Binance clarifies BFUSD isn’t a stablecoin as X gets Terra flashbacks

As a seasoned crypto investor with battle scars from the TerraUSD (UST) fiasco, I can’t help but feel a sense of deja vu when I see headlines about high-yield tokens promising unrealistic returns. Binance’s BFUSD is the latest addition to this list, and while it’s good that they’ve clarified that it’s not a stablecoin or launched yet, the hype around it still leaves me uneasy.


As an analyst, I’d like to address recent apprehensions regarding the new “BFUSD” token introduced by Binance. To set the record straight, this token should not be mistaken as a stablecoin, and it has not yet been officially launched.

On November 17th, Zoomerfied, a popular crypto news aggregator, informed its users via a post that Binance was planning to introduce a stablecoin offering an annual return of 19.55%. This announcement sparked numerous comparisons on X between this new Binance coin and Terraform Labs’ unsuccessful algorithmic stablecoin, now called TerraClassicUSD (USTC).

In response to queries on X, Binance clarified that the BFUSD listing is for a new, yet-to-be-released yield-generating margin trading instrument.

Binance Customer Support stated that BFUSD has not been released yet. It’s important to note that it’s not a stablecoin, but rather an asset that earns rewards within the context of futures trading on Binance.

As indicated on Binance’s official launch page for this asset, traders won’t need to “hold” or “secure” their funds through staking in order to use BFUSD as collateral.

As an analyst, I would rephrase it this way: Traders will keep their BFUSD assets in a “UM Wallet” and receive daily airdrops directly to their “UM Futures Wallet”, which are determined by regular snapshots. The amount of BFUSD that users can hold is limited according to their social status or “VIP level” on the Binance platform.

Prior to Binance’s explanation, numerous cryptocurrency analysts swiftly compared their situation to that of Do Kwon’s former algorithmic stablecoin, which had previously boasted a 20% return rate.

RunnerXBT, the anonymous trader, inquired about the total return generated by Anchor, the protocol that offered a 20% yield on Terra Luna’s algorithmic stablecoin.

“Can we not?” he added moments later. 

In May 2022, the value of the $18-billion stablecoin USTC fell drastically from its intended dollar parity ($1) down to less than $0.01 within just a month. This was due to a crisis similar to a bank run in the Terra Money system, where numerous users hastily withdrew their tokens simultaneously as panic ensued. This event is comparable to the decentralized finance (DeFi) world’s version of a bank run.

UST was part of a broader ecosystem of tokens, including Terra (LUNA), its companion asset that was supposed to stabilize UST’s peg. Similarly, LUNA plummeted from a price of $80 to below one-tenth of a cent within a week. 

Additionally, it seemed that several others experienced instant recollections of grandiose pledges traced back to an enigmatic high-return provider.

“Are we the yield?” asked another user. 

The initial post also raised eyebrows for OG Bitcoiner Jameson Lopp.

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2024-11-19 08:39