Bitcoin Daily: P2P Firm Origin Launches Stablecoin; Coinbase Beefs Up Team With Venmo, Adobe, Google Hires

Origin unveiled a stablecoin for the Ethereum network dubbed the Origin Dollar (OUSD), according to a Medium post. The digital currency receives “competitive yields” from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols without intervention as it stays in a user’s wallet.

Origin said the digital currency is a natural addition to its aim of facilitating peer-to-peer (P2P) commerce. The product was created using the organization’s current workforce of individuals at Origin Protocol who are FinTech and cryptocurrency veterans.

“Block by block, second by second, OUSD grows passively for you without requiring you to use other platforms,” the post stated. “Both sophisticated DeFi experts and novice users passively earn returns without the typical hassles and complexities of yield farming.”

Tether debuted the concept of a stablecoin denominated in U.S. dollars in 2014. Since that time, Origin said in the post that “stablecoins have proven themselves as an ideal way of transferring value without exposing users to the price volatility of free-floating currencies.”

In other news, Coinbase is adding three executives to its team and creating a new Platforms division, according to a Wednesday (Sept. 23) announcement.

Shilpa Dhar comes to the firm as vice president of Product, while Ravi Byakod will serve as vice president of Engineering. Dhar came to Coinbase from Venmo, where she was head of Product, and Byakod is coming to the firm from Adobe, where he supervised operations and development for its commerce platform.

“In leading the new Platforms team, Shilpa and Ravi will help us focus on creating strong, scalable, and compliant infrastructure that can keep up with the growing cryptoeconomy,” Chief Product Officer Surojit Chatterjee said in the post.

Coinbase also said that it is welcoming Frank Yoo as its vice president of Design & Research. Yoo most recently spearheaded international design and research workforces at Google for GSuite.

“We continue making investments in talent, pushing ourselves to raise the bar on hiring and ensuring our teams are well-positioned to make our mission and vision a reality,” Chatterjee said in the post.