TL;DR
Bitfinex has just announced a new trading pair for margin trading, which will become available from 11:30 am UTC. The new trading pair, USDT/USD, is expected to improve the trading platform’s stablecoin offering. According to Bitfinex’s new blog post, the move was made to satisfy customer demand, and bring the platform in line with the current market evolution.
Bitfinex also states that their goal is to ensure that the platform meets the need of their traders and offer market differentiating order types for as many trading strategies as possible.
By introducing the ability to trade Tether (USDT) against the US dollar, the platform hopes to provide professional traders with even more efficient price discovery. Also, the move will significantly increase risk management, as well as unlock the necessary ability to hedge the stablecoin exposure.
Because of this move, Tether will receive a new use case, where it will be available as collateral for margin positions.
Bitfinex also acknowledged that right now, stablecoin margin trading will be limited to this trading pair alone. However, the announcement also states that the exchange has plans to introduce additional stablecoin-based trading pairs in the future, as part of their commitment to providing alternative solutions within the platform.
Recently, on December 4th, Bitfinex has announced that it will allow trading of six major stablecoins, which is a move that was mirrored by Ethfinex. Stablecoins now available for trading within these platforms include Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), True USD (TUSD), Paxos Standard Token (PAX), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), as well as DAI (DAI).
At the time, Bitfinex also stated that deposits and withdrawals of said stablecoins would be limited to verified traders only. Meanwhile, the process of trading itself does not depend on the verification status.
These moves come as part of the platform’s goal to remain true to their traders and investors and to provide them with as many trading options as they desire.