Cobinhood announced in a press release yesterday that they will be adding not one, but four USD stablecoins to their exchange, starting today (November 9, 2018). The stablecoins added are the Gemini Dollar (GUSD), MakerDao (DAI), Paxos Standard Token (PAX) and TrueUSD (TUSD). All four of these are Ethereum ERC-20 tokens, meaning they can be used on many exchanges and even stored on standard Ethereum hardware wallets. Wei-Ning Huang, Cobinhood Co-founder, explains what they hope to accomplish by adding these stablecoins:
The biggest flaw in the market right now is uncontrolled fluctuations in the value of many customary cryptocurrencies. We are increasing the presence of stablecoins on the COBINHOOD exchange so the community understands that their voices have been heard and stability is being made possible…Our mission is to make the space more approachable for anyone who wants to participate.
Tether Alternatives
Considering the recent volatility in the markets due to instability of Tether (USDT), many traders are excited for this opening of stablecoin offerings. Alternatives to USDT have been growing in popularity over the past few months, peaking with Coinbase’s launch of USDC last month. Cobinhood’s listing also shows that the exchanges are ready to ‘un-tether’ from Tether.
The four stablecoins added are all pegged to the USD at a 1:1 ratio, through different functions.
Gemini Dollar (GUSD), was launched earlier this year by the Winklevoss Twins’ Gemini Exchange, and is guaranteed by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) regulation.
PAX, created by the Paxos Trust Company, is similar to GUSD in that it is also enforced by NYDFS. Both of these coins aim to give traders confidence in the stablecoins’ USD holdings.
TUSD is not enforced by NYDFS, but is a 1:1 USD stablecoin that releases third-party audits to confirm their dollar reserves.
DAI (MakerDao) is different than GUSD, USDT, or PAX. There is no central authority that fixes prices of the DAI. Instead, a smart contract provides an autonomous feedback loop that controls prices through changes in supply and demand.
About Cobinhood
Cobinhood, launched in 2017, is the hundredth largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, processing around 740 BTC ($4.7M) a day. While most exchanges charge 0.2% fees, Cobinhood’s unique selling point is that they do not have any fees. Cobinhood offers trading for BTC, BCC, ETH, ETC, LTC, ZEC, XMR, XRP, NEO, OMG, and many more cryptocurrencies. They also support multiple fiat currency deposits, including: USD, EUR, JPY, KRW, CNY, HKD, CAD, GBP, AUD, and NTD.
