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Coinbase Targets USDT Stablecoin Rival Tether With an $86 Billion ‘Stretch Goal’ for USDC
Published
4 weeks agoon
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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said Thursday that the crypto heavyweight is taking off its gloves for a renewed fight in the stablecoin ring.
During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Armstrong said the firm will aim to challenge Tether’s position as the industry’s reigning stablecoin issuer. The ultimate goal is to make Circle’s USDC the world’s “number one dollar stablecoin.”
Armstrong characterized this new aim as a “stretch goal,” signaling it represents an ambitious yet potentially achievable feat, which will nonetheless push Coinbase outside its comfort zone.
As the second largest stablecoin, USDC’s market cap stands at $56 billion after hitting an all-time high last week. Still, that leaves a lot of ground for USDC to cover as it works to overtake Tether. As of this writing, USDT currently accounts for a hulking 60% of the stablecoin market at $142 billion market capitalization, per CoinGecko.
Because stablecoins are designed to maintain a 1:1 peg with another currency, in this case the U.S. dollar, the market capitalization tends to be a reliable indicator of issuance.
Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas contextualized Armstrong’s bold call on Thursday. “I think it’s important to note that we hope to achieve this over the next few years,” she said.
The high bar for Coinbase comes after its stronger-than-expected fourth quarter was marked by $1.3 billion in profits. Meanwhile, stablecoin legislation appears to be gaining momentum on Capitol Hill, after years of quibbling among lawmakers.’
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Senate Banking Committee Chairman, has already pledged that legislation covering stablecoins will be passed within the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s term.
That bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, would create a pathway to legality for issuers of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins. That would include sharing monthly audits on the health of the fiat reserves backing their products, according to a draft of the bill seen by Decrypt.
Since lawmakers may end up modifying the stablecoin bill before it can be passed through both chambers of Congress and signed into law by Trump, how sweeping stablecoin legislation could ultimately impact USDC, USDT, or any stablecoin remains unclear.
Can legislation help?
Hours before Coinbase’s earnings, JP Morgan analysts posited that Tether may be forced to change the structure of the dollar-equivalent reserves backing USDT.
In its most recent attestation report, Tether said those reserves consist mostly of cash and cash equivalents and other short-term deposits, including assets like U.S. Treasuries and money market funds, which account for 82% of Tether’s reserves.
For years, Tether has sporadically and then more regularly published attestation reports about the reserves that back its stablecoin. But accountants and competitors alike have been quick to point out that none of those financial statements have been audited.
While audits seek to uncover risks and potential compliance issues by gathering data, attestations are typically used to authenticate how truthful data is.
But it is worth pointing out that, as of this writing, Circle also has never published an audited report on the reserves backing USDC. Like Tether, the company publishes attestations about the “highly liquid fiat reserves” backing USDC and EUROC, its Euro-backed equivalent.
JP Morgan posited that Tether may have to sell a significant sum of “non-compliant” assets in its reserve, like Bitcoin and any remaining commercial paper, if it wants to comply with new U.S. rules.
A Tether spokesperson pushed back against JP Morgan’s suggestion, telling Decrypt that $20 billion in “other very liquid assets” had been overlooked by the Wall Street titan, along with “more than $1.2 billion in profits per quarter” from holding swathes of government debt.
Notably, Tether may also fall outside the stablecoin bill’s scope; the company recently relocated its business from the British Virgin Islands to El Salvador.
“If stablecoin regulation passes in the U.S., I do think it will disproportionately help USDC gain market share,” Bitwise Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon told Decrypt. “But will that be enough to surpass USDT?”
USDC would have to become the predominately used stablecoin in developed markets for it to have a chance at surpassing USDT, Leon said. USDC is less likely to be able to displace USDT’s dominance in emerging markets, he added.
Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler once referred to stablecoins as “poker chips” used in decentralized finance, or DeFi, as a common way for traders to easily park funds and lock in gains. Remittances and payments represent real-world use cases, while the use of stablecoins in money laundering and sanctions evasion has also drawn controversy.
‘Accelerating’
On-chain activity involving stablecoins is largely concentrated on networks that support smart contracts, like Ethereum and Solana. But Armstrong said growing USDC’s footprint on the Ethereum scaling network Base—which Coinbase itself created and launched—is key, along with fostering commercial partnerships.
“We think USDC has a network effect behind it, and the compliant approach that they’ve taken, I think, is going to be really defensible long term,” Armstrong said, referring to Circle.
“We’ll be accelerating the market cap growth of USDC with more partnerships, and leaning into new use cases like adding payments support across our product suite,” he continued.
Stablecoin revenue totaled $224 million in Coinbase’s fourth quarter, falling $20 million from the previous quarter and representing just 9.4% of the company’s total sales.
In its shareholder letter, Coinbase described USDC as “the fastest growing ‘major’ stablecoin in 2024,” while pointing to $12 billion in on-chain USDC payments that the exchange facilitated.
Coinbase is taking an offensive approach to growing USDC now. But during the bear market in 2023, when trading volumes lagged, the company saw stablecoin revenue bolster its subscriptions and services segment.
In fact, subscriptions and services revenue temporarily surpassed transaction revenue as Coinbase’s main money maker, totaling $334 million and $289 million, respectively, in the third quarter of 2023.
In August of that year, Circle said Coinbase had taken an equity stake in the firm. Both companies agreed to shelve a “self-governance consortium” to better hone their alignment.
Circle and Tether did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Decrypt.
Edited by Stacy Elliott
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Solana Meme Coin Sent New JellyJelly App Off to a Sweet Start, Founder Says
Published
10 hours agoon
March 16, 2025By
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The launch of the Solana meme coin, JELLYJELLY in January prompted signups for an app to soar and a community to form, even after it fell 98% from its all-time high, Iqram Magdon-Ismail, a Venmo co-founder, told Decrypt.
Now nearly two months after its creation, JellyJelly, which debuted on Pump.fun, is set to be integrated into the app.
JELLYJELLY climbed to a $250 million market cap, after it was tied to the in-development AI-powered podcasting app of the same name. But, there were no concrete plans on how the token would be used and it has since crashed to just $6 million.
Magdon-Ismail maintains that the JELLYJELLY token will be implemented into the app soon and explains that, above everything, the meme coin launch was an excellent marketing tool to establish an audience.
“We got 10,000 signups in a day,” Magdon-Ismail told Decrypt. “It brought an incredible amount of awareness. I have to be honest, I never thought of using this whole meme coin world as a form of promotion [but] it’s starting to become very clear to me.”
JellyJelly is essentially TikTok but for podcasters, allowing users to record full episodes on the app which are then clipped up and posted using AI. Users are able to sign up and download the app but it is far from the finished article.
Investor in the app Sam Lessin believes meme coins work as a marketing tool because you immediately attract tons of eyes looking to flip a quick buck on the token. In doing this, some of these traders may become genuinely interested in the product behind the speculative trade. At the time of writing, JELLYJELLY has 34,275 holders. This figure was likely much higher back in January.
“Out of all of that, I think there’s a genuine group of like two to three thousand people in our Discord and Telegram communities that genuinely believe in the product,” Magdon-Ismail said. “If you open the Jelly feed today, I would say 50% of our user base are people that hold the coin.”
Other projects like Pythia, a Russian research lab, have also embraced a meme coin as a form of marketing. Equally, AI projects like Truth Terminal have used related meme coins as a way to fund the development of the project, however, Lessin says that he’s unconvinced that’s in the future of JellyJelly.
“My personal take is: eh,” he said, smiling. “That’s coming out of someone’s pocket in a zero sum way—and, I just don’t think that that feels great. Now, again, I am really open to it down the line.”
JELLYJELLY debuted mostly off vibes and fun, with no solid plans on what to do with it. This lack of clear direction combined with macro downward pressures sent it plunging. But, Magdon-Ismail says the token’s plan has progressed significantly since its spontaneous launch.
“[The plan has] developed very rapidly and swiftly,” he said. “The first thing we’re building into the app is the ability to prove and verify ownership of the coin—how much of the coin you own and how long you’ve held it. Once you do that you get a little Jelly coin badge.”
Alongside this development, a native JellyJelly wallet—akin to the Telegram wallet—is in the works which will allow you to pay and receive tips on the platform. While Magdon-Ismail is optimistic this feature is coming “soon,” he’s apprehensive to put any hard date on it.
Further down the line, the team plans to use data points relating to JELLYJELLY —number of tokens held, tipped, etc.—to determine what content the platform pushes onto users through its algorithm. This is one of many “experiments” that JellyJelly plans to deploy once the token is integrated.
“We don’t have to get it right the first time. We’re going to play with it a little bit,” Magdon-Ismail explained. “We’re going to experiment over the next couple months with ways to utilize the coin to present content in different ways.”
Edited by James Rubin
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Bitcoin
IATSE Local 728 Becomes First Private-Sector Union To Invest In Bitcoin
Published
3 days agoon
March 13, 2025By
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IATSE Local 728, a 3,000-member chapter of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, has made history by purchasing its first Bitcoin investment, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. This initiative, approved by an overwhelming majority of its membership, was executed with the assistance of Proof of Workforce, a nonprofit dedicated to helping unions adopt Bitcoin through education-based initiatives.
𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍: 🎥 IATSE Local 728 adds bitcoin to the balance sheet, potentially becoming the first private sector union in the U.S. to hold Bitcoin!
Local 728 is a 3k member chapter of the 170k+ union behind entertainment
Lights💡Camera 🎥 BITCOIN ⚡️!! pic.twitter.com/eL4c5kJCCz
— Proof of Workforce (@workforcebtc) March 13, 2025
IATSE Local 728 said it has long championed service, strength, and solidarity, and its decision to invest in Bitcoin aligns with its mission to fight for financial security for its members. “Today, we make history as the first private-sector labor union in the country to put Bitcoin on our balance sheet and hold it in self-custody,” the union stated. The effort was led by IATSE Local 728 Treasurer Pascal Guillemard, former Executive Board Member Jason Lord, and current Board Member David Graves, in collaboration with Proof of Workforce founder Dom Bei.
“IATSE Local 728 has led the entertainment industry in safety, technology, and training since 1939. Our members have been the proof of work behind the greatest productions in history—now, we’re bringing that same innovation to finance,” stated the IATSE Local 728 Bitcoin Advisory Board. “As the first private-sector labor union in the country to put Bitcoin on its balance sheet and hold it in self-custody, we are taking a stand for financial security and labor empowerment.”
“This is about protecting the value of our members’ labor. Bitcoin isn’t just an asset, it’s the most secure, decentralized financial network in the world, immune to manipulation and inflation. While governments print money and financial institutions strip workers of their wages, we are taking control. This isn’t a gamble. It’s a strategy. We are learning, building, and leading,” the union continued.
Beyond its own membership, IATSE Local 728 sees this move as a catalyst for a broader transformation within the labor movement. “For too long, unions have played defense in a system rigged against workers. That ends now. With Bitcoin, we aren’t just negotiating contracts, we are securing economic freedom. We are setting the standard. We are taking action. We are proving that unions don’t just fight for today, they build for the future.”
In addition to holding bitcoin on the balance sheet, a standing committee will be established to explore ways Bitcoin can provide long-term security for IATSE 728 members and their families. The committee will also help integrate the union’s support into the Bitcoin network.
Proof of Workforce praised IATSE 728’s leadership in adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset, stating, “At Proof of Workforce, we understand that within every organization, exists someone who has discovered the true potential of Bitcoin. Our mission is to provide that person with the tools to introduce education-based and responsible adoption to their organization. IATSE Local 728 is a representation of the Proof of Work behind some of the best entertainment in the world. Their members work incredibly hard in motion picture and television lighting, ensuring the highest standards in the industry. They now have begun to explore an innovative network, aligned with the values and proof of work exhibited by its members. It’s now Lights, Camera, Bitcoin!”
As the first private-sector union to integrate Bitcoin into its financial strategy, IATSE Local 728 is setting a precedent that could inspire other private-sector unions across the country to follow suit.
Yesterday, Dom Bei announced he’s running for a a seat on the board of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). Bei launched his campaign with massive endorsements, including California legislators and the city of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.
I’ve dedicated over a decade to championing workers and wage-earners.
Now, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬 to protect our nation’s largest public pension, serving 2M+ participants! pic.twitter.com/qgbocBVTAI
— Dom Bei (@Beiwatch1) March 12, 2025
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Borrowing
Debifi Is The Premier Non-Custodial P2P Bitcoin-Backed Lending Platform For Institutions
Published
3 days agoon
March 13, 2025By
admin
Founder: Max Kei (CEO)
Date Founded: March 2024
Location of Headquarters: Lugano, Switzerland
Website: https://debifi.com/
Public or Private? Private
Max Kei is a builder in the Bitcoin P2P space as well as a seasoned banker, which makes him uniquely qualified to create Debifi, a noncustodial, bitcoin-backed P2P lending platform that primarily serves institutions.
Kei’s work in the Bitcoin space began in 2017, when he first contributing to Hodl Hodl, which quickly became a widely used noncustodial P2P trading platform.
In 2020, he helped the exchange launch Lend at Hodl Hodl, the first noncustodial P2P borrowing and lending product in the Bitcoin space.
The product gained traction in Latin America and Southeast Asia, where it was used to facilitate microloans, while the likes of Preston Pysh (now Strategic Advisor to Debifi) took interest in the product and renowned cypherpunk Adam Back also sang its praises.
According to Kei, it’s the high-quality reputation of the team behind Lend at Hodl Hodl, some of whom now work on Debifi, that’s attracting users to Debifi.
“A lot of lenders and borrowers go to Debifi because they know the team has very extensive experience,” Kei told Bitcoin Magazine.
“People are satisfied, as we’ve been through multiple bear cycles and managed to survive,” he added.
“Now, we’ve taken the concept of Lend at Hodl Hodl and moved into the institutional space.”
From Banker To Bitcoiner
For 10 years before finding Bitcoin, Kei worked as a private banker.
He resigned from his position before “going full Bitcoin rabbit hole” at the end of 2015, partially as a reaction to an experience he had with one of his clients.
“A year before I quit, I was sitting in a meeting in the bank office with one of my clients and he was showing me his phone and saying ‘You know at some point in the future, I’m not going to need you because I have bitcoin,’” recounted Kei.
The client then proceeded to send $15,000 worth of bitcoin to a contact of his in Brazil, according to Kei, who thought to himself that his client was insane. However, it didn’t take long for Kei to realize that his client wasn’t crazy but, instead, onto something.
“I started doing my own research, and I quickly realized that Bitcoin is a real thing,” said Kei.
Kei pivoted to Bitcoin soon after. However, after spending eight years building in the Bitcoin space, he’s come to believe that banks will still have a role in a hyperbitcoinized future.
“Banks aren’t going to go away,” explained Kei.
“They will become infrastructure providers for Bitcoin companies, for startups, for everyone. They’re still going to be a backbone,” he added.
He realized this when banks and other financial institutions began expressing interest in using the Lend at Hodl Hodl product.
Differentiating With Debifi
Within months of launching Lend at Hodl Hodl, institutions reached out to the Hodl Hodl team requesting to use the platform.
“They said ‘Hey, we want to be available for bitcoin lending,’” recalled Kei.
“But we didn’t want to mix the world of microlending with the world of institutional lending. We realized we needed to do something different. That’s how the concept of Debifi came into existence,” he added.
In 2022, Kei began brainstorming Debifi. A year later, they raised money from venture capital firms including Ten31 and Timechain to build a minimum viable product (MVP). By March 2024, Debifi was live.
The platform has been operating in beta, and the official version will go live at the end of the month. With that said, Kei explained that Debifi is fully functional already.
“Just because the product is in beta doesn’t mean that it’s not operational — it’s actually fully operational,” he said.
And so this brings us to the next question: How exactly does Debifi work?
How Debifi Works
Debifi is both a website and a mobile app, and the two work in tandem.
“We have a very unique value proposition is that the mobile app acts as a key storage,” said Kei. “The mobile app becomes a wallet, storing your private key, but you need to use the website in order to engage in contracts.”
When you sign a transaction, create an escrow for a loan, or pay off a loan, you use the mobile app to do so.
Users can also opt to use the COLDCARD devices (the Mk4 or the Q) in place of the mobile app, and Kei hopes to add support for other hardware wallets as well.
“We want to support Jade from Blockstream, Ledger devices, Trezor devices, the Foundation Passport, and BitBox — all these good names — because we want to provide flexibility for our customers,” explained Kei.
The collateral for Debifi loans is escrowed in a multisignature (multisig) wallet featuring four keys, three of which are needed to sign off on transactions.
“At Debifi, we have a unique multi-signature setup,” said Kei. “All loans are held in a 3-out-of-4 multsig wallet, while the standard is 2-out-of-3.”
The borrower, the lender and Debifi each hold one key, while the fourth is held by AnchorWatch. Kei claims that having a fourth key held by a trustworthy institution like AnchorWatch increases security dramatically.
“With two institutions holding keys, even if the lender’s and borrower’s keys are somehow compromised, you still need to get one more key,” said Kei. “If we remove AnchorWatch and go with a simple 2-out-of-3 model, then we might end up in a situation where attackers have two keys and the attacker doesn’t need a third key.”
Debifi loans are overcollateralized (forced liquidations occur if the value of the bitcoin collateral drops below a certain level, which varies based on the agreement between the borrower and lender) and the average APR is just above 10%.
Kei explained that his team’s research has shown that many are willing to pay the higher APR for noncustodial loans.
“A while back, we talked with 300 Bitcoiners and we gave them a very simple option: You can borrow custodially at an 8% interest rate or you can borrow noncustodially at 11% or 12% interest rate,” he explained. “91% of people said that they would prefer to hold their keys.”
Users can take out loans up to $1 million via the platform and the loan durations range from three to 12 months. As of April, this will expand to 24 months.
Users can borrow in U.S. dollar stablecoins, U.S. dollars, euros, and Swiss francs, and Debifi is working on adding British pounds, Brazilian reals, and Mexican pesos to that list.
Debifi monetizes through origination fees, which it takes from the collateral put in escrow, and it has a dispute resolution team that helps to resolve loan repayment issues and other problems.
What’s Next For Debifi
As mentioned, Debifi just brought on Preston Pysh as a strategic advisor in efforts to help the company with networking and publicity. Pysh will also provide advice on how to improve Debifi’s product.
The company also plans to partner with Blockstream’s Asset Management (BAM) division. BAM will utilize Debifi as a technical provider for institutions looking to offer bitcoin-backed lending products.
Beyond that, Kei noted that a number of other important partnerships are in the pipeline as well, and that Debifi will announce them in the coming months.
And he concluded with a pitch to all the institutions out there who might be interested in working with Debifi.
“Debifi helps you plug and play in the bitcoin-backed lending world as an institution,” said Kei.
“We provide you with all the necessary infrastructure. We’ll onboard you, and we’ll guide you with private support. We’ll give you all the necessary tools,” he added.
“Effectively, we’re going to be like a one-stop shop. Not only do you not have to build this stuff because it’s already there, we bring you the customers, which we allow you to communicate with directly. And the best part is that as a liquidity provider, you don’t pay us anything. Zero.”
It’s hard not to argue that Kei and his team are onto something here.
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