Original title: Coinbase stable currency is suspected of false publicity, and its reserve assets are at risk of default.

The APP of Zhitong Finance has learned that some of the reserve assets of stable currencies issued by Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, are reported to be at risk of default. Earlier, Coinbase said its stable currency was backed by cash.

For months, visitors to Coinbase's website have seen that the company has launched a stable currency called USD Coin (USDC) and promised that for every $1 investors invest in the currency, there will be $1 in the "bank account" as backing.

This commitment is crucial. Unlike Bitcoin, stable coins have a fixed price and can be converted into regular currencies. This has helped USD Coin grow into the second largest stable currency in the world, with assets of US $28 billion.

But Circle Internet Financial Inc., Coinbase's partner, disclosed USD coin's assets for the first time last month, a promise that turned out to be untrue.

These assets actually include commercial paper, corporate bonds and other assets, which could suffer losses and reduce liquidity if customers try to collectively redeem stable currencies, according to the documents.

Experts say this is likely to attract the attention of US regulators and law enforcement agencies, who have recently seen a stable currency as a potential risk to the economy.

"you can't use false information to promote products," said Lev Menand, a lecturer at Columbia University Law School. Failure to disclose the truth could be seen as a violation of consumer protection provisions, he added. "there is a lot of evidence that assets backed by dollars held in bank accounts are different from those backed by US Treasuries or corporate bonds, and there is a big difference between them."

Based on this, the Federal Trade Commission can conduct an investigation to combat "unfair or fraudulent practices."

Over the past few months, stable currencies have come under increasing scrutiny by the government as US investors inject money into the stable currency market. As of last week, the value of such currencies was $117 billion. Earlier, the New York attorney general accused the world's largest stable currency, the Tether, of lying about supporting its reserves of tokens. At present, the two sides have reached a settlement.

An executive at Circle said in a statement that the company's disclosed documents and marketing materials provided accurate information. Centre, a consortium formed by Circle and Coinbase to manage the USD Coin agreement, did not respond to a request for comment.

"each USDC unit is backed by one dollar or equivalent fair value assets, which are deposited in the accounts of financial institutions regulated in the United States," Andrew Schmitt, a spokesman for Coinbase, said in a statement on Tuesday. Users can always exchange a unit of USD Coin for $1. We have added more details to the website so that customers can learn more about USDC reserves. "

Before public opinion simmered, Coinbase said on its website that USD Coin was backed by dollars "held in bank accounts". On the detailed introduction page of the token, Coinbase said it was "100 per cent guaranteed by the corresponding US dollars held in the issuer's bank account".