A team of former Coinbase executives will launch a digital asset exchange using PayPal’s stablecoin as its form of settlement. 

On Sept. 18, True Markets unveiled TrueX, a crypto platform advertised as a “non-custodial, stablecoin-native exchange.” The platform secured $9 million in seed funding from investors like Paxos, Solana Foundation, Aptos and many others.

In a press release, the platform announced it’s working with the PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin issuer Paxos to utilize PYUSD as the platform’s default settlement currency. PYUSD is one of the biggest cryptocurrencies in the crypto space, with a market capitalization of over $730 million. 

Stablecoins are types of crypto that offer price stability by being backed by specific assets or algorithms. In the case of PYUSD, it’s backed one-to-one by the United States dollar. 

Former Coinbase execs team up on new exchange

Before founding TrueX, Vishal Gupta was the head of exchange at the trading platform Coinbase. He also worked as the head of USD Coin (USDC) at Circle, overseeing the launch and growth of the popular stablecoin. 

Meanwhile, Patrick McCreary, who founded TrueX with Gupta, previously worked as a senior staff engineer at Coinbase. The executive was one of the technical leaders and key architects of Coinbase’s International Exchange. Both executives also held senior roles at Goldman Sachs. 

Gupta claims they saw opportunities to make exchanges “safer and more trusted.” He said: 

“Clients now demand the security of true segregation of execution and custody. Our team has worked diligently to meet these needs, leveraging the power of stablecoins to facilitate efficient liquidity and settlement solutions.”

The TrueX exchange will reportedly open for US-based institutions first and some international organizations. 

Institutions continue to jump into Web3

Infrastructures supporting the onboarding of institutions into the Web3 space continue to sprout across the globe. On Sept. 17, Singapore’s DBS Bank announced it would start offering crypto options and structured notes to institutional investors in the fourth quarter of 2024. 

DBS said that institutions that want exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) can do so through this offering. Professional traders can hedge their positions against market volatility using different options structures. 

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