Earlier in the session, the massive exchange (Binance) announced they are set to open the exchange to 3 new stablecoins.
PAX = is a USD backed coin, Paxos Standard combines the stability of the dollar with the efficiency of blockchain technology
USDC = a stable coin pegged to USD, created by a company called Circle.
What are Stablecoins?
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are pegged to other assets like currencies or commodities. Asset back coins are stabilised by assets that fluctuate outside of the cryptocurrency space ie. the US Dollar or Gold.
An example would be something like Tether (TUSD), this cryptocurrency is backed by the USD and its movement is pegged (based on) the movement of USD.
What are the issues with Stablecoins?
Some keen crypto enthusiasts have noted a strong deviation from the price of the stablecoin to the underlying asset. There was once example of this a while back (15th Oct 18) when there was a rumor circulating that Binance was about to delist tether and the price fell. Obviously in this case the price move was substantially vs the USD as the market panicked and sold tether in their masses.
(USDT/USD 4 hour chart from tradingview.com)
Where is Tether today?
As Tether is priced against the USD it is back within the range it should be. It currently trades at 1.0110 vs the USD which is just slightly higher than the peg but not enough to make a massive difference to the USDT/USD exchange rate.
Keeping an eye on what’s going on in the Bitcoin space, it seems that cryptos have rallied somewhat. Based on prices at the Coinbase exchange Bitcoin is now holding above the pivotal 4000 mark and bounced off the upward trendline nicely. Since the break of the downward trendline on the 1st Jan prices moved sideways somewhat but yesterday some buying volume kicked in and pushed the major cryptocurrency higher to break a major resistance level. Looking forward the next to targets are 4200 and 4400 both marked on the chart. Price action may slow but only significant buying volume will take it through. The RSI indicator is suggesting we are in overbought territory and a small pullback could be noted. On the plus side the OBV (On Balance Volume) indicator is rising with price, this suggests that the market volume is backing this move higher.
(BTC/USD 4 hour chart from tradingview.com)