Stablecoins market cap surpasses $164 billion marking new growth phase

The market cap for major stablecoins is rising again after several months of consolidation. Data from Defillama shows that the market cap for stablecoins crossed $164 billion on Thursday, the first time since Terra UST collapsed in May 2022.

Also Read: Stablecoins supply returns to 2022 bull market levels

Most of this growth is tied to Tether USDT and Circle USDC. The top two stablecoins recorded 1.53% and 4.63% over the past 30 days, respectively. However, analysts believe this signifies a potential price increase in the crypto markets.

Tether USDT dominates stablecoin market

Tether USDT achieved a major milestone today, with its market cap crossing $114 billion. This is the highest amount of USDT in circulation, highlighting its dominance over other stablecoins. Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, acknowledged this growth, noting that the USDT market cap was only $65.8 billion 2 years ago.

USDT’s growth over that period resulted from mass adoption, particularly in emerging and developing economies. It is also a sign of its resilience, particularly amid speculations about its stability and liquidity issues that affected several crypto protocols, including its competitor, USDC.

With a market cap of over $114 billion, USDT is $80 billion above USDC’s $34 billion market cap. Unsurprisingly, Ardoino recently said that he considers Tether USDT a global payment system, not just a stablecoin. Meanwhile, USDC has also been growing in recent months.

However, USDT might soon face new competition as several other companies plan to issue stablecoins. Crypto firms such as Ripple Labs and traditional financial institutions such as State Street and Goldman Sach are reportedly considering issuing a dollar-backed stablecoin.

Stablecoins expansion is a sign of market bullishness

Meanwhile, several experts see the expansion of stablecoin supply as a good sign for the market. Crypto market maker Wintermute said in a note that it is a sign of on-chain investments, which can increase market liquidity and drive prices up. It stated:

“The increase in stablecoin supply shows that money is being invested in on-chain ecosystems to create economic activity.”

Multichain analytics platform Nansen also highlighted the growth in stablecoins market cap after months of remaining flat. It described it as a bullish sign showing “increased demand and growing confidence” in stablecoins.

Also Read: Circle debuts its euro-pegged stablecoin on Base

Market analyst Cryptic also shares this view. They noted in a post on X that this could indicate that crypto prices will increase and referred to the last time stablecoins had an increase in flow between March and April 2024. BTC reached its all-time high during that period.