Joe DiPasquale, CEO of the cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund BitBull Capital, told First Mover in an email that "$10,000 still stands as a strong support and has absorbed selling pressure fairly well in the last two instances." John Kramer, a trader at crypto over-the-counter firm GSR, told CoinDesk's Daniel Cawrey that “many investors will see this as an opportunity to buy the dip.”
MARKET MOVES
After years of debating whether tether (USDT) is fully backed 1-for-1 with U.S. dollars, the stablecoin’s critics and defenders alike can now put their money where their mouths are.
Opium, a derivatives exchange, has introduced credit default swaps (CDS) for USDT. The product, launched Thursday, insures the buyer in the event of default by Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin and fifth-largest cryptocurrency overall.
As Opium’s blog points out, USDT is the lifeblood of the borderless cryptocurrency marketplace. The oldest stablecoin, USDT remains the largest such cryptocurrency by market cap and a top-five coin overall with $13.8 billion in issuance. Traders often use it to move money in and out of exchanges quickly to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities.
“You can use it to protect yourself against (or speculate on) a systemic failure of the most widely used stablecoin in crypto,” Opium said of the new CDS contract, in a blog post to be published Thursday.
Chart showing USDT's fast growing in 2020 and dominance among dollar-backed stablecoins. (Coin Metrics)
There are nagging questions about the issuer's creditworthiness. The firm behind USDT is under investigation by the New York Attorney General’s office for alleged misappropriation of funds, and Tether revealed in April 2019 that only 74% of USDT was backed by “cash and cash equivalents.”
Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Tether, said through a spokesman: “Tether is solvent. Therefore, this solution is not really interesting to us or our community.”
The solution might be interesting to traders who just want a little extra assurance.
Since 2011, Bitstamp has earned the trust of over four million traders and top financial institutions looking for a safe, reliable cryptocurrency platform.
Bitstamp gives you the premium tools, security and support to achieve your goals:
Nasdaq trading technology: Cutting-edge Nasdaq matching engine delivers unmatched trading speed and efficiency in all market conditions.
Advanced Tradeview: Our powerful trading interface offers advanced order types, live charting and an array of analytical tools. Available on web and mobile.
Industry-leading APIs: Our FIX, HTTP and WebSocket APIs are consistently rated as the fastest and most stable by institutional and professional crypto traders.
Institutional-grade asset security: BitGo custody with 98% of customer assets in cold storage, protected by BitGo’s insurance coverage.
Personal service with a human touch: When you contact Bitstamp you always speak with a human, not a bot.
Bitcoin's options market has flipped bearish with the cryptocurrency registering its first double-digit decline in six months on Wednesday. Prices fell to a low of $10,006 before recovering to $10,500.
The one- and three-month put-call skews that measure the cost of puts relative to that of calls have surged above zero, a sign of investors adding bets (put options) to position for a more profound price drop.
"The next key support comes in the form of the June low at around $8,900," Kruger told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat and added further that bitcoin would eventually realize its potential as store of value.
Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is expected to undergo a radical system-wide upgrade to improve network scalability and efficiency this by early next year. Join CoinDesk Research on Sept. 10 at 1:30 p.m. ET for a live discussion as we examine the potential market impacts of the launch of what’s known as Ethereum 2.0.
Due to its sheer complexity, Ethereum 2.0 will be rolled out in several phases starting with Phase 0. Don’t miss the opportunity to understand the risks, benefits and predictions for the next phase of this technology.
For a concise, daily summary of CoinDesk's comprehensive coverage of cryptocurrencies and the digital-asset industry, please subscribe to Blockchain Bites here: https://www.coindesk.com/newsletters
Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.
ATTENTION: Scammers have been sending fraudulent emails with links to sites disguised to look like coindesk.com. If you are in doubt about a link, type https://www.coindesk.com directly into your browser; do not copy and paste. Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
