- FTX CEO was interviewed by The Big Whale, in which he spoke on a variety of subjects, including a potential stablecoin launch, the market’s near-term momentum, and the possibility of buying Robinhood.
- Bankman-FRied said that the public would soon hear about any efforts on a stablecoin. He did not provide further details.
- Binance’s BUSD has been successful in the past few months. It recently announced that it would remove trading pairs for USDC, TUSD, and USDP on the exchange.
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried hinted that the exchange is working on its own stablecoin. The CEO made the statement in an interview with The Big Whale, saying that the asset was in the works. This would be a significant move for the exchange and the crypto market, as the former has strong clout in the space.
The interview covered a range of topics, including the stablecoin, Bankman-Fried’s views on the market’s short-term future, and his response to being asked if he would buy Robinhood. He was asked if FTX would launch its own stablecoin, and Bankman-Fried said that the public would hear news on the subject in the near future.
It was not a direct confirmation, but reports in the industry seem to suggest that it is likely to happen. If true, FTX would be joining a competitive market, which Tether dominates. The second-largest stablecoin is USD Coin, which is also quite popular and planning to expand to more markets.
Regarding the near-term future, the CEO was unsure about where the market would be heading in the months to come. He cannot make a prediction about what will happen from a macroeconomic standpoint, but he does believe interest rates will play a role in that.
He also said that there were no plans to buy trading platform Robinhood at the moment. FTX is looking to grow organically and just wants to attract more users.
FTX Stablecoin Would Compete Against the Likes of BUSD
Should FTX launch its own stablecoin, it would be competing against Binance USD (BUSD), which is Binance’s stablecoin. BUSD was launched in 2019 and has had good success since then, though it is third behind USDT and USDC.
The supply of BUSD has jumped recently, with the current supply at approximately $21.6 billion. This is close to 15% of the stablecoin market share. In October, the percentage of trades denominated in BUSD stood at 22%.
In September, Binance announced that it would remove USDC, TUSD, and USDP as trading pairs. Users with these assets would see their balances converted to BUSD, though the tokens are still listed on the exchange. While some saw this as a power move, USDC-issuer Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire said that this was good for the market.