Winklevoss-Backed Stablecoin Soars Above $1 as Tether's Market Cap Plunges

The Gemini dollar has broken its peg, climbing to an all-time high of $1.19 on Tuesday.

AccessTimeIconOct 16, 2018 at 5:15 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 10:03 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

A second stablecoin has broken its peg with the U.S. dollar – except this one's soaring well above a buck, not tanking below it.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, the Gemini exchange-issued Gemini dollar (GUSD) saw its price hit an all-time high of $1.19 Tuesday after first breaking its dollar peg on Monday, when it shot up to $1.14. At press time, the token was trading at $1.18.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  •  Chart via CoinMarketCap
    Chart via CoinMarketCap

    The GUSD was released in early September, when the exchange, founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, announced it had secured approval from the New York Department of Financial Services to list and issue the dollar-pegged token.

    At the time, a press release stated the token would be "strictly pegged" to the dollar, as previously reported. Like other stablecoins, the GUSD's purpose is to provide liquidity for traders who wish to avoid delays when buying cryptocurrencies caused by having to directly convert actual dollars.

    The news comes a day after tether (USDT), the world's best-known stablecoin, broke its peg in the opposite direction, falling to an 18-month low of $0.869, as previously reported by CoinDesk.

    While tether regained its peg over the course of the day (trading at about $0.98 as of press time), its market capitalization has plunged, indicating the total supply of tokens has declined. According to CoinMarketCap, roughly 2.26 billion USDT tokens remain in circulation, out of a roughly 3 billion total supply.

    In contrast, there were about 2.67 billion tokens in circulation on October 14, two days ago, and 2.8 billion a week prior on October 7.

    The decline in the token's market capitalization reflects this dwindling number of tokens in circulation: at press time the total market cap was roughly $2.2 billion, having dropped from $2.4 billion in about 10 hours. Tether's market cap was $2.8 billion on October 7, matching the circulating supply at the time.

    Perhaps most notably, CoinMarketCap data indicates that tethers are being taken out of circulation at regular intervals, as shown by the steep drops in the blue line representing USDT's market cap.

     Chart via CoinMarketCap
    Chart via CoinMarketCap

    When reached for comment, Bitfinex communications director Kasper Rasmussen explained that "the supply of USDT decreases upon redemption."

    He added:

    "Hypothetically, when the supply of USDT on Bitfinex surpasses a certain level required for maintaining operations (i.e. a seamless flow of deposits and withdrawals), a batch of USDT would be sent from Bitfinex to Tether for redemption against fiat USD. This subsequently lowers the circulating supply of USDT whilst the fiat USD previously held by Tether goes to the redeeming party."

    Gemini did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

    Editor's note: This article has been updated with a comment from Bitfinex.

    U.S. dollar printing press image via Shutterstock

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.