Japanese yen stablecoin goes live on IOST blockchain
The Japanese yen stablecoin (JPYA) has gone live on the ultra-fast, gas-efficient, PoB-powered IOST public chain, according to a press release on May 18, 2021.
This follows a long-term partnership between IOST and the Platinum Egg team, a seasoned blockchain game and service developer in Japan that is best known for its popular CrossLink game, which has over 170,000 downloads, and its IOST-based NFT platform, TokenLink.
The JPYA stablecoin is pegged 1:1 to the Japanese yen and is designed to be easily used for small transactions thanks to the fast and virtually gas-free feature of the IOST blockchain. Several Japanese yen stablecoins have been created but are yet to become popular.
JPYA is the second stablecoin issued on IOST this year, following the successful integration of HUSD announced earlier in January. For developers who are looking to find a user-friendly, secure and gas-efficient blockchain to develop their decentralized applications, IOST is an easy choice. It is designed to be developer-friendly in order to launch stablecoins and DApps thanks to Javascript smart contracts, which are easy to learn and have few functional limitations. Compared to other blockchains with the high cost of gas, IOST is practically free, making it an optimal option for transactions with small amounts.
Jimmy Zhong, co-founder and CEO of IOST, commented:
“With a major uptick and a continually growing interest in IOST from the Japanese market, launching a Japanese yen stablecoin optimized for fast and cheap transactions is a crucial step in ensuring that we continue to cater for this vibrant and important market. This is also in line with one of key goals for 2021, which is to drive user growth in our ecosystem. Whilst the IOST team aims to continue playing a crucial part in the growth of blockchain and crypto in the Asia market, the team has also set its sights on expanding their global footprint and has some ambitous global expansion plans for 2021 and beyond.”
Nariya Takemura, founder and CEO of Platinum Egg, said:
“JPYA is a Japanese yen-linked stablecoin (IRC-20) that anyone can purchase and treat as a means of prepaid payment, which was created as a result of discussions with experts based on various precedent cases. We plan to create an ecosystem created by JPYA, including our popular CrossLink game, which has over 170,000 downloads, TokenLink, an NFT market linked to CrossLink, and other products that we develop and operate ourselves or with other companies. In the future, we will contribute to the development of the blockchain industry in Japan by developing and providing technologies, such as smart contracts, that can be used by JPYA.”
IOST’s explosive growth in Japan
IOST is the 29th compliant coin in the Japanese market, approved by the Financial Services Agency, the Trading Platforms Supervision Alliance in Japan, and is the 14th coin listed on Japan’s most compliant exchange, CoinCheck.
IOST’s solid and massive development track record in Japan is truly a feat to applaud. The coin was voted as the most popular potential coin on Huobi Japan, outperforming Enjin (ENJ), Neo, Ontology (ONT), Qtum and Tezos (XTZ). For potential developers in Japan, it is noteworthy that the IOST Japan team regularly hosts a Free Developer Course on a biweekly basis as a boost for the education and sustainability development of blockchain.
About IOST
High fees and slower transaction times on the Ethereum network have left the door open for new solutions to emerge, and IOST is one such project that has been gaining traction since its mainnet launch in 2019.
Backed by major financial and VC firms, such as Sequoia, Matrix and ZhenFund, IOST is a pioneering, decentralized, high-throughput, gas-efficient proof-of-believability-powered, smart contract platform built to tackle the scalability trilemma once and for all. The secure blockchain IOST is more decentralized than EOS and more scalable than Ethereum.
China’s CCID ranks IOST as the best blockchain platform under “basic technology,” better than Ethereum, EOS and every other smart-contract platform evaluated by the agency. This is a testament to the quality and ability of the IOST team to roll out a better, innovative product and reflective of its true desire to be the best in the sphere.
Join the IOST community here:
Crypto market analysis: Facebook to launch US stable coin
The price of bitcoin has tumbled over 25% in the last seven days, hitting a low of $42,025 over the weekend, as investors took profits en masse.
Bitcoin, as well as peers such as ethereum which have also slumped by similar amounts in the last week, has sold off after a staggering run year-to-date which had seen it double since the start of 2021.
Amid a wave of profit-taking last week, much of the reason for the sell-off is being placed on Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, after a series of tweets about bitcoin, its energy usage, and the company’s position in the cryptoasset.
‘We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Musk tweeted.
‘Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future but this cannot come at great cost to the environment.
‘Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use <1% of Bitcoin’s energy/transaction.’
Nonetheless, Musk himself seemed to counter many rumours this morning after clarifying that Tesla had not sold any of its bitcoin recently.
Having bottomed at $42,000, bitcoin bounced back to trade at $44,300 this morning, with ethereum at $3,376 having dropped to $3,095 at its low point.
Facebook to launch US stable coin
The group behind Facebook’s Libra project plans to launch a US dollar stablecoin after scaling back its global ambitions amid resistance to its plans in Switzerland.
The Diem Association, which was formerly known as Facebook’s Libra project and is made up of 26 financial firms and non-profits, said it was relocating its main operations from Switzerland to the United States in a statement.
It has said it will now run a blockchain-based payment system that allows real-time transfer of Diem stablecoins, with plans to register as a money services business with the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Stablecoins, digital currencies pegged to a fiat currency, are being used increasingly via numerous networks. California-based Silvergate Bank will issue the Diem USD stablecoin and manage the Diem USD reserve, with a pilot expected before a full rollout.
“We are committed to a payment system that is safe for consumers and businesses, makes payments faster and cheaper,” the association said.
EOS doubles after raising $10bn to launch exchange
EOS coin saw its price double in a day last week after the company behind the coin said it had raised $10bn to build a next-generation cryptocurrency exchange.
Block.one, the company behind the EOSIO software, said it was launching a subsidiary to create the crypto exchange, with billionaire backers including Peter Thiel among the investors in the project.
The platform, called Bullish Global, will be a blockchain-based exchange and is set to be released this year.
“Bullish’s balance sheet is strong, and its vertical integration offers stability and liquidity to the cryptocurrency space. I’m happy to join Bullish as an investor and advisor as it gets started on a long and fruitful journey,” Thiel was quoted as saying.
EOS’ price soared in response, jumping to a peak above $14 last week, before retreating back to trade around the $10.50 mark. It started May priced at just $6.
eBay to allow NFTs on the platform
eBay has said it will allow the sales of NFTs on its platform in the future amid a recent frenzy for the tokenised collectibles.
The e-commerce company is expected to slowly build up sales of digital collectibles on the platform, starting with a smaller group of verified sellers.
“In the coming months, eBay will add new capabilities that bring blockchain-driven collectibles to our platform,” eBay exec Jordan Sweetnam told Reuters.
eBay has already invested heavily in infrastructure for physical collectibles like trading cards, as well as items like sneakers and watches which they help verify for buyers.
The NFT market shows little sign of slowing, with British auction house Christie’s selling nine CryptoPunk NFTs for nearly $17 million last week, according to a tweet posted on May 12.
Ethereum founder Vitalik donates $1.2bn to India relief fund
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has pledged $1.2 billion to India’s Covid-19 relief fund.
The 27-year-old programmer, who created ethereum in 2013, transferred new Dogecoin copycat Shiba Inu tokens which had been gifted into his Etherscan public wallet – which had a combined worth of more than $1bn dollars – to the India Covid Relief Fund.
Buterin handed the assets over to a relief project established by Polygon chief Sandeep Nailwal who created the fund last month in response to the coronavirus crisis in India.
Buterin had already personally gifted $600,000 to help kick off the fund previously.
Subscribe to read
Become an FT subscriber to read:
Leverage our market expertise
Expert insights, analysis and smart data help you cut through the noise to spot trends, risks and opportunities.
Join over 300,000 Finance professionals who already subscribe to the FT.