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Binance has started minting True USD (TUSD) in response to a U.S. regulatory crackdown on its own stablecoin BUSD.
On Feb. 16, the world’s largest crypto exchange minted 50 million TUSD, according to blockchain sleuths. True USD was launched in 2018 and listed on Binance in May of that year.
TUSD is the sixth largest stablecoin but a minnow in the ecosystem, however, with a market share of less than 1% from a circulation of $973 million. Since the beginning of this year, TUSD circulating supply has increased by 29%.
50M #TUSD minted at #Binance and the price of $TRU increased by 200%.
On-chain data shows that #Alameda and #justinsun are the two largest minters of $TUSD.#Alameda minted a total of 1.64B $TUSD in history.#justinsun minted a total of 889M $TUSD in history. pic.twitter.com/N1tUjFQm5U
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 16, 2023
Binance Seeks Alternatives
Last week, BUSD issuer Paxos was issued a Wells notice by the SEC, signaling the regulator’s intention to take enforcement action. The New York-regulated firm has since announced that it will halt BUSD minting on Feb. 21.
There was a rush of redemptions following the news, and Binance has now started looking at alternatives. The company did state that its stablecoin was fully backed and will still be supported.
Lookonchain also revealed that Alameda had minded $1.6 billion in TrueUSD, and Justin Sun minted $889 million of the stablecoin in history.
Since the regulatory action against BUSD, its market capitalization has declined by 15%, or around $2.4 billion. It currently has a supply of $13.7 billion, giving it a market share of 10%.
Prior to this week, BUSD was responsible for more than a third of all trading volume on Binance.
TRU Price Surges
Crypto degens have mistakenly connected TUSD with the DeFi platform True Finance. However, True USD issues and the DeFi platform were separated and are no longer connected.
TrustToken sold TUSD in 2020 to an Asia-based conglomerate called Techteryx. Furthermore, in June 2022, TrustToken separated from the TrueFi protocol and was renamed Archblock.
TRU prices exploded more than 200% to hit an intraday high of $0.135 from a low of $0.044. The DeFi token is currently trading at $0.087 as the FOMO fades and degens realize there was no connection between the two.
Additionally, trading volume for the token surged from around $2 million to $250 million.
TRU has been hit hard in the bear market, as most DeFi tokens have. It is currently down 91% from its August 2021 all-time high of just over a dollar.
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