx, Poloniex, bitFlyer and Bitfinex.

Payment processor BitPay has announced it is adding three USD-pegged stablecoins to its list of supported tokens (USD Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD) and Paxos Standard Token (PAX)).

BitPay supports settlement in 12 currencies and direct bank deposit in 37 countries. Cryptocurrency settlements are supported in over 200 countries. Cryptocurrency - Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Gemini Dollars (GUSD), Paxos (PAX), and Circle USD Coin (USDC)

The Reserve project is also going through the initial testing stage for its Reserve (RSV) decentralized governance stablecoin. The first phase of its development is centralized, where it will be fiat-collateralised and pegged to the US dollar. To get rid of this dependence, RSV will have to make a contrary step towards decentralization and utilize a "basket of assets," as of now to consist of three collateral tokens: USD Coin, TrueUSD and Paxos, while still keeping the USD peg until it's finally abandoned.

CoinMetrics has found extreme wealth centralization among many top stablecoins, with at least 80% of the total capitalization for five top stable tokens being held in less than six accounts. And most at least 20% of transfers made using most stablecoins are valued at less than $100, showing significant stable token adoption as a means of payment. The report also found that more than 40% of transactions made using the Paxos Standard Token are directly linked to a single multi-level marketing, or MLM, Ponzi scheme.

Coin Metric's latest state of the network shows stablecoin usage statistics across issuers and networks. Roughly 40% of all PAX volume is tied to ponzi schemes. The report also demonstrates how stablecoins from the same issuer may be used differently across networks.

The Senate Banking Committee has sent letters to stablecoin issuers Coinbase, Gemini, Circle, Paxos, Tether, TrustToken, Centre, and Binance US, asking about general business practices and safeguards. Responses are expected by December 3. This is likely a sign of an upcoming hearing.

Facebook's Novi digital wallet app is being rolled out a small pilot in the United States and Guatemala. With it, people can send and receive money instantly, securely, and with no fees. It will use the Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoin through partnerships with Paxos and Coinbase. A small cohort of users in both countries will be able to download the Novi app on iPhone or Android devices, sign up with valid government-issued ID, and add money to their accounts with a debit card. According to CEO David Marcus, USDP was chosen because it's been operating successfully for over three years and has important regulatory and consumer protection attributes. He also made it clear that Novi's support for the larger-scale Diem project hasn't changed and they intend to launch Novi with Diem once it receives regulatory approval and goes live. https://www.novi.com/file/pilot-version-of-novi-now-available

The U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing entitled, "Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States" on December 8, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET. This hearing will have one panel with the following witnesses: Jeremy Allaire (Circle), Samuel Bankman-Fried (FTX), Brian Brooks (Bitfury), Charles Cascarilla (Paxos), Denelle Dixon (Stellar), and Alesia Jeanne Haas (Coinbase).

Meta's WhatsApp has launched a pilot that lets a "limited number" of people in the US send and receive money instantly from within a chat using Pax Dollars (USDP) stablecoins. The feature is powered by Meta's Novi, digital wallet launched as a pilot six weeks ago. There are no fees for sending or receiving money, no limits on how often payments can be sent, and no fees to keep a balance in a Novi account or to withdraw it to a linked bank account.

In June 2022, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued formal guidance for NYDFS-approved stablecoin issuers, including upgrades to the amount and quality of information that issuers must provide to the public. With the new guidance, management's assertions must now be tested and published no later than 30 days after the end of the month, but also on one randomly selected business day during the month. Secondly, stablecoin issuers will be required to submit their internal controls to audit. However, the new regulations apply to Gemini dollar (GUSD) Binance USD (BUSD) and Paxos dollar (USDP).

Matt Taibbi asks some tough questions about the sanctity of the reserve assets that back Circles USDC stablecoin, and the issue of bankruptcy remoteness. Circle is unlike some competitors, whose user agreements specifically spell out that reserves are, say, "fully backed by US dollars held by Paxos Trust Company, LLC," or "custodied pursuant to the Custody Agreement entered into by and between you and Gemini Trust Company, LLC." Those describe trust agreements, which are truly bankruptcy remote. However, Circle is not a trust, so customers  are guarded only by protections afforded under state money transmission laws. However, Circle is only regulated  as a money transmitter in the states where Circle has licenses, and the firm has obtained licenses only in those states were licenses are required. There are other reasons to be concerned as a USDC hodler, and I recommend reading the whole post.

"In addition to a difference in asset quality, I'd argue that USD Coin and Binance USD have better legal protections for users in the event of failure. Binance USD in particular operates under the New York stablecoin regulatory framework, which obliges Binance USD's issuer, Paxos, to operate as a trust. Trusts are effective mechanisms for ring-fencing customer funds from an issuer's other creditors."

"Recent news reports have shone a light on Binance-Peg BUSD ("PBUSD") and how it doesn't always appear to have been completely backed by BUSD issued by Paxos. PBUSD is minted on several blockchain networks including BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, and TRON. PBUSD has always been, and continues to be, 100% collateralized. However, the collateral has not always been stored in a single, dedicated wallet in real time so that the 1:1 backing was not always immediately visible to users. Binance undertook a project to centralize the collateral in a single, dedicated wallet; this was completed on 04 January 2023 so that users have visibility into the 1:1 backing of PBUSD. Minting of PBUSD now only takes place after collateral is added to the dedicated wallet. Centralization of collateral for all Binance-backed tokens into dedicated collateral wallets will be completed by 09 February. This will be visible in the Proof of Reserves system that we are continuing to develop."

PayPal is reportedly pausing work on its stablecoin as regulators increase scrutiny of cryptocurrencies and Paxos,  a key partner in the project, faces a probe by the New York State Department of Financial Services. A PayPal official confirmed that the firm is exploring a US dollar backed stablecoin, adding that "if and when we seek to move forward, we will, of course, work closely with relevant regulators."

It's common knowledge that stablecoin issuers like Tether, Paxos, and Circle run pegs. What isn't commonly known is that crypto exchanges like Binance also run their own versions of stablecoin pegs.

Stablecoin transfer patterns show that different stablecoins are potentially being used for different purposes, and are favored in different parts of the world. USDT-ETH transfers are concentrated during Asian and European market hours. USDC transfers are also clustered during Asian market hours, but not as densely packed as USDT-ETH. PAX transfers are more dispersed, which could signal that it is being used for non-institutional purposes. And DAI transfers mostly occur during U.S. hours.

Binance issues BUSD on other chains, including its own-brand blockchain Binance Chain. Together these amount to about a third of the total issuance of BUSD. It doesn't create it out of thin air but uses the Ethereum BUSD as the 1:1 backing asset. This wrapping of a token to make it usable on another blockchain network is commonplace in crypto, but not without risks. The obvious ones are who has keys to the wallets and how to ensure the 1:1 backing is in sync. It turns out that BUSD on other chains was not always 1:1 backed in the past, although Binance said it rectified the process last year. It claimed the issues were a timing difference and it now rebalances more regularly.