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Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

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Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#121
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasn't SVB in 10 year mortgage-backed securities whereas Circle is in 3 month bills?

Hmm you're right about the Circle balance sheet. It is/was indeed short dated bills not notes. https://6778953.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6778953... Although, still room for losses with those numbers ($50B) https://ycharts.com/indicators/3_month_t_bill , and make them more likely to want to hold to maturity.

Not nearly the same kind of losses, I don't think. The drop in value of bond-like investments is heavily affected not just by the change in interest rates but also the duration: long duration bonds drop much more heavily because the total amount of interest people now expect over their life is much higher. The interest rates on three-month Treasury bills has barely increased over the last few months (which is obviously the longest they could've been holding any for), and then taking into account the duration and the interest they're receiving they shouldn't be looking at mark-to-market losses at all really.

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#122
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except a $100 bill is likely accepted. I’ve been to developing countries that will accept local currency, dollars, and euros. I doubt they would accept any pounds, tethers, or other fake electronic currency.

This is hilarious. Do you really think you can pay with USD in any random country?

Nope I said developing world like Central and South America. Lots of tourists places will accept Euros and dollars as long as the bills are not damaged.

Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, and Colombia are places where I’ve done this personally and lots of Europeans were doing the same.

Friends and family in Costa Rica even advised that local currency wasn’t necessary and suggested bringing crisp bills from my bank.

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is hilarious. Do you really think you can pay with USD in any random country?

At least in Australia and the UK, if someone seriously tries paying with US currency they'll be laughed at right out of the shop. Or at least nicely told to go and exchange it for real money (local currency) somewhere, then come back and try again. :)

I didnt realize the UK and Australia were developing countries but I guess post Brexit changed things.

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#124
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is hilarious. Do you really think you can pay with USD in any random country?

As a tourist maybe. But try to do it at any place mostly frequented locals in Europe and you will get nowhere. But funny thing. Same does not only apply to USD, but Euros as well. And EU doesn't even have army. And still on my last trip the taxis took the money.

What developing countries are in the EU?

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#125
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least in Australia and the UK, if someone seriously tries paying with US currency they'll be laughed at right out of the shop. Or at least nicely told to go and exchange it for real money (local currency) somewhere, then come back and try again. :)

I didnt realize the UK and Australia were developing countries but I guess post Brexit changed things.

Good point. Australia isn't, but yeah Brexit has kind of set the direction for the UK. ;)

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#126
post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is hilarious. Do you really think you can pay with USD in any random country?

Nope I said developing world like Central and South America. Lots of tourists places will accept Euros and dollars as long as the bills are not damaged. Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Belize, and Colombia are places where I’ve done this personally and lots of Europeans were doing the same. Friends and family in Costa Rica even advised that local currency wasn’t necessary and suggested bringing crisp bills fro…

Errr, you said "accepted everywhere".

But now that you point out "developing countries", that does seem more likely. :)

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#127
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except a $100 bill is likely accepted. I’ve been to developing countries that will accept local currency, dollars, and euros. I doubt they would accept any pounds, tethers, or other fake electronic currency.

You won't get anywhere with a $100 bill in many developed countries, outside of some very tourist-y areas maybe. At least not in regular shops, of course you can exchange it at a bank. But if you try to order a coffee with US dollars, you won't get one.

If I’m visiting a country it’s usually as a tourist. Even on my business trips I spent half the time being a tourist.

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#128

So many people were expecting it would be BUSD that would de-peg, and now it's USDC, which was considered to be among the safest and safest from regulatory pressure. Goes to show how the consensus is often wrong and how hard these things are to predict.

> Goes to show how the consensus is often wrong and how hard these things are to predict.

Seems like everyone is just making things up. I'm not sure of the split between "I'd like something to be true" and "I'd like someone else to think it's true".

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#129

USDC is managed the Centre consortium, which was founded by Circle and includes Coinbase as a member. Circle held around $3.3 billion in Silicon Valley Bank, leading to a run on USDC which resulted in it trading for as little as $0.95 on some exchanges today (Mar 10, 2023). This represents around 30% of USDC's cash reserves and 7% of its total reserves. The balance of reserves are held in T-Bills, which are liquid an…

It was all fun and games while the crypto bubble was inflating. You basically could do no wrong, any mismanagement would be hidden away by the exponential appreciation of the underlying assets; just hodl until the next bull run and everything would be fine again. When things stabilize and start going down, it's like the morning after the frat-party, bad things come to light. Crypto is fundamentally a negative sum gam…

You could say the same thing about SVB and the last 10 years.

Re: Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend

#130
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

now .89 there are no freebies in finance. no one knows what is left. probably less than many think.

Coinbase should be buying that USDC on chain. They can guarantee it's worth $1 to themselves.

Not that easy. If they buy it all up that only cements the value at their entry point.
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