In a move that highlights growing interest in the stablecoin market, Nick Van Eck, son of investment management veteran Jan Van Eck, is making a major bet on cryptocurrencies through the family business.
Agora, a startup co-founded by bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) management firm VanEck along with crypto veterans Drake Evans and Joe McGrady, recently raised $12 million in a seed funding round to launch its USD stablecoin.
VanEck-Backed Agora Enters Stablecoin Space
According to a Bloomberg report, the Agora stablecoin will be backed by cash, US Treasury bills, and overnight repurchase agreements. It will be managed by VanEck, according to Kyle DaCruz, head of digital asset products at VanEck.
DaCruz emphasized the importance of having transparent and audited stablecoin reserves to ensure transparency and reliability. Agora plans to build this future by partnering with crypto companies including exchangescustodians, decentralized applications (dApps), and trading companies, rather than directly targeting customers in different regions.
While Tether currently dominates the stablecoin sector, with a market value of around $104 billion, and the USDC issued by Circle is around $32 billion, VanEck believes there is still room for a newcomer.
According to the report, Agora aims to fill this gap by focusing on regions such as Argentina and Southeast Asia, where stablecoins have had a significant impact.
Notably, the Agora stablecoin will only be available to users outside the United States due to the lack of federal legislation in the country governing stablecoins. VanEck stressed the importance of regulatory clarity and intended to serve international clients primarily until such legislation is in place.
Agora plans to establish revenue sharing contracts with its partners, offering them benefits, while individual Agora holders will not receive direct returns or income. VanEck also expressed concern about some projects in the stablecoin sector, particularly in light of the TerraUSD explosion, and emphasized the need to build a company that will positively advance the industry.
bitcoin ETF Trading Volume Soars to $111 Billion
In a significant surge in interest in newly approved investment vehicles, spot bitcoin ETFs traded $111 billion in March, nearly tripling February's total of $42.2 billion.
Bloomberg ETF expert Eric Balchunas visited social media site x.com/EricBalchunas/status/1775147839498207695?s=20″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>highlighted the importance of this milestone, underlining the substantial growth in trading volume by stating:
bitcoin ETFs traded $111 billion in March, nearly triple what they did in February and January. I can't imagine April will be any bigger, but who knows.
Among the spot ETFs available, those issued by Grayscale (GBTC), BlackRock (IBIT), and Fidelity (FBTC) continued to dominate trading volume, as seen in the chart above shared by Eric Balchunas. However, Grayscale's GBTC fund has seen total outflows of more than $15 billion since it began trading in January.
The significant growth in bitcoin ETF spot trading volume reflects the growing demand for cryptocurrency investment products. As more investors seek exposure to the digital asset market through regulated and easily accessible vehicles, ETFs have gained traction as a popular option.
Currently, the largest cryptocurrency on the market, btc, is trading at $65,200, reflecting a significant drop of over 4% in the last 24 hours.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
