Anchorage Digital, a cryptographic custodian and a bank chartered by the federal government, said it will begin to eliminate the elimination of institutional clients and direct institutional clients to convert the USDC.
and other stablcoins in rival token global dollar (USDG) in a sweeping movement that caused criticism of the actors in the industry.
The firm launched a “Stablecoin Security Matrix” that classifies Stablecoins based on regulatory supervision and reserve asset management on Tuesday.
The USDC issued by the Circle, which is the second largest stablecoin with a supply of $ 61 billion and is popular among the institutions, it was considered that it is no longer adequate under the Anchorage security framework. Two other smaller files, Agora USD (AUSD) and usual USD (USD0)They were also scheduled for extraction. The stablecoins are cryptocurrencies with their prices linked to an external asset, predominantly to the US dollar.
“Following our Stablcoin, USDC, ABUD0 security matrix no longer satisfy the internal criteria of Digital Anchorage for long -term resistance,” said Rachel Anderika, head of Global Operations of Anchorage, in a statement that justifies the decision. “Specifically, we identify high concentration risks associated with the structures of their emitters, something that we believe that institutions should carefully evaluate.”
“Anchorage Digital focuses on supporting the stable that demonstrates strong transparency, independence, security and alignment with future regulatory expectations,” he added.
Stablecoin’s career is heated
The measure occurred at a time when competition in the Stablcoin market is heating with global banks, payments and cryptographic companies that play for their position in the rapid growth sector.
The United States Senate recently approved the Genius Law that aims to promulgate clear rules for assets and emitters, which could open the doors for broader adoption. On Friday, the Cryptographic Tsar of the White House, David Sacks, suggested that the bill could become law as soon as next month, waiting for a step in the House of Representatives.
Citi reports and standardized reports projected that the class of assets grew from the current $ 250 billion to trillions in the coming years. Circle (CRCL)The company behind the USDC token recently became public and shot in valuation.
Anchorage gave USDC a score of 2 of 5 for regulatory supervision and reservations management. The report says that “there was no substantive prudential supervision” and that Circle had a great amount of its cash reserves. In particular, the USDC depended temporarily in March 2023 when the Bank Silicon Valley Bank left. The USDT of Tether, the largest stable in the world, had a higher rating with Anchorage pointing out to be regulated in El Salvador.
The S&P classifications described the USDC “Strong”, their second best rating in its stable stability evaluation. Bluechip, a crypto-native signature of stable qualification, gave the USDC qualification a B+ rating in its economic security rating.
Industry leaders go back
Anchorage’s decision met a fierce setback.
Nick Van Eck, whose Agora firm issues Ausd, accused Anchorage of misrepresenting facts about her stablecoin and not revealing her commercial interest in the global dollar. The USDG is issued by Paxos and is backed by a consortium of companies that share the income of the reserve assets that support the Token. Anchorage is a founding partner in that consortium.
“If Anchorage just eliminated the USDC and Ausd to prioritize the stable in which they have an economic interest, I would understand it as a commercial decision,” he said in an X X. “But trying to delegitimize Ausd and USDC for ‘security concerns’, while publishing false information, it is not serious and strange.”
“I have never seen that such an obvious success is so badly executed,” said Viktor Bunin, a specialist in digital protocol Asset Exchange Coinbase. Coinbase jointly launched USDC with Circle in 2018, and shared income from the reserve assets that supported the token.
Jan van Eck, father of Nick Van Eck and CEO of the Van Eck Assets Manager, who manages AUSD’s support assets, also questioned the risk assessment.
“If you need to laugh, look at this ‘security’ matrix before Anchorage throws it down. According to the matrix, the USDC of Circle (Second largest in the world) and Ausd (100% backed by treasure bonds) Have reserve problems, “he published in X.” Oh, and by the way, AUSD reserve manager is regulated by innumerable different regulators. “
Circle, in a statement sent to Coindesk, defended the “long -standing compliance registration of the company” and the “strong reputation as an industry leader.”
“We comply with the previous regulatory standards of the United States that apply to the main firms of Fintech and paying payments, and we were the first stablecoin issuer in achieving full compliance with the historical cryptographic law of the European Union,” said a spokesman for the circle. “The USDC is 100% backed by reserves called fiduciaries and has a robust primary liquidity through a well -developed network of banks, which represents what we consider as the highest levels of transparency, safety and operational resilience in our industry.”
The support came to Circle and Agora outside the two Stablcoins camp.
“For the registration, Bitgo is not dropping the support of the USDC,” said Chen Fang, director of Revenue of the Cripto Bitgo custodian.
“Agora and Circle are long-standing partners, and our clients have safe and transparent rails for USD settlement,” said Joshua Lim, market co-establishment in Crypto Prime Broker Falconx, and added that his company “is ready to support customers using AUD and USDC.”
