Price of Tether Stablecoin Tanks to 18-Month Low

The price of the tether stablecoin (USDT) has fallen to an 18-month low Monday, despite a general rise in the wider crypto markets. The tether-US dollar exchange rate (USDT/USD) fell to $0.925284 at 07:00 UTC  – the lowest level since April 27, 2017 – and was last seen trading at $0.967296, representing a 2 percent drop on a 24-hour basis. The slide in the USDT price has pushed up the premium carried by bitcoin (BTC) prices on the Bitfinex exchange above $600. on Bitfinex, BTC is changing hands at $7,055, meaning prices are trading at a premium of $438 to the BPI. The leading cryptocurrency rose as high as $7,788 on Bitfinex, which operates Tether LLC, the firm that developed the USDT token.

Hong Kong’s Security Watchdog to Propose Crypto Regulation, Chairman Says

Hong Kong’s securities and futures commission (SFC) is planning to introduce crypto regulation to protect investors, the SFC chairman said. Chairman Carlson Tong Ka-shing said in an interview that the watchdog is not considering a ban on cryptocurrency platforms as the Chinese mainland has done, adding that they don’t think that a total ban is “necessarily the right approach”.  A legal framework to regulate crypto exchanges is absolutely necessary, noting that the SFC is going to consider the approach carefully as such platforms are “new technologies” and cannot treated as securities. According to the SMCP, the exchanges that are working in Hong Kong’s market have welcomed the move.

Binance Launches Its First Fiat-Crypto Exchange in Uganda

Major international crypto exchange Binance has announced that its fiat-to-crypto exchange will open in Uganda this week. As per Binance Uganda’s press release, the new branch will officially start accepting deposits and withdrawals of Ugandan shillings (UGX) Wednesday, Oct. 17. Binance Uganda notes that exchange has already begun its know-your-customer (KYC) procedures. Uganda’s national fiat can only be traded with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), but that the exchange is planning to add more pairs soon. Allegedly, Binance has plans to open several fiat-to-crypto exchanges. Binance is the largest international crypto exchange by 24-hour adjusted trading volume, seeing almost $1.8 billion in trades on the day to press time.