Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has announced the creation of a USD-pegged Ethereum token that looks to supplant tether (USDT) as the stablecoin of choice among bitcoin traders.
Announced on Monday, the Gemini dollar (GUSD) aims to become what the controversial tether token has not, a “trusted and regulated digital representation” of the U.S. dollar that can be transmitted across the blockchain and traded on cryptocurrency exchanges located throughout the world.
“To date, there has been no trusted and regulated digital representation of the U.S. dollar that moves in an open, decentralized manner like cryptocurrencies,” Gemini wrote in the announcement, which was attributed to Cameron Winklevoss. “The Gemini dollar (ticker symbol: GUSD) combines the creditworthiness and price stability of the U.S. dollar with blockchain technology and the oversight of U.S. regulators, namely, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).”
As outlined in the Gemini dollar whitepaper, GUSD is structured as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. Gemini users can acquire GUSD by depositing USD into their exchange accounts and then converting them into tokens, which can then be withdrawn to any Ethereum address. Similarly, users can exchange GUSD for physical dollars from within their Gemini accounts.