The stablecoin market is the wonder kid roght now, that unflappable anchor in crypto’s rodeo.
Experts reported that on Saturday, December 13, it crested a dizzying new high, $310.117 billion market cap.
Hovering at $309.911 billion now, it’s proof the sector’s got legs, and they’re sprinting.
Stablecoin minting frenzy
Tether’s USDT reigns supreme , a colossus at $186.242 billion with 60.10% dominance. Circle’s USDC plays loyal sidekick, packing $78.315 billion and 25% of the pie.
Source: DeFiLlamaOver the past year, stablecoins ballooned 52.1% from $203.728 billion.
Even October’s market bloodbath couldn’t stop the charge, dipped to $302.837 billion in November, then roared back.
The past week? Analysts said that was a pure minting frenzy. USDT swelled 0.32%, pumping $593.34 million onto Tron, Solana, Arbitrum, Aptos, and Polygon.
USDC leaped 0.71%, adding $555.56 million across Ethereum, Solana, Hyperliquid, Base, and BSC. Sky’s USDS, PayPal’s PYUSD, and World Liberty Financial’s USD1 joined the fresh-print party.
Tron’s USDD surged 23.46%, crvUSD rocketed 28.92%. Sector-wide, 0.57% gain, $1.79 billion added. Billions everywhere.
Sometimes redemptions are outpacing mints
Not every knight shone bright. BlackRock’s BUIDL tumbled 13.24% to $1.321 billion. Yield-bearing stablecoins?
They’re the comic relief stumbling offstage. Ethena’s USDe shed 2.98% to $6.525 billion; USDtb cratered 18.99% to $850.8 million.
Post-October peg-slip, these yield-chasers lost their sparkle. StableWatch data is also clear, 1.9% drop in 30 days, redemptions outpacing mints. alUSD plunged 80.5%, smsUSD 68.1%, sBOLD 13.6%.
Total yield pool is $19.86 billion across 64 coins. Real drivers? Plain-vanilla payment stablecoins.
YouTube now pays U.S. creators in PYUSD
Cue the plot twist, PayPal USD gets real-world legs. Fortune reports YouTube now pays U.S. creators in PYUSD, confirmed by PayPal’s May Zabaneh and a Google rep.
Google’s dabbled before, snagging PYUSD payments from clients. PayPal’s fintech muscle is shoving PYUSD everywhere, recipients can opt in.
Up 13.33% in 30 days to $3.863 billion, sixth-biggest payment stablecoin . Unbelivable, but here we are.
The ordeal reveals the truth, stablecoin growth thrives on battle-tested payment kings, not flashy yield gambles.
Heroes like USDT and PYUSD conquer chaos, minting billions while yield pretenders fade like bad sequels.
Crypto’s steady eddy just proved it’s no flash in the pan, but it’s the backbone bloating to infinity.
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
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With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
