The Daily: Tether Sheds Its Peg

What kind of a world are we living in when bitcoin and tether, two of the stablest currencies in the cryptosphere, break out at the same time? Bitcoin is headed north while tether has taken a tumble in events that are closely linked. Of course, there’s other news in this edition of The Daily, like an NBA star selling his sneakers for bitcoin, but there’s only one story that’s got everyone talking: the crazy, topsy-turvy tale of tether, the stablecoin that couldn’t keep its peg.

Tether Slides, Bitcoin Glides

After enduring months of scarcely moving — BTC because it was trapped within a tight range and USDT because that’s its job — both coins have made big moves over the past 12 hours. BTC began to soar around 2 a.m. EST, hitting $7,500 per coin before settling around the $6,900 mark. Tether, meanwhile, began to slide on Bitfinex, flash-crashing to as low as $0.88 after struggling to maintain dollar parity all week.

“Watching tether die,” tweeted constant critic @Bitfinexed, who had likely been waiting for this moment all his life. In the midst of all the drama, Bitfinex issued a clarification, stating that fiat deposits should be re-enabled by Tuesday, Oct. 16. Meanwhile, the Kucoin exchange temporarily stopped USDT deposits and withdrawals due to “wallet system maintenance.” Needless to say, the movements of BTC and USDT are closely correlated, with traders seeking to escape the uncertainty of tether in favor of a safer haven. We’ll have more on this story, and what it means for Bitfinex, Tether and the cryptoconomy as a whole, later today.

 Muun Launches Bitcoin Core Wallet

A new everyday wallet for storing and sending bitcoin core has been released in beta. Muun is now available on Google Play, with an iOS version to follow soon. “Muun is designed for people who use at least a small portion of their bitcoins. Some use cases are introducing new people to cryptocurrencies, sending money to friends, paying for online services, or getting paid for a remote job,” its developers explain.

In action, the wallet is easy to use, but is short on the sort of features that more advanced users might desire. There’s no ability to paste in wallet addresses, for instance — it only works with a QR code — and users are obliged to register an email address upon signup. For sending and receiving BTC to friends and family, however, Muun looks just the ticket. That said, for a more feature-rich wallet that’s equally user-friendly, and accepts BTC and BCH, the Bitcoin.com Wallet has got you covered.

Spencer Dinwiddie Sells Sneakers for Bitcoin

Dinwiddie also had some interesting comments to make about cryptocurrency, and bitcoin adoption in general.

“Blockchain in essence is transparency. So if as humans we’re looking, searching for transparency, we’re gonna get there eventually,” he said. “Now, what does that mean for the price? I don’t know. Is it a $10K bitcoin, $5K, $500K? Nobody knows; I think everyone’s guesstimating. But the tech base in general, if we as a people — all seven-and-a-half or eight billion of us — say we want truth and transparency, it’s the next step.”