The stablecoin market, valued at $137 billion, has been shaken after New York-based Paxos Trust Company announced it would cease issuing new BUSD tokens after U.S. regulators labeled the asset an unregistered security.
The future of the market has been thrown into question, with investors scrambling to figure out how the seismic shift will affect the value of their tokens. Stablecoins are typically backed by traditional assets like dollars and U.S. Treasuries to control the wild swings that characterize cryptocurrencies.
The announcement hasn’t had an immediate negative impact on the stablecoin market, though. In fact, it has grown by $2 billion since the news. Instead, rivals are competing to benefit from the struggles of BUSD, the third-largest stablecoin in the world, whose market value has dropped from $16.1 billion to $12.9 billion, with its market share narrowing from 12.1% to 9.4%.
Tether (USDT), the market leader, has been a big winner, adding $1.9 billion to its market capitalization to reach $70.3 billion, now commanding 52.6% of the stablecoin market, up from just over 51%. Circle’s USD Coin, the second-largest stablecoin, has increased by over $700 million to $42 billion, lifting its market share to 31.3% from 30.9%.
The drop in BUSD has caused a significant shift in the stablecoin market, according to Markus Thielen, head of research and strategy at crypto firm Matrixport. BUSD is primarily used for trading on Binance, the world’s largest crypto trading platform, but its use is limited in other parts of the crypto world.
The value of stablecoins will continue to be closely monitored in the coming days and weeks as the market navigates the repercussions of Paxos Trust Company’s announcement.
Tether’s dominance in the market indicates that it may be attempting to take control, and it remains to be seen how this will play out in the wider cryptocurrency world.
