As regulations on stablecoins are being strengthened in various countries, 'dark stablecoins' are showing signs of spreading to circumvent these regulations. Analysis suggests that some users who have been using stablecoins to evade official surveillance are turning their attention to new types of stablecoins that guarantee anonymity and are untraceable.
According to the industry on the 23rd, the dollar-pegged stablecoin 'Freedom Dollar (fUSD)', released last month, is designed so that fund flows on the blockchain are virtually untraceable. Built on the privacy blockchain 'Zano' with special technology that conceals transaction sender and receiver information and scale, anonymity is guaranteed. Since it is automatically issued and operated on the blockchain according to pre-programmed code without an issuing entity, it is practically impossible for a central institution to block it. According to Freedom Dollar, fUSD maintains a value of $1 by setting over-collateralization with Zano (ZANO) coins worth $10 each.
Major figures in the virtual asset industry are also paying attention to the potential spread of dark stablecoins. Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano (ADA), which ranks 9th in virtual asset market capitalization, appeared on eToro's podcast on the 9th and announced plans to introduce a dark stablecoin to Cardano. He emphasized that "unlike existing stablecoins where transaction records are permanently recorded on the blockchain, a stablecoin that is not traceable like real cash is needed". As of 5:55 PM on the 23rd, the scale of stablecoins circulating in Cardano is $31.89 million (about 43.6 billion won).
Ju Ki-young, CEO of domestic blockchain analysis platform Cryptoquant, also said, "If the government regulates all stablecoins as strictly as existing banks, people who have been making large-scale international remittances through them will start looking for uncensorable dark stablecoins" and "Dark stablecoins can spread through algorithmic stablecoins not controlled by the government or by issuing stablecoins in countries with loose financial regulations".
There are also claims that Tether (USDT), the top stablecoin by market capitalization, could become a dark stablecoin. The representative said, "USDT has been considered a stablecoin resistant to government censorship" and "If the US Trump administration fully implements stablecoin regulation in the future, there is a possibility that Tether may choose the path of a dark stablecoin without complying".
- Reporter Kim Jung-woo
- woo@sedaily.com
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