USDC Leads Regulated Stablecoin Surge

In 2024, Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) emerged as a frontrunner in the realm of regulated stablecoins, riding a wave of increasing demand and adoption. According to a recent report by Kaiko, a prominent crypto intelligence firm, USDC, the flagship stablecoin of Boston-based payments company Circle, has seen a significant surge in trading volumes. This surge comes on the heels of Circle’s strategic move to ensure compliance with the European Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA), a key regulatory framework aimed at enhancing transparency and security in the crypto market.

Despite the dominance of non-compliant stablecoins, which currently account for 88% of the total stablecoin market volume, the tide appears to be shifting. Kaiko’s findings indicate a notable rise in the trading volumes of regulated stablecoins over the past year. This trend suggests a growing preference among exchanges and market participants for stablecoins that adhere to regulatory standards, such as USDC and EURC.

Major cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, Bitstamp, Kraken, and OKX have already taken proactive steps by delisting non-compliant stablecoins for their European clientele. This move underscores a broader industry shift towards regulatory compliance, potentially reshaping the stablecoin landscape in the near future.

Kaiko’s report highlights USDC’s resilience and growing market presence, attributing its success partly to its increasing use in perpetual futures settlements. While USDC’s share in perpetual futures markets remains small compared to industry leader Tether (USDT), its adoption for settlements in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) perpetuals has seen a noteworthy uptick.

In particular, the usage of USDC in BTC perpetuals on platforms like Binance and Bybit has surged from 0.3% to 3.6% since the beginning of the year. Similarly, ETH-USDC trade volumes in perpetual contracts have risen significantly from 1% to over 6.8% over the same period, indicating a substantial growth.