What is BUSD?

Binance USD (BUSD) is a digital fiat currency that is backed 1:1 by the US dollar. It was introduced on September 5, 2019, with the intention of merging the consistency of the dollar with the innovative technology of blockchain. BUSD is issued by a certain entity in collaboration with Paxos and is approved and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). It is issued as an ERC-20 token and also supports BEP-2. The reserves backing BUSD are held in fiat cash in dedicated omnibus accounts at insured U.S. banks and/or are allocated to U.S. Treasury bills.

How does BUSD work?

BUSD operates on the Ethereum blockchain and is issued by Paxos Trust Company in collaboration with a certain entity. It can be issued and redeemed without additional fees. This entity also offers a wrapped BUSD token (Entity-Peg) on BNB Chain. The reserves backing BUSD are held in either fiat cash in dedicated omnibus accounts at insured U.S. banks or are allocated to U.S. Treasury bills. As of June 30, 2022, 96% of the assets backing BUSD were held in cash and cash equivalents, while 4% were allocated to U.S. Treasury bills.

What are the potential use cases for BUSD?

BUSD, with its price consistency, aims to play a crucial role in transactions, payments, settlement, and Decentralized Finance (DeFi). It aims to be transferred anywhere in minutes, in a cost-effective manner and on the blockchain. BUSD can be traded on various platforms and Decentralized Exchanges (DEX). It can be deposited for potential compensation, used as payment for goods and services, used as collateral and loan asset, used as cross collateral in Futures, and stored on a digital platform or in a wallet.

What is the history of BUSD?

BUSD was introduced on September 5, 2019, by a certain entity in collaboration with Paxos. It was approved and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The BUSD ecosystem saw growth in 2021, with its market capitalization increasing from around US$1B at the start of the year to over US$14.6B by the end of the year. In April 2022, this entity allocated $2.5 million in BUSD through its charity organization to USA for UNHCR, a UN refugee agency, marking the agency’s first stablecoin crypto allocation.