29.03.2024

Bitfinex Adds Margin Trading on Tether Gold With Pairs of Up to 5x Leverage

Chief technology officer at Bitfinex, Paolo Ardoino said in a press release that the launch of margin trading on Tether Gold would allow for a more sophisticated means of hedging exposure and managing risk.

Bitfinex, the world’s seventh-largest bitcoin exchange by trade volume, has launched margin trading for Tether Gold (XAU₮), enabling traders to execute more advanced strategies on the yellow metal in a digital form.

As of Jan 30, 12:00 UTC, traders are now able to execute on margin using Tether Gold against pairings such as tether’s native stablecoin (USDT), bitcoin (BTC) and the U.S. dollar (USD).

These pairs can now be traded with initial equity of as low as 20 percent, giving traders a maximum of up to 5 times leverage, according to a press release by Bitfinex.

Margin trading enables traders to borrow funds to increase leverage, offering the potential for greater profits than in traditional trading. However, the potential for greater rewards also comes with amplified levels of risk.

“Tether Gold is timely given the growing interest in gold and other safe-haven assets amid the recent turmoil that we’ve seen in equity markets”, Ardoino said.

Tether Gold represents ownership of one troy ounce of physical gold on a London Good Delivery gold bar, with the gold backing each token stored in a Swiss vault. Holders of Tether Gold will be able to avoid drawbacks associated with physical gold, such as high storage costs and limited accessibility.

As of today, Tether Gold is the only product among its competition, such as PAX Gold, that offers zero custody fees while retaining direct control over the physical gold storage.

Bitfinex, through a spokesperson, declined to say whether the gold held in storage would be audited and those audits be made available.

Binance’s US Arm to Go Live ‘Within Two Months,’ CEO Says

The dedicated U.S. arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance will go live by November, according to Binance’s CEO.

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao told Cheddar in an interview on Wednesday that, while the situation is still “in flux”, he expects the new platform would go live in “a month or two.”

Due to uncertainties over the U.S. regulatory situation, Binance barred states-side customers from using its global platform Binance.com in mid June, a day after revealing that it would launch the new U.S. division in partnership with a firm called BAM Trading Services.

The new platform will be run by BAM, but use Binance’s wallet and matching engine technologies. Catherine Coley – a former Ripple executive – will lead the launch and future growth of Binance US as CEO, as announced in early July.

In the interview, CZ further said that the US exchange will not initially operate in New York state, which sets a high bar for crypto firms applying for its “BitLicense.”

Neither Binance nor BAM have yet applied for a BitLicense and Coley would not comment on the possibility when asked by Cheddar.

“The U.S. historically has made very clear regulations, so we hope that will clear up”, CZ said, adding that, despite the regulatory uncertainties currently, “we’re willing to try.”

Binance’s Fiat-Gateway Partner Banxa Raises $2M in Series A Round

Digital banking infrastructure provider Banxa has raised $2 million in a Series A round.Led by blockchain investment firm NGC Ventures, the round also saw the ASX-listed Thorney Investment Group Australia participate, according to a press release on Wednesday.

The firm offers a fiat currency to cryptocurrency gateway solution that was recently tapped by crypto exchange Binance for its addition of Australian dollar and euro payments.

The new investment will be used to support the firm’s plans to expand in new markets including in Europe, Asia and Africa.

“Banxa addresses the issue of user experience and onboarding while providing the much-needed regulatory assurances for newcomers to this nascent digital asset class,» said Roger Lim, founding partner of NGC Ventures.

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