Bitfinex to launch options and gold-backed stablecoin

Bitfinex has plans to offer options as soon as Q1 2020, according to Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex and Tether. Ardoino told The Scoop that compliant perpetual swaps and basket futures are on the way.

Ardoino revealed this slew of new products in a recent episode of The Scoop podcast. He also said that the company is looking to launch a gold-backed stablecoin, Tether Gold, without disclosing more details on this new cryptocurrency.

After iFinex Financial Services, a subsidiary of Bitfinex and Tether parent company iFinex, launched derivatives this summer, the exchange turned its focus to options. The quest to deliver futures was long, according to Ardoino.

“That was a big project,” he said. “It required a few months of full-time development.”

Now, Ardoino said he and the team of machine engineers are moving forward to tether-based swaps. As of now, he said he sees the products remaining tether-based to give the cryptocurrency a chance to build trust and a wider reach.

Eyeing a Q1 2020 launch, Ardoino said he’s currently working with external market makers to ensure liquidity.

To create a so-called “circular economy,” or an economy aimed at eliminating the waste of resources, Bitfinex will also be working with partners to enable users to buy goods with crypto using gift cards. Ardoino said the company has plans to work with a “big and well-known partner” to provide the cards.

“It’s important that people can see the farther value of having cryptocurrencies rather than just trading back and forth between Bitcoin and USD or whatever,” he said.

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