Binance’s third-place ranking as the market’s largest stablecoin may soon change.
On February 13, Paxos Trust, the stablecoin’s operator, announced that it would stop minting the Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD. The move followed more news that the SEC intended to sue Paxos for violating investor protection laws.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies, like the dollar or the euro. It's one of crypto's largest markets, with a cumulative capitalization of more than $136 billion.
Coinbase told customers on Monday that it would also suspend trading for Binance USD within the month.
The crackdowns and delistings have since seen investors flee BUSD, leading to the asset’s market plummeting from roughly $16 billion on February 13 to roughly $9 billion today, per CoinGecko.
The drop marks a 43% loss.
BUSD holders turn to TUSD
And just as they opt out of BUSD, it would appear that investors are turning to an alternative.
The market cap of TUSD has soared 23% over the past month, rising from $947 billion to $1.1 billion today. It now ranks fifth in the stablecoin market.
Created in 2018 by TrustToken, TUSD has prioritized real-time audits, legal protections, and transparency for token holders. The stablecoin provider has also partnered with Chainlink to implement the oracle provider’s proof-of-reserves technology. Minting is controlled with real-time on-chain verification of off-chain reserves.
The stablecoin still has a long way to go before competing with MakerDAO's decentralized DAI product, the fourth stablecoin with a market capitalization of around $5 billion.
The market’s largest stablecoins have also enjoyed a slight uptick amid the latest reshuffling.
Tether’s USDT market cap rose nearly 5.3% and now enjoys a market cap of more than $71 billion. Circle’s USDC rose 3.3% and commands $43 billion.