FTX Prepares to Enter the "Exchange Stablecoin" Battle
In an interview with The Big Whale, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) revealed that the exchange is exploring the creation of its own stablecoin.
Update, October 28, 2022:
Early on October 28, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried took to Twitter to clarify his previous remarks about the potential stablecoin project.
Eh to clarify: we are figuring out what we're doing on stablecoins; it could be anything or nothing, and could *or could not* involve partnerships, issuance, hula hoops, etc. (One of those is less likely than the others.)
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) October 28, 2022
“To be more specific, we are still discussing what we intend to do with the stablecoin; it could either materialize or not, and it might or might not involve partnerships, issuance, and other aspects…”
Original Post:
Sam did not want to provide additional details but mentioned that the stablecoin would be used for payment functions on the exchange. However, a stablecoin could serve multiple purposes. The FTX chief is inclined toward collaborating with a major entity for the stablecoin rather than building it from scratch.
Currently, FTX supports several popular stablecoins, including Tether (USDT), TrueUSD (TUSD), USD Coin (USDC), Pax Dollar (USDP), Binance USD (BUSD), and Huobi USD (HUSD).
Among these, USDT currently holds the top spot in the stablecoin market but is being challenged by the formidable BUSD. Recently, BUSD’s total supply and market share reached an all-time high, thanks to Binance’s consolidation of USDC, TUSD, and USDP into BUSD.
Conversely, HUSD has faced a grim fate since Huobi changed ownership and delisted HUSD in favor of USDD from Justin Sun.
With the intention of developing a stablecoin, Sam aims to place FTX into the competitive exchange stablecoin arena, a race currently led by Binance. Not only in the stablecoin sector, but Binance also outpaces FTX in trading volume, dominating both spot and derivative markets.
The "stablecoin war" continues amid a downtrend, with new contenders emerging despite the collapse of the LUNA-UST model in May. New stablecoins this year include USN from NEAR Protocol (which has been "discontinued"), USDD from TRON, GHO from Aave, and CUSD from Coin98.
Additionally, Sam stated he has no plans to acquire the popular trading app Robinhood, despite holding a 7.5% stake in the company.
