OKCoin offers first major USD-to-crypto trading pair for Decred, but difficult questions remain

Exchanges • March 14, 2019, 3:30PM EDT
UPDATED: March 14, 2019, 8:50PM EDT
The Block

Decred ($DCR), a rising store-of-value orientated token, is hoping to target U.S., European, and Australian investors by listing on crypto exchange OKCoin with a USD pairing - an uncommon move for an altcoin.

While there is already a direct conversion into Brazilian real for the large Decred community there, project lead Jake Yocom-Piatt told The Block that the U.S. dollar's global weight would help boost "access" to the token and its long-term usability.

"A number of people complained about having to get bitcoin first," he explained, noting that most coins require an initial crypto-crypto trade to withdraw or buy them with fiat.
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While Chinese-founded OKCoin relaunched and expanded into the U.S. in mid-2018, only California-based users can currently complete fiat-to-token trades. International users hoping to buy Decred using USD will also be beholden to local regulation, with OKCoin having previously been forced to suspend USD withdrawals and deposits.

Perhaps most pressing is how sustainable the pairing will be. Decred may face pressure in future to boost trading volumes to avoid being delisted, with OKCoin's own subsidiary, OKEx, having been accused of making similar demands following an investigation by The Block.

Moreover, details of the measures the project took to get a fiat pairing remain opaque, with the project lead saying he was unsure if a NDA had been signed around the listing.
 
Still, overall, the move is"a win for the project," Yocom-Piatt said, hoping to see enhanced liquidity to help Decred fulfill its goal of being the most price-resistant, hack-resistant cryptocurrency.

About Author

Isabel is The Block's London and European reporter. She previously reported for Reuters in Madrid and London, following on from her time as a freelance journalist for the Guardian and the New York Times. She has a Bachelors in War Studies from King’s College London and a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Conflict of Interest: Edward Woodford, the CEO of SeedCX, is Isabel's brother. She does not report on any issues related to Seed or advise other authors in any regard.

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