Former employees of the world’s leading bank JPMorgan, tech giant Intel and crypto-blockchain company TrustToken have joined hands to launch a new USD-backed cryptocurrency called USD Digital (USDD). This stablecoin will be launched by the Global Currency Organization (GCO), a project started by the ex-employees of these companies.
Stablecoins are digital tokens backed by traditional assets like gold, silver, or fiat currencies. USD, like in the case of USDD, is the most preferred fiat currency to back stablecoins. With the launch of USDD, GCO plans to make the stablecoin accessible to a global audience, so that general crypto users can move money from crypto to fiat and vice versa, bridging the gap between traditional and decentralized finance.
Commenting on the development, GCO CEO Joe Vellanikaran said,
We are excited to introduce a stablecoin that is providing an institutional-grade digital currency to everyday traders. We set out to make the benefits of blockchain available to all, a vision that is bigger than any one company. We are thrilled to be releasing USDD and opening up the GCO network to institutional partners worldwide. With USDD, we are taking the stability and security of a fully-backed stablecoin and opening it up to a global network of partners. This is the next evolution of the stablecoin industry.
The long-standing debate between the legitimacy of stablecoins is seemingly getting diminished by the day, as more and more companies and influential individuals are getting involved in different asset-backed digital currencies. For instance, Facebook has brought several of the most powerful companies, including MasterCard, VISA, Uber, Vodafone, etc, on one platform for its Libra cryptocurrency, which has ruffled a few feathers in the government and even the traditionalists.
Other popular cryptocurrencies backed by the USD include USDT, GUSD, USDC, and TUSD. The popularity of these types of decentralized currencies is because they provide benefits of both worlds, i.e., the stability of fiat currencies, and the privacy of crypto.