Matrixport's Head of Research believes that regulators are not picking out all stablecoins in their regulatory crackdown on BUSD issuer Paxos.
This indicates that the regulatory environment is becoming more nuanced and sophisticated in its approach to the burgeoning crypto financial services sector.
Matrixports' Head of Research, Markus Thielen, believes that the recent scrutiny of Paxos and its Binance USD token is not a direct attack on stablecoins themselves. In a comprehensive analysis on February 14th, Thielen suggested that Paxos Trust Company, the issuer of the Binance USD, may not have been as rigorous as necessary in its oversight of the token.
The problem "does not appear to revolve around stablecoins," he continued.
On February 13th, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) ordered Paxos to halt the issuance of BUSD due to several unresolved issues related to the company's oversight of its relationship with Binance. This came after Paxos had failed to conduct tailored, periodic risk assessments and due diligence of BUSD customers. Additionally, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a Wells notice to the stablecoin issuer over its alleged failure to register the offering under federal securities laws.
BUSD has issued $11 billion on Ethereum, with $4.8 billion also accounted for to be issued on the Binance Smart Chain, in a tokenized version of BUSD. This has caused NYDFS to worry that the $4.8 billion might not be properly backed or have had issues with being 1:1 backed. However, both Paxos and Binance have stated that BUSD tokens issued by Paxos Trust are and always will be backed 1:1 with US dollar-denominated reserves, fully segregated and held in bankruptcy remote accounts.
The regulatory actions could have also been sparked by the January 24th incident when Binance mixed customer funds with collateral. This has caused some to believe that other stablecoins could be in trouble, although Paxos has stated that besides the current issue around BUSD, “there are unequivocally no other allegations against Paxos.”
Meanwhile, USD issuer Circle's Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy Dante Disparte stated in reports :
“According to Circle, USDC is a regulated digital currency issued as the stored value in accordance with U.S. money transmission law.”
Disparte further noted that the facts and circumstances of any type of regulatory action are all different, as are the structural and regulatory considerations with each of the cryptocurrencies that are in circulation around the world.
However, Thielen has urged the sector to temper its concerns regarding the future of BUSD.
"Although Binance could be in a bit of a bind right now, they are working to rectify the problem, so it should be resolved. Should we be genuinely worried?" Thielen was added.
"Not in my opinion. The peg might be broken. NO. Since bull markets are when prices are rising and bear markets are when prices are falling, "he added
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