- Australia’s NAB Bank rolled out a stablecoin, but it was shut down a little over a year later.
- Genesis announced its bankruptcy filing, marking its end.
It is important to reflect on the journey of cryptocurrency as it continues to grow and mature. Many good and bad events have occurred along the way.
Here are some noteworthy developments that happened on the 23rd of January in the recent past.
NAB Bank’s AUDN Stablecoin
On the 23rd of January 2023, NAB Bank, an Aussie financial institution, announced the rollout of its Ethereum-based AUDN stablecoin. It was aimed at providing an on-ramp to the cryptocurrency market but was eventually shut down due to low demand.
The timing of the launch may have played a significant role in the AUDN stablecoin’s failure. The market was still experiencing crypto winter, during which demand for crypto and stablecoins was usually low.
Fast-forward to the present and the market conditions have changed, including demand. Stablecoin market cap recently soared to a new ATH as a consequence. Perhaps AUDN would have had a much better chance at success during the current market conditions.
Genesis crypto lender bankruptcy
A Web3-based crypto lending platform called Genesis filed for bankruptcy at the same time. The company was heavily exposed to the infamous FTX and Three Arrows Capital collapse. Additionally, Genesis was under fire from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for selling cryptocurrency illegally.
Although Genesis was shut down, it returned about $3 billion to its users. The collapse of Genesis, along with the FTX saga and Three Arrows Capital, emphasized the need for self-custody. It also highlighted the risks of overleveraging, especially if market conditions shift.
This logic still applies today in the investment landscape. The Genesis situation warrants investor caution, especially now that the market is in another bullish phase. “Not your keys, not your crypto” still holds true.
WEF’s Discussion on tokenized assets and data self-custody
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is known for its push towards improving the state of the world. It demonstrated interest in the crypto market and even formed the Digital Currency Governance Consortium.
In January 2023, the WEF held discussions about the self-custody of private data and tokenized asset ownership. The discussion highlighted that the WEF was steering governments towards changing their stance on cryptocurrency.
Unsurprisingly, two years later, the race for crypto is on, with the U.S. announcing plans to be number one in Web3.
