Stably’s Stablecoin, USDS, to Let Platform Users View Company’s ‘Fiat Reserve Balance in Real-Time’

On Thursday (November 2nd), a venture capital-funded blockchain startup, Stably, announced the launch of its stablecoin called StableUSD (USDS). The company noted that USDS can now be purchased and redeemed.

Stably’s new stablecoin is reportedly backed 1-to-1 with the USD (as all stablecoins are), and the company’s escrow account is managed by Prime Trust, a Nevada-based regulated trust company.

In its official blog post, Stably wrote: “Stably recognizes that a fiat-backed stablecoin requires a high standard of public transparency for consumers and businesses to build trust … Users of Stably’s future platform will be able to view our fiat reserve’s balance in real-time via a live feed from Prime Trust’s API.”

“Weekly Attestations For Fiat Reserves”

Stably’s post also mentioned that Cohen & Co., an accounting and auditing company and also one of the largest CPA firms in the US, will be performing “weekly attestations for [Stably’s] fiat reserve.”

At present, Stably is offering its customers an early-access option, however, the company requires that all new users submit the required know-your-customer process (KYC) paperwork before being able to purchase the new stablecoin.

USDS tokens are reportedly generated by issuing smart contracts. Users who’ve successfully completed KYC checks may transfer their funds to a trustee. Once the funds have been received, Stably’s platform initiates a smart contract for the transaction – which involves issuing new USDC coins and transferring them to the user’s account.

$500,000 Raised In Seed Funding Round

According to Stably’s announcement: 

StableUSD will utilize a proven centralized model to fully back every token issued. … The creation process will also work with bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), or tether (USDT). The sent cryptocurrency will be converted to U.S. dollars on the open market by our regulated third-party trustee. The corresponding amount of StableUSD will then be minted and sent back to the client through our smart contract.

In April, Stably raised $500,000 in a seed funding round – which was led by venture capital firm, Beenext, and Silicon Valley-based investment firm, 500 Startups. Kory Hong, the co-founder of Stably, has said: 

The blockchain economy desperately needs a reliable and price-stable medium of exchange as well as a store of value in order to evolve and scale beyond its current speculative state … Tether’s first-mover advantage has paid off handsomely, but their dominance probably won’t last forever as more stablecoins start coming onto the scene.

Tether Ltd. Confirms New Banking Relationship

As CryptoGlobe reported on November 1st, Tether Ltd. confirmed that it had established a banking relationship with Bahamas-based Deltec Bank & Trust. It also noted that its management spent time working with Deltec as it performed “an analysis of [its]compliance processes, policies, and procedures.”

According to Tether’s announcement, Deltec only opened an account for Tether after performing thorough due diligence – which was “conducted over a period of several months and garnered positive results.” 

In an attempt to prove that it had not become insolvent, Tether shared a letter that confirms it has a balance of over $1.8 billion its bank account. However, the letter (dated November 1st, 2018) may not serve as proof of an audit because there is no name provided of the bank official that prepared the document.

Moreover, there is no visible official stamp and the USD balance shown does not include details such as the account’s history (when it was opened, and other business-specific activities).