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OFAC’s Tornado Cash Ban Causes Github Suspensions and the Blacklisting of Crypto Addresses Holding $437M

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OFAC's Tornado Cash Ban Causes Github Suspensions and the Blacklisting of Crypto Addresses Holding $437M

On August 8, the ethereum mixing service Tornado Cash, and all the crypto addresses associated with the platform, were officially banned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). Following the ban, the internet hosting service for software and open source code development, Github, erased some of the Tornado Cash commits and suspended some of the project’s contributors.

Tornado Cash Github Contributors Suspended from Github, Blacklisted ERC20s Left to Liquidity Providers

Tornado Cash has become a topical conversation in the world of cryptocurrencies as the U.S. government decided to ban the privacy-enhancing ethereum mixing service on Monday. The U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog OFAC did not disclose exactly why Tornado Cash was sanctioned but it is suspected that it was due to the North Korean hacking syndicate known as Lazarus Group.

Lazarus Group associates allegedly used Tornado Cash to mix funds. On April 15, 2022, the official Tornado Cash Twitter account explained that it had blocked flagged ethereum addresses listed on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons list (SDN). “Tornado Cash uses [a] Chainalysis oracle contract to block OFAC sanctioned addresses from accessing the dapp,” the project’s social media account said at the time. The Tornado Cash Twitter account added:

Maintaining financial privacy is essential to preserving our freedom, however, it should not come at the cost of non-compliance.

Now reports detail that developers that have contributed to the Tornado Cash codebase on Github have been suspended and a few commits have been deleted. Tornado Cash’s founder, Roman Semenov, explained that his Github account was suspended. “My Github account was just suspended. Is writing an open source code illegal now?” Semenov asked. According to a Twitter user dubbed “Bowtiediguana,” all the addresses OFAC associated with Tornado Cash hold roughly $437 million in stablecoins like USDC and USDT, alongside ETH and WBTC as well.

After the OFAC ban, Circle blacklisted all of the usd coin (USDC) associated with the Tornado Cash platform. Bowtiediguana expects Tether and Bitgo, the custodian of WBTC, to do the same thing, as these ERC20 tokens can be frozen at the smart contract level. The defi educator also expects the ERC20 custodians like Bitgo to “suspend redemptions of the tainted WBTC, rendering those tokens worthless.” Bowtiediguana added:

Liquidity providers will likely end up as bagholders for blocked WBTC (and stablecoin) assets if they do not pull liquidity from DEX *immediately*.

Ethereum Proponent Says OFAC Ban Was the ‘Opening Shot of Big Brother’s Attack on Crypto’

Meanwhile, after the ban, a great number of crypto community members discussed the U.S. government’s actions. “I’m sure the bad guys will stop using Tornado Cash because it’s ‘illegal,’” Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees wrote. “Just like they don’t use illegal weapons, smuggle illegal drugs, or illegally launder money through every means they can find. Law-abiding Americans are the only ones hurt by this,” Voorhees added. Ethereum proponent Ryan Adams called the ban an attack on crypto.

“Today the US sanctioned Ethereum addresses associated w/ a privacy service called Tornado cash. Circle immediately froze the USDC in those accounts. GitHub suspended contributors to Tornado. If you were waiting for the opening shot of big brother’s assault on crypto this was it,” Adams said. Crypto proponents discussed other ideas like decentralizing Github in a censorship-resistant fashion and others talked about creating “new instances of the Tornado contract.”

What do you think about OFAC banning the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

The Number of Euro-Pegged Stablecoins Has Swelled 1,683% Since 2020

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The Number of Euro-Pegged Stablecoins Has Swelled 1,683% Since 2020

While the stablecoin economy is worth roughly $153 billion today, euro-backed stablecoin issuance has increased 1,683% from $31.9 million worth of euro-based tokens on January 3, 2020, to today’s $569 million. Since November 2021, the number of euro stablecoins swelled by 85.34%, but from January 2022 to today, euro stablecoin numbers dropped 14.17% during the last seven months.

Euro-Pegged Stablecoins Cross Half a Billion in Value Since the Start of the Year

Today, most of the stablecoin economy’s value is based on tokens backed by the U.S. dollar, but a small number of other crypto-fiat tokens exist as well. For instance, while the stablecoin issuer Tether manages the largest USD-pegged token USDT, Tether also manages fiat-pegged crypto assets based on the euro, peso, pound sterling, and yuan.

Tether recently launched British pound sterling and Mexican peso stablecoins, and the stablecoin issuer Circle just launched the company’s second major stablecoin backed 1:1 with the euro. According to data, there’s more than a half-billion worth of euro-based stablecoins in existence today, or approximately $569 million on July 31, 2022.

The Number of Euro-Pegged Stablecoins Has Swelled 1,683% Since 2020

The value of the euro-based stablecoin economy has swelled by 1,683% since the first month of 2020. Tether’s euro-pegged stablecoin is the largest of them all, with $400 million worth of EURT in circulation today. Stasis euro (EURS) issued by Stasis is the second-largest euro stablecoin with a $124 million market cap, and Angle Protocol’s ageur (AGEUR) has $44.34 million worth of AGEUR in circulation.

While Circle has introduced the euro-pegged stablecoin euro coin (EUROC), the market valuation is much lower than the top euro stablecoin contenders. There’s approximately 1,020,192 EUROC in circulation today after the company first issued 2,330 EUROC on June 30. Even though Circle’s euro-pegged crypto has a low market cap compared to EURT, EURS, and AGEUR, since June 30 EUROC’s overall valuation grew by 43,685%.

The Aggregate Euro Stablecoin Valuation Is a Drop in the Ocean Compared to USD-Pegged Stablecoins

Stasis euro (EURS) increased 799.42% since June 5, 2020, but AGEUR’s market valuation did the opposite, dropping 74.94% from 177 million AGEUR to today’s $44.34 million worth of AGEUR. Tether’s EURT and Angle Protocol’s AGEUR have roughly the same amount of 24-hour trade volume, as EURT has seen $1,451,459 in 24-hour trades and AGEUR recorded $1,492,259 in global swaps.

Stasis euro has seen the most trade volume on August 1, 2022, with $13,273,109 in global trades, and Circle’s EUROC has recorded just over $127K in 24-hour trade volume. The number of euro-based stablecoins has increased a great deal since 2020 but since the first month of 2022, the quantity of euro-based stablecoins has declined by 14.17%. There are also a few smaller euro-based stablecoin crypto projects like EURST and EUROS.

Moreover, despite the 1,683% increase over the last two years, euro-pegged stablecoins are just a drop in the ocean compared to the entire stablecoin economy. Euro crypto assets today only represent 0.37% of the $153 billion stablecoin economy. Furthermore, while the number of euro-pegged stablecoins has increased since 2020, the euro’s value against the U.S. dollar has been shaky. In mid-July, the euro met parity with the U.S. dollar but since then it has jumped above it again at $1.02 per euro on August 1.

What do you think about the growth of euro crypto tokens in the stablecoin economy? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Circle Partners With New York Community Bancorp — Bank to Custody USDC Reserves

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Circle Internet Financial has revealed a usd coin custody partnership with the American bank holding company New York Community Bancorp (NYCB). Under the agreement, NYCB’s subsidiary, New York Community Bank, will become a custodian for the company’s stablecoin reserves.

Circle Partners With New York Community Bancorp

On Tuesday, Circle announced that it is collaborating with NYCB, the parent company of the U.S. Bank National Association. According to the announcement, NYCB’s subsidiary, New York Community Bank, will custody reserves for Circle’s popular stablecoin usd coin (USDC).

USDC is the second largest stablecoin today with a $53.9 billion market capitalization. During the past 24 hours, Circle’s USDC stablecoin has seen $5 billion in global trade volume. New York Community Bank will also work with Circle in order to provide unbanked communities with access to low-cost financial solutions.

The companies’ strategies will leverage blockchain solutions and stablecoin systems. Solutions include the allocation of USDC dollar-denominated reserves to Minority Depository Institutions Programs (MDIs) and community banks. Dante Disparte, the chief strategy officer and head of global policy for Circle, explained that the future of money will be more inclusive.

“If we want to make the future of money and payments more inclusive than the past, we have to build new partnerships and connections at the community level,” Disparte remarked in a statement.

Circle’s chief strategy officer added:

By partnering with NYCB, we are opening up new pathways for community banks and MDIs across the country to be key participants in the fast-growing digital assets market.

Circle Wants to Improve Financial Inclusion — Blackrock and BNY Mellon Also Handle USDC’s Reserve Management and Custodial Services

On November 17, 2021, Disparte wrote a blog post that explained how Circle wants to “[improve] financial inclusion and economic prosperity for all.” The post discusses working with community banks and MDIs, and the concept of “raising global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of financial value.”

The partnership with NYCB follows Moneygram launching a USDC crypto-to-cash program in specific markets. Furthermore, Circle recently launched USDC on the Polygon blockchain network and issued a second major stablecoin backed 1:1 with the euro.

Andrew Kaplan, the executive vice president and chief digital bank and banking as a service officer at NYCB said that the financial institution was “proud to be a leading digital asset innovator among U.S. banks.”

“We are thrilled that together with being a custodian for USDC reserves, we are also able to partner with Circle on meaningful initiatives to impact inclusion and education to our communities and customers,” Kaplan concluded.

In addition to NYCB, the financial giants Blackrock and BNY Mellon have partnered with Circle as well. Blackrock was named “a primary asset manager of USDC cash reserves,” and America’s oldest investment bank BNY Mellon was also revealed as a USDC custodian last April.

What do you think about Circle’s partnership with NYCB? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

The Number of Tethers in Circulation Dropped by Over 12 Billion in 2 Months, USDC Grew by 9%

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During the last two months, the stablecoin tether has been one of the most traded crypto assets swapped against a myriad of digital currencies. 66 days ago on April 11, 2022, tether’s market valuation was over $82 billion with 82,694,361,442 tethers in circulation. Since then, more than 12 billion tethers have been removed from circulation amid the Terra blockchain implosion, the recent crypto market carnage, and rumors circulating around Celsius and Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

More Than 12 Billion Tethers Leave the Crypto Economy Since April 11

According to market data, the number of tether (USDT) in circulation has dwindled down from over 82 billion to today’s 70 billion. Bitcoin.com News reported on the swelling stablecoin market valuation of all the fiat-pegged tokens in existence as the stablecoin economy neared $200 billion, on April 11.

On that day, there were approximately 82,694,361,442 tethers in circulation after the dollar-pegged crypto saw a 3% increase in growth the month prior. Since then, 15.30% has been removed from circulation as the circulating supply on June 16, 2022, is 70,038,816,028 USDT, according to coingecko.com metrics.

People have been noticing the number of tethers in circulation dropping, as crypto advocates have been discussing the subject on social media. Much of the USDT in circulation has been removed since the terrausd (UST) de-pegging incident, as there were 82.79 billion tethers in circulation on May 12, 2022.

Two days later on May 14, the number or tethers in circulation was down 7.25% to 76.70 billion USDT, according to coingecko.com stats saved on archive.org. During the course of 33 days, another 8.73% has been removed from circulation since May 14.

USDC’s Market Cap Grows Over the Last 2 Months, Tether Commands Lion’s Share of Global Trade Volume

Meanwhile, tether’s competitor usd coin (USDC) has grown during the last two months. On April 16, 2022, the total amount of USDC in circulation was approximately 50,090,822,252 tokens according to coingecko.com metrics recorded on archive.org. Since then, the number of USDC has grown to 54,582,713,063, or 8.96% larger, during the past two months.

During the terrausd (UST) fiasco, the number of USDC slid to 49,122,170,211 on May 12. The USDC in circulation then grew from the 49.12 billion region to 53,804,005,416 by June 10. USDC saw a slight issuance increase since then. Circle also announced the launch of euro coin (EUROC) backed 1:1 by the euro this month.

Data recorded on June 16 shows that USDT commands the lion’s share of the global cryptocurrency trade volume, as it accounts for $51.41 billion of the $96.31 billion in volume on Thursday. That means 53.37% of all the crypto trades on Thursday have been paired with USDT.

The amount of USDC traded on June 16 pales in comparison, as the stablecoin recorded $5.93 billion or 6.15% of the global crypto trade volume during the last 24 hours. Cryptocompare data recorded on June 16 shows USDT trades accounted for 56% of bitcoin’s (BTC) trade volume. While USDC accounted for 2.77% of all BTC trades on Thursday.

What do you think about the number of tethers in circulation declining? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Circle Launches Second Major Stablecoin Backed 1:1 by the Euro

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Circle Launches Second Major Stablecoin Backed 1:1 With the Euro

On Thursday, Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire announced that the company has launched a new stablecoin pegged to the value of the euro (EUR). Allaire said that the new EUROC token is now live on the Ethereum network and will be “available to mint and redeem on June 30th.”

Circle Launches EUROC

Circle has announced the launch of the company’s second major fiat-pegged crypto asset called euro coin (EUROC). The announcement stemmed from Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire on Thursday who explained that EUROC already has “broad industry support.” Circle also follows the company Tether Limited, which introduced a euro stablecoin called EURT in August 2016. There’s currently €195.99 million worth of Tether’s EURT at the time of writing and roughly $7 million in global trade volume during the past 24 hours. In terms of the stablecoin’s fiat backing, Circle’s new EUROC web portal states:

Designed for stability, Euro Coin is 100% backed by euros held in euro-denominated banking accounts so that it’s always redeemable 1:1 for euros.

Allaire details that the new EUROC is fully regulated and will follow the same compliance framework as USDC. “Like USDC, Euro Coin is being issued under a regulated framework for money transmission, under the same statutes that regulate USDC, with full-reserves in Euro, with the same security, liquidity and transparency that the market has come to expect from Circle,” Allaire wrote on Thursday.

EUROC Already Has Support From Exchanges, Wallets, Custodians, and Defi Apps

The Circle CEO believes a euro-based stablecoin will expand payment opportunities and onchain FX. It will bolster trade finance (tradefi) and commerce as well, Allaire explained in his tweet about the project. EUROC will be accessible to individuals, exchanges, institutional traders, and businesses. Currently, EUROC is supported by Binance US, Bitstamp, FTX, and Huobi Global. In the decentralized finance (defi) world EUROC is also supported by Compound, Curve, DFX, and Uniswap.

Additionally, custodians like Anchorage Digital, CYBAVO, and Fireblocks support the new stablecoin alongside wallets like Metamask Institutional and Ledger Wallet. “Euro Coin will be available to institutional customers via a free Circle Account starting June 30, 2022,” Allaire concluded on Thursday. “Developers can begin integrating with the Euro Coin smart contract today, ahead of the official launch.”

What do you think about the new euro coin (EUROC) stablecoin launched by Circle? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.