Stablecoin usage surged in Q3 as market cap hits $170b: Coinbase
The third quarter of 2024 noticed a surge in stablecoin use and adoption, in accordance with Coinbase’s 4th Quarter Information to Crypto Markets report with Glassnode.
Stablecoins hit an all-time excessive market capitalization of practically $170 billion in Q3 2024, in accordance with the report. This development occurred alongside the implementation of the European Union’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, which launched clearer guidelines for stablecoin operations.
Stablecoins have become a key tool for customers in search of sooner, cheaper, and safer transactions. Their utility in cost programs, together with remittances and cross-border transfers, has continued to develop.
Just lately, Anthony Pompliano argued that tech improvements outdoors of crypto might result in a brand new period during which stablecoins grow to be the first transaction medium in a machine-driven economic system. This elevated adoption displays the rising function of stablecoins in crypto buying and selling and real-world monetary programs.
In line with the report, stablecoin volumes have reached practically $20 trillion year-to-date as of the third quarter, indicating their rising function within the international economic system.
Stablecoin and Bitcoin dominance
Stablecoin dominance additionally elevated in Q3 alongside Bitcoin (BTC), with crypto buyers gravitating towards what they see because the highest-quality digital property.
The present BTC cycle intently tracks the 2015-2018 and 2018-2022 cycles, which ended with practically 2,000% and 600% returns, in accordance with the report.
What’s MiCA?
The Markets in Crypto-Belongings Regulation is a comprehensive framework enacted by the European Union in June 2023 to control the crypto trade throughout its 27 member international locations. It initiates a 12-18 month transition interval for implementing guidelines on anti-money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism and digital asset custody, amongst others.
MiCA’s influence on stablecoins nonetheless stays to be seen, however Tether (USDT) CEO Paolo Ardoino expressed concern that MiCA’s 60% money reserve requirement for stablecoins might create systemic dangers for European banks. He argued that such laws would possibly exacerbate liquidity points throughout large-scale redemptions, doubtlessly resulting in financial institution failures.