Stablecoins play an increasing role of importance in the cryptocurrency industry. Over half of a dozen currencies pegged to the US Dollar exist already. PwC will back yet another competitor in this expanding market.
PwC Sees Merit in Stablecoins
The new partnership between Cred and PwC is rather intriguing. The top accounting firm wants to enter the stablecoin industry sooner rather than later. Cred, the decentralized lending startup, will peg their new currency to the US Dollar. Consulting on the project, PwC will work with Cred to develop “enhanced standards that build confidence and trust in the crypto ecosystem and usher in the next 100M users of crypto assets.”
Despite the growing number of stablecoins on the market, trust issues remain. Companies can only issue a number of coins based on their US Dollar holdings. Very few companies are transparent in terms of disclosing those holdings. It raises a lot of questions regarding the future of such projects. Especially Tether has gotten a bit of a bad reputation. Its lack of proper audits has raised numerous questions which still go by unanswered.
PwC is not the first major firm to explore stablecoin ventures. Earlier this year, IBM shared they are working on a similar project. A digital representation of the dollar can facilitate global trades. Moreover, it also makes it easier to send and receive money in this digital era. Bringing more legitimacy to the stablecoin industry is always a worthwhile venture.
Speaking about the partnership, Grainne McNamara, US Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Leader at PwC, said:
We are excited to work with Cred to help increase industry awareness regarding how the asset backed digital token ecosystem can be secured and scaled on behalf of participants along the digital asset value chain.
She adds:
We are eager to leverage our proven industry experience to support a quickly developing asset class and its associated market infrastructure components. We believe this exploration of the blockchain infrastructure and associated operational frameworks can help the industry develop an increased level of comfort.
The Growing List of Dollar-Pegged Coins
To date, numerous stablecoins have come to market. Tether’s USDT remains the largest, although the competitors aren’t resting on their laurels either. TrueUSD seems to be in a good position to rival USDT in the coming months. Its overall volume is significantly lower, yet it has the support of respected trading platforms.
A peculiar trend began emerging a few weeks ago. Major cryptocurrency exchanges are now creating their own assets pegged to the US Dollar. Paxos, Gemini, and Circle are just some of the recent examples. All of those assets have received support from BitGo, whereas the firm doesn’t support USDT at this time. It is unclear if Bitgo will support the new venture backed by PwC.
Outside of cryptocurrency, the future of stablecoins remains a bit uncertain. Digital representations of the dollar can offer key advantages. Their appeal will increase once companies are 100% transparent regarding their holdings. It appears PwC and Cred are intent on doing exactly that. PricewaterhouseCoopers is confident their venture can usher in the “next 100 million users of crypto assets”. An ambitious goal that may prove difficult to reach.
What do you think about the growing number of stablecoins on the market? Do you think that Tether might get unseated? Let us know in the comments.
Images courtesy of ShutterStock
