Crypto exchanges report uptick in trade volumes as coronavirus impacts the global economy

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed global markets into a state of shock – but major cryptocurrency exchanges appear to remain unaffected.

Seven crypto exchanges The Block spoke with – including centralized, decentralized and peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces – said they have witnessed increased user numbers and trading volumes since the pandemic started escalating.

"We've seen a significant uptick in sign-ups and a 300% increase in verified accounts," Dave Ripley, chief operating officer at Kraken, told The Block. Ripley did not disclose specific user numbers, but said Kraken currently serves "millions of clients around the world."

OKEx has also seen "steady" growth in its user base, CEO Jay Ho told The Block. "Especially during early-March, we recorded an estimated 1.7% boost globally."

Quick Take

  • Major cryptocurrency exchanges appear to remain unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact
  • At least seven exchanges The Block spoke they have seen an uptick in user sign-ups and trading volumes
  • These include Kraken, Gemini, Bitfinex, OKEx, Bitstamp, Paxful, and KyberSwap.

Read More 

by Peter Bordes

Cryptocurrency Exchange OKEx Simultaneously Lists 4 Stablecoins

Author: Helen Partz / Source: Cointelegraph

Third Top Cryptocurrency Exchange OKEx Lists Four Stablecoins at Once

The third top crypto exchange by market cap, OKEx, has recently announced the listings of four stablecoins at once, according to an official blog post published on Monday, Oct. 15.

OKEx has added support for four stablecoins, including TrueUSD (TUSD), USD Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), and Paxos Standard Token (PAX). According to the schedule mentioned in the statement, the stablecoins have become available for deposits today, at 05:00 PM on Hong Kong Time (HKG), with a number of crypto trading pairs. Withdrawal will be available starting tomorrow, Oct.16.

TrueUSD is the second stablecoin that has been introduced following the launch of controversial stablecoin Tether (USDT), which is backed by the U.S. dollar on a 1:1 proportion. Both listed on major cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, Bitfinex, OKEx, Huobi and HitBTC, the stablecoins are deployed on the Omni and Ethereum blockchain networks.

Based on tokenization platform TrustToken, TrueUSD has been touted as “world’s first legally backed stablecoin,” and went...

Click here to read more

by MainBloq