NEAR Foundation Refuses Stablecoin Conversion Deal
Evgeny Gaevoy, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency marketplace company Wintermute, has announced plans to sue the Near Foundation, the nonprofit behind the Near protocol, for failing a stablecoin deal made in August. According to a post on social network X, Gaevoy intends to use all legal measures against the Near Foundation and Aurora Labs, the company behind Aurora, an Ethereum virtual machine blockchain running on the Near protocol.
Following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, the bankrupt firm liquidated its assets to maximize payments to creditors. Wintermute, which has been involved in the process since March, was asked to facilitate the sale of 11.2 mln USN. USN was originally intended to be an algorithmic stablecoin, but due to the collapse of UST Terra in June 2022, the asset was switched to a non-algorithmic model and is fully backed by Tether (USDT) at a 1:1 ratio.
Wintermute completed the FTX-related transaction and sent approximately $11 mln to the company’s creditors, confident that USN could be exchanged for USDT at a 1:1 ratio. This confidence was based on the belief that the Near Foundation and Aurora Labs would adhere to the agreement reached through private chats and public statements about the buyout. However, two months later, the Near Foundation refused to honor the deal.
Image: The Defiant