Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

Wintermute claims NEAR backed out of $11M stablecoin redemption deal

The NEAR Foundation and Aurora allegedly reneged on an offer to convert $11 million worth of USN (USN) stablecoins, Wintermute founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy has claimed.

In a Nov. 7 X (Twitter) post, Gaevoy claimed NEAR refused to honor a commitment to facilitate the sale of $11.2 million worth of the stablecoin USN for the FTX estate.

Gaevoy said Wintermute had been working with FTX to liquidate its assets for creditors which included the sale of $11.2 million worth of USN.

Gaevoy claimed Wintermute executed the transaction — which provided $11 million to FTX creditors — based on an alleged agreement with the NEAR Foundation that it would be able to redeem USN to Tether on a one-to-one basis. 

When Wintermute submitted its redemption request, NEAR allegedly "refused to honor their commitments." Gaevoy claimed after two and a half months, Wintermute still hadn't received any USDT.

Gaevoy claimed Wintermute received a final offer of 20% of the $11 million. Gaevoy said Wintermute would pursue "all legal avenues" against NEAR and Aurora — the organisation responsible for allowing the transfer of assets from the Ethereum network to the NEAR protocol. 

USN was first launched as an algorithmic stablecoin on April 25, 2022 by Decentral Bank, which called itself an independently operated community run project with no direct financial assistance from the NEAR Foundation.

However, last October the NEAR Foundation opened a $40 million fund to support USN to USDT conversions after USN became undercollateralized.

Gaevoy said the post was the "last and public attempt" in asking the NEAR Foundation to complete the redemption.

"However if [NEAR Foundation] continues to be unreasonable about this situation, we are fully committed to switching into a full-time adversarial mode."

The NEAR Foundation and Aurora did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • BTC Surpasses $82,000

    Market data shows that BTC has surpassed $82,000, currently priced at $82,038.65, with a 24-hour increase of 0.31%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • ETH Surpasses $2400

    Market data shows that ETH has surpassed $2400, currently priced at $2400.26, with a 24-hour decline of 1.33%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • BTC Surpasses $81,000

    Market data shows that BTC has surpassed $81,000, currently priced at $81,016.34, with a 24-hour decline of 1.53%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • BTC Falls Below $80,000

    Market data shows that BTC has fallen below $80,000, currently priced at $79,940.09, with a 24-hour decline of 3.44%. The market is experiencing significant volatility, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Set to Lose Over $2 Trillion in Market Value in Seven Trading Days

    The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is poised to evaporate over $2 trillion in market value within seven trading days.

  • Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Drops 4% to Lowest Level in Nearly a Month

    The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell by 4.01% during the day, currently reported at 11,215.37 points. Nvidia dropped by 3.25%, Broadcom fell by 2.87%, Micron decreased by 5.79%, Intel declined by 5.81%, AMD dropped by 6.28%, Qualcomm rose by 0.66%, TSMC fell by 4.37%, and ASML decreased by 3.34%.

  • Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Falls 4% to Lowest Level in Nearly a Month

    The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 4.01% during the day, currently reported at 11,215.37 points. Nvidia fell by 3.25%, Broadcom by 2.87%, Micron by 5.79%, Intel by 5.81%, AMD by 6.28%, Qualcomm rose by 0.66%, TSMC fell by 4.37%, and ASML dropped by 3.34%.

  • Ripple Prime Launches Perpetual Contract Trading Services for Institutional Clients

    According to Bloomberg, Ripple's main brokerage division, Ripple Prime, is launching perpetual contracts for real-world assets (RWA) aimed at institutional clients, covering over 100 reference markets including stocks, indices, ETFs, and commodities. This product is offered through Trade.xyz on Hyperliquid, continuing Ripple Prime's previous initiative to provide clients with access to cryptocurrency perpetual contract trading.

  • NYC Comptroller Urges Anthropic to Pause IPO Plans

    On October 15, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine stated in an interview that he has written to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, urging the company to suspend its planned initial public offering (IPO). In the letter, he called for Anthropic to pause its IPO plans until it can fully and transparently address concerns related to AI safety, governance, and development that the company itself has raised. Levine wrote that the company should focus on mitigating these risks rather than advancing the IPO. Currently, New York City has an investment exposure of less than $10 million in Anthropic through the private market.

  • US September PPI Rises 6.3% Year-on-Year, Exceeding Market Expectations

    The US Producer Price Index (PPI) for September recorded a year-on-year increase of 6.3%, the highest since May 2026, surpassing market expectations of 5.3%. The month-on-month PPI for September was reported at 1.3%, significantly higher than the market forecast of 0.5%. Additionally, US retail sales for September showed a month-on-month increase of 0.8%, also exceeding market expectations.