Counting coins

Bitcoin returned to the spotlight with its price rising above USD 60,000 driven in part by the USD 6 billion of net inflows to bitcoin ETFs since their launch in January 2024.  It is also important to look at what opportunities may arise from broader asset tokenization. Recent growth of stablecoins, typically one-to-one tokenized versions of fiat US dollars, has been largely led by offshore and unregulated market leaders such as Tether. Tether now has over USD 100 billion in circulation. Tether’s use case has thus far been largely limited to crypto trading without significant integration into mainstream payment platforms. Going forward, there exists greater opportunity for stablecoins within onshore, regulated and mainstream markets including remittances and cross border payments. For instance, the financial technology startup Circle has partnered with Grab and Mercado Libre to integrate its USD-based stablecoin into those firms digital wallets. 

Stablecoins in circulation

Source: DefiLlama, February 2024