[nomailing]

If someone is interested in 1:1 USD crypto assets, I recommend looking into the mechanics of smart-assets such as bitUSD [1] on the Bitshares DEX. These are backed by at least 175% of equivalent value of Bitshares. Thereby these smart-assets achieve a stable 1:1 USD value in a decentralized way [2]. If the value of the collateral of a short position falls below 175%, the position is margin called automatically by the blockchain. Another advantage is that you can trade them within the blockchain without any central party [3]. In my opinion this decentralized bitUSD is much better in comparison to Tether, which is intransparent and centralized. In recent months trading volume really picked up esspecially in bitCNY/BTS, but also for bitUSD/BTS. I would be happy to hear other opinions about these decentralized alternatives.

Disclaimer: I own some bitUSD, bitCNY, BTS, but I am not involved in other ways with the project.

[1] https://wallet.bitshares.org/#/asset/USD

[2] https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitusd/

[3] https://wallet.bitshares.org/#/market/BTS_USD

[naveen99]

Is there sufficient incentive to issue bitusd if you hold bitshares ? I guess you can loan yourself about 60% of the value you hold in bitshares if you issue yourself some bitusd. but is it any more than a leveraged position in bitshares ? Could be risky for the issuer unless they are prepared to really support the price of bitshares.

[nomailing]

Yes, that is how I understand it. But I am also still learning about it. It was interesting to see the margin calls during the 40% price drop of the crypto market two weeks ago. Basically, before the drop some people had enough collateral above the 175% threshold, but during the drop these positions entered the margin call area and the orderbook of the decentralized exchange was automatically filled with USD buy orders, so that they were forced to close their position.