Crypto-exchange Bitfinex continues to move on from last month’s Tether cover-up accusations, announcing the distribution of its new utility token. Parent iFinex, who raised $1 billion through the private offering, will list the token on the exchange from Monday.

Bitfinex: Another Cryptocurrency Exchange Utility Token

Well if everyone else is doing it… Binance certainly seems to have done very well out of BNB, so why not emulate?

Bitfinex is proud to announce the upcoming distribution of UNUS SED LEO tokens to participants following completion of $1bn contribution.https://t.co/JkGiq2Bn6k

Trading against BTC, USD, USDt, EOS, and ETH will commence on Monday May 20th, at 08:00 UTC on Bitfinex.

— Bitfinex (@bitfinex) May 17, 2019

And it seems like Bitfinex very much has emulated Binance’s BNB. From the benefits offered by the UNUS SED LEO token, to the buyback and burn policy. Holders of the token will benefit from reduced fees across pretty much the whole Bitfinex (and wider iFinex) ecosystem.

It is likely that holders will also get preferential treatment in any future token sales held through a mooted iFinex initial exchange offering (IEO) platform. Again, a la Binance.

The white-paper also guaranteed a high proportion of recovered funds would be used for buyback and burns of LEO tokens.  This refers to funds which are recovered both from Crypto-Capital and a 2016 hack on the exchange.

UNUS SED LEO? Really?

Yep, and the token-distribution announcement mentions it five times, although the white-paper referred to it as simply LEO.

Apparently, it is the company motto (who knew?), and comes from Aesop’s fable, “The Sow and the Lioness”. The sow is bragging about how many children she has, and asks the lioness is she only has one. To which the lioness replies, “One, but a lion.”

Well quite.

Anyway, the tokens will commence trading against BTC, USD, USDT, EOS, and ETH from 08:00 UTC on Monday, May 20.

Weathering The Tether Fallout

Bitfinex seem to have managed the fallout from the New York Attorney General over Tether pretty effectively. Although the immediate aftermath saw traders fleeing both Tether and the Bitfinex platform, this has calmed down considerably in recent weeks.

Certainly the company can (and do) point to the $1 billion raised in the private token sale as testament to the underlying trust in the company. The white-paper also does not try to hide any facts about the recent misfortunes, and this openness is perhaps the best way forward.

Will this capital raise help Bitfinex overcome its problems? Share your thoughts below!

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