Monat: Januar 2023

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Iran and Russia are working on gold-backed stablecoin: report

  • Iran and Russia are reportedly eyeing a new stablecoin for cross-border trade, including in the Astrakhan special economic zone.
  • The stablecoin will be backed by gold, according to local Russian media outlet Vedomosti.
  • Both Iran and Russia are under tough international sanctions.

Iran and Russia are looking to launch a new stablecoin in the market, Russian news agency Vedomosti has reported.

According to the news outlet, there’s cooperation between the Central Bank of Iran and its Russian counterpart on a project that will see the two countries issue a new gold-backed cryptocurrency.

The stablecoin, targeted for the Persian Gulf region, will be used for cross-border transactions in the place of the US dollar, the Iranian rial and the Russian ruble. The digital asset is also specifically intended as a payment method in the Astrakhan area – an economic zone whose design helped Russia begin to receive cargo shipments from Iran.

The report quotes Alexander Brazhnikov, the Executive Director of the Russian Association of Crypto Industry and Blockchain as stating that the project is indeed in the works. 

Crypto in foreign trade transactions

The gold-backed stablecoin is indeed being worked on by the two nations even as they continue to face strict sanctions from the United States as well as other Western countries.

But notably, both Iran and Russia have allowed the use of crypto in foreign trade, with the Iranian government taking the step in August last year. As earlier covered by CoinJournal, Russia also considered cryptocurrency as a “safe alternative” for cross-border payments in August.

In December 2022, the Bank of Russia governor Elvira Nabiullina noted that the country was ready to allow cryptocurrency use for foreign trade only — the central bank was looking at this on an experimental basis.

Commenting on the latest report, Russian lawmaker Anton Tkachev said the reported joint stablecoin will proceed once Russia is able to fully regulate the digital assets market.  The country, which has toyed with crypto regulation bills for much of 2022, looks to get one over the line in 2023 following multiple delays.

The post Iran and Russia are working on gold-backed stablecoin: report appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Binance rolls out off-exchange settlement solution for institutions

  • Binance’s off-exchange settlement solution Binance Mirror to benefit institutional investors.
  • The solution is offered via Binance Custody, a regulated institutional digital assets platform.
  • Binance Mirror currently accounts for more than 60% of assets on Binance Custody.

Binance is looking to grow confidence among institutional investors through a brand new service dubbed Binance Mirror.

In an announcement published on Monday, the global crypto exchange giant said the service will be accessible via Binance Custody, the exchange’s regulated institutional crypto custody solution.

Binance Mirror, according to the press release, is an off-exchange settlement solution designed to help institutions to trade and invest in products across the Binance ecosystem through cold custody.

Security key for investors

The crypto space remains much within the chaos that followed the collapse of FTX, with centralised exchanges including Binance seeing a significant slash of customer deposits as uncertainty mounted. Amid this has been the push for self-custody, which has been fueled by the fears around more CEXs folding.

But Binance says its new product protects institutional investors.

Instead of posting collateral directly onto the Binance exchange, institutions will leverage Binance Mirror to lock specified asset balances in the cold storage solution, with these mirrored on their exchange accounts at a 1:1 balance.

On the security of these assets, the Binance team wrote:

“Their assets remain secure in their segregated cold wallet for as long as their Mirror position remains open on the Binance Exchange, which can be settled at any time.”

Binance Custody launched in December 2021, a custodian platform separate from the Binance exchange – it has a segregated cold wallet system. The unveiling of Binance Mirror is already seeing adoption of the custodial platform reach new levels. As noted in today’s announcement, the new product currently accounts for over 60% of the total assets on Binance Custody.

Athena Yu, the VP of Binance Custody, emphasised on the issue of security for investors.

“Security is a top priority for institutions, who also desire the deep liquidity that the Binance Exchange offers. Binance Mirror brings the best of both worlds,” Yu said in a statement.

According to the exec, Binance spent most of 2022 refining its operations as it looked to enable clients to tap into benefits of unlocked liquidity. Mirror’s launch therefore offers the crypto company an opportunity to introduce new features aimed at taking the cold custody functionality to the next level.

The post Binance rolls out off-exchange settlement solution for institutions appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Solana continues comeback with 137% YTD price surge

  • Solana is currently changing hands at $23.26, about 137% up year-to-date.
  • The coin’s price plummeted after FTX fell in November, ending the year below $10.
  • SOL price has soared amid positive sentiment, broader market rally and meme coin-driven interest.

Solana traded below $10.00 on the first day of 2023, having plummeted more than 73% in a massive dump following the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

As was the case, Solana is a blockchain project with ties to disgraced crypto figure Sam Bankman-Fried – the founder of FTX and Alameda Research. After both companies filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried found himself in custody, the native Solana token SOL took a nosedive.

Solana’s SOL soars 137% year-to-date

Having ended 2022 at around $9.66, SOL price has seen impressive bullish action over the past two weeks. The token’s price has rebounded strongly to currently trade more than 62% in the past week, according to crypto market data aggregator CoinGecko.

For its YTD price, SOL is up more than 137%, trading at $23.26 across major exchanges on Monday, 16 January, 2023.

A turnaround for SOL comes on the back of positive sentiment from across the crypto, including last month’s optimistic outlook for the Solana ecosystem from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. 

A rebound in decentralised finance (DeFi) and meme coin craze-related activity is also leading to more buy Solana market action. Another factor driving SOL price in recent days has been the broader enthusiasm in the market after what was typically a suffocating run at the backend of last year.

On 12 January, crypto markets platform Messari highlighted that Solana was far from “dead.” According to the firm, on-chain data showed both transaction volumes and active accounts on the Solana blockchain had surged to levels last seen before the FTX collapse.

As CoinJournal previously covered, some of the uptick in activity followed the launch of meme coin Bonk (BONK), with significant spike in interest in Solana after the cryptocurrency’s airdrop to the community.

The post Solana continues comeback with 137% YTD price surge appeared first on CoinJournal.