Fiserv’s Stablecoin Plans Show Intensifying Crypto Stampede

The crypto stampede is on, and hardly a day goes by without the launch of some bitcoin scheme or stablecoin offering. On Sunday, my colleague Yueqi reported that OKX, one of the three biggest global crypto exchanges, was considering an initial public offering in the U.S. Today, Fiserv, one of the companies that manages the plumbing of the nation’s banks, said it was going to offer a stablecoin. Yueqi previewed that development in an earlier story and explained why it set up a rivalry between Circle and Paxos. 

Competition in stablecoins, which trade one to one against the dollar, is bad news for Circle, which issues the second-biggest stablecoin. But that hasn’t stopped the company’s rampage through the stock market since its IPO earlier this month. Its stock was up nearly 10% today and has soared 750% in just two and a half weeks.