The first week of September has been exciting for the blockchain and cryptocurrency world. Perhaps the biggest news is that Binance announced the launch of a dollar-backed stablecoin in the US. The new Binance USD (BUSD) received the blessing of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Binance says the stablecoin will be backed by US dollars in a 1 to 1 ratio, and its reserves will be held by the Paxos Trust Company. The offering joins the Paxos Standard (PAX) and the Gemini Dollar as another NYDFS-approved stablecoin. Binance users will be able to trade BUSD for Bitcoin (BTC), Binance Coin (BNB), and Ripple (XRP). Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao said the exchange hopes the issuance of BUSD will unlock more financial services for the blockchain and digital assets ecosystems.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
LINE, provider of Japan's most popular messaging app Line, received approval for a cryptocurrency business license in the country on Friday. Gaining the approval means the firm will be able to offer its crypto exchange services in Japan, where it has 80 million monthly active users. Japan's Financial Services Agency awarded LINE the license and showed on its website that the registration was completed on September 6 by LVC Corp., which oversees LINE's digital asset and blockchain segments. LINE President Takeshi Dezawa also disclosed the completed FSA registration to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. LINE's cryptocurrency exchange will offer two tokens, LINE Point for Japan and LINK for other countries, to connect users and service providers. The communications firm said its goal is to build a token economy around its blockchain LINK Chain.
Telegram's controversial blockchain project, TON, entered the last preparation stage before finally going live. Telegram released the code for running a blockchain node on the test network portal on Friday. That means developers and community members interested in the messaging app firm's blockchain can start working with a full node, a validator node, and the blockchain explorer. According to TON Labs CTO Mitja Goroshevsky, who is working on tools for developers, there are currently 100 nodes on the testnet that Telegram maintains. The TON blockchain is designed as a proof-of-stake protocol with the support of multiple "shardchains." Validators, chosen from the users who stake large amounts of tokens, will confirm the blocks. TON Labs says the TON blockchain will be compatible with software based on Ethereum (ETH).
Crypto prices rebounded slightly to $267 billion this week. For the majors, all ten were green, with EOS, Monero (XMR), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) posting the largest gains. In the top 100, the biggest losers were Energi (NRG), down 25%, Ren (REN), down 18%, and WINk (WIN), down 17%. The biggest gainers were XMAX (XMX), up a whopping 95%, Augur (REP), up 36%, and Cosmos (ATOM), up 23%. Next week traders will see if crypto can notch a second green week.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.