Coinbase urges users to switch from USDT To USDC, details inside

• Coinbase waived USDT-USDC conversion fees.
• It is the second CEX to do so after Binance.

Coinbase has taken aim at Tether (USDT) with its latest blog post, as it promoted USD Coin (USDC) as a safer stablecoin alternative. 

The world’s second-largest crypto exchange is attempting to draw USDT users by waiving off the conversion fee that would have otherwise been levied when converting to USDC. Coinbase has reinforced the campaign against the world’s largest stablecoin by pointing out the safety features of USDC. 

The blog post read,

“We believe that USD Coin (USDC) is a trusted and reputable stablecoin, so we’re making it more frictionless to switch: starting today we’re waiving fees for global retail customers to convert USDT to USDC.” 

Coinbase has stated that USDC is 100% backed by cash and short-term U.S. treasuries that are held in regulated financial institutions. The exchange demonstrated the stablecoin’s transparency through monthly attestations by auditing giant Grant Thornton. 

USD Coin is a joint project of Coinbase and Circle. They partnered under a joint venture titled the CENTRE Consortium. The stablecoin was founded back in 2018. 

Coinbase and USDT face troubles

USDT is the oldest and the largest stablecoin in the world. The early signs of trouble were seen after a New York court ordered Tether to submit financial documents proving USDT’s backing and reserves. This was followed by USDT’s depegging in the aftermath of FTX’s collapse when the stablecoin traded as low as 93 cents. 

Furthermore, the latest attestation published by Tether does not reveal details regarding its Treasury debt or its banking partners. The document also revealed billions of dollars loaned out to unknown entities. 

Coinbase’s move comes three months after the world’s largest exchange Binance, targeted USDC. On 5 September, Binance announced the BUSD auto-conversion, which essentially converted USDC to Binance USD (BUSD), Binance’s own stablecoin. The auto conversion extended to USDP and TUSD as well. BUSD is currently the third-largest stablecoin.