Gemini Launches the Gemini dollar: U.S. Dollars on the Blockchain
When we founded Gemini over four years ago, our mission was simple: build a bridge to the future of money. As a first step, this meant making it safe and easy to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether, and Zcash. However, when fiat currency and cryptocurrency interact, the differences between the traditional banking system and cryptocurrencies become increasingly clear. While cryptocurrencies operate 24/7/365 (similar to email), fiat currencies only operate during specific “business hours” (like snail mail) — a fundamental mismatch. As a next step in our mission, we must improve the linkage between these worlds by giving fiat currency the same desirable technological qualities of cryptocurrencies. 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. Enter the Gemini dollar — a stable value coin (often called a “stablecoin”) that is (i) issued by Gemini, a New York trust company, (ii) strictly pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, and (iii) built on the Ethereum network according to the ERC20 standard for tokens. 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). You can read more about the Gemini dollar — the world’s first regulated stablecoin.
