BitPay, the Atlanta-based crypto payment provider that allow merchants from more than 38 countries to accept payments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, is taking steps to protecting their clients against price volatility rampant in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
In a blog-post, the payment processor said merchants in countries where there is no direct crypto to fiat conversion, can now receive their crypto and convert them to Gemini Dollar or Circle’s USD. These two are stable coin that are pegged against the USD and are free from price volatility.
“Because GUSD and USDC tokens exist on borderless blockchains, BitPay can now settle these US-dollar pegged stable coins to merchants, wherever they are in the world – even if they don’t have bank accounts”
Gemini Dollar and USD Coin Stable Coins
Simply put, a stable coin is a coin that is holds a stable value. For stability, stable coins have a USD reserve as collateral. Furthermore, coin issuers often control the supply and continuously incentivize the market encouraging use.
Gemini Dollar (GUSD) is an ERC-20 token that is issued by Gemini Trust Company, LLC while State Street Bank manage the USD collateral. For trust and complete transparency BPM, LLP–a public accounting firm confirms the 1:1 peg. At the same time, USD Coin or USDC that has the backing of Goldman Sachs defines itself as the new shape of money.
Earlier, the founders of Circle Sean Neville and Jeremy Allaire said:
“Individuals and institutions can enroll in this service to deposit U.S. dollars from bank accounts [and] convert those dollars into tokens usable everywhere the internet reaches”
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies enable secure, fluid and fast fund transfer since it is borderless. Besides, using cryptocurrencies to transact is cheaper than their traditional counterparts whose settlement can take days. Nonetheless, while there is stability, local currencies are not immune to external factors. As such they often end up floating depending on other economic factors.
How to Redeem Gemini Dollar or USD Coin
Merchants seeking for this stability can do so through this simple procedure:
- In your BitPay dashboard, select Settings, then Settlement.
- Click Edit next to Cryptocurrency Address.
- Add your ERC20 wallet address for either USDC or GUSD.
- Save your settlement settings and confirm them in the email you receive from BitPay.
Because of recent price fluctuations and claims of insufficient reserves, traders are losing trust on USDT. As such there seems to be an opportunity for merchants to settle through other audited stable coins. Before the DoJ BitFinex subpoenas, research findings purported to show how Tether was used to pump the Bitcoin and other altcoins.
