Bitcoin volatility index drops to historic low as PayPal launches stablecoin while Revolut drops crypto in US
Data from CryptoCompare shows that the price of the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) moved essentially sideways throughout the week. After starting at $29,000 and moving to test the $30,000 mark, BTC kept on trading around $29,500, before a short dip to $29,400.
Ethereum’s Ether, the second-largest digital currency by market capitalisation, moved similarly to BTC throughout the week, starting it at $1,830 and moving up to $1,880 before enduring a slight correction, to now trade at $1,845.
Bitcoin’s stability has seen the Bitcoin Volatility Index (BVIN), which measures Bitcoin’s implied volatility via Deribit’s options contracts, drop to an all-time low.
Headlines in the cryptocurrency space this week partly focused on global payments titan PayPal, which revealed plans to launch its own stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, called PayPal USD (PYUSD).
The stablecoin is set to be based on the Ethereum network and be backed by short-term US dollar deposits, Treasuries, and other cash equivalents. The offering is meant to facilitate transactions between PayPal and other compatible wallets.
Circle, the firm that manages the USDC stablecoin, was revealed to rely on a $1 billion in reserves to handle its growing competition, which now includes PayPal itself. USDC’s circulating supply dropped from $45 billion to $26 billion this year, while leading stablecoin issuer Tether saw its USDT grow.
The stablecoin sector has seen dwindling investor confidence following a market downturn that was further exacerbated by industry controversies. The total market capitalisation of the stablecoin sector has now been dropping for 16 consecutive months, to hit its lowest level since August 2021, according to CCData’s latest Stablecoins & CBDCs report.
Investor confidence in the stablecoin sector has been eroding amid a market slump that was further exacerbated by controversies in the industry. The stablecoin market cap has been shrinking for over a year, reaching its lowest point since August 2021, CCData’s latest Stablecoins & CBDCs report reveals.
While the private sector is moving forward in the stablecoin ecosystem, the Bank of Russia has revealed it will start testing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) on August 15. The tests will include 13 prominent banks and a select group of their clients in an initial phase.
Revolut to shut down crypto services in US
The regulatory uncertainty in the United States has pushed digital banking platform Revolut to announce it’s set to shut down its cryptocurrency services for users in the country, in a move that comes after it delisted several assets.
Revolut, along with its US banking partner, will begin the process of suspending access to cryptocurrencies via its platform on September 2. Full termination of crypto services will follow a month later on October 3, according to a spokesperson for the digital bank.
Similarly, Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp announced this week it’s delisting seven cryptocurrencies for investors in the United States. The tokens being delisted were mentioned in the SEC’s lawsuits filed against Coinbase and Binance as unregistered securities.
Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed it wants to file an “interlocutory appeal” against a judge’s recent ruling on Ripple’s programmatic sales of the XRP token.
Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled XRP is not necessarily a security in a blow to the SEC, as Judge Analise Torres only noted Ripple’s direct XRP sales to institutional investors violated securities law. As a result, several exchanges including Coinbase and Kraken relisted XRP
Over the week, cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex agreed to settle with the SEC over allegations it offered US investors access to unregistered securities. The settlement will see the exchange pay a $24 million fine in a move that follows its filing for bankruptcy in May.
Earlier this year, the SEC sued Bittrex, alleging the exchange had effectively operated as a securities exchange, broker, and clearinghouse, without obtaining the necessary registrations from the regulator.
MakerDAO introduces spark protocol for increased DAI yields
On-chain, leading decentralized stablecoin issuer MakeRDAO launched its Spark Protocol, an innovative lending platform meant to boost MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoin. The protocol’s launch came with a boost to DAI’s yield, from 3% to 8% a year.
Notably, the protocol is blocking access to users accessing it using a virtual private network (VPN) as it attempts to geo-block users from specific countries, including the United States, from accessing it.
Meanwhile, Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base has kept on growing, and this week integrated Chainlink price feeds, in a bid to help decentralized applications, especially those related to financial services, like lending and borrowing, work smoothly and connect with real-world data like asset prices.
Francisco Memoria is a content creator at CryptoCompare who’s in love with technology and focuses on helping people see the value digital currencies have. His work has been published in numerous reputable industry publications. Francisco holds various cryptocurrencies.
Featured image via Unsplash.