USDC has been consistently losing ground since March 2023 when it temporarily lost its $1 stability. According to recent data from CoinMarketCap (CMC), following a shocking decline within the last week, USDC’s market value fell to $27.35 billion levels at the beginning of the week.
USDC’s Market Value Drops to $27.35 Billion
Upon the discovery that Circle, the company issuing USDC, held $3.3 billion in reserves in the bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), USDC entered a turbulent period since March 2023. Despite temporarily losing its $1 stability during this period, USDC continued to bleed out steadily in recent months.
However, on the first day of July, there was a sharp drop in the market value of USDC, which had been continuously losing ground in recent months. According to CMC data, on July 1, USDC’s total market value fell to nearly the lowest levels in recent years, down to $27.35 billion. Mid-2022, USDC’s market value had exceeded $51 billion, but currently stands at $27.64 billion within the time frame of this article.
USDT’s Rising Market Dominance
The crisis at USDC has bolstered the strength of USDT, currently the largest stable cryptocurrency in terms of market value. After New York regulators ordered Paxos to halt the issuance of BUSD, Binance USD also faced a similar crisis to USDC. As a result, there was a significant increase in the market value and market dominance of the leading stablecoin USDT during this period.
However, despite the increase in market value and market dominance, Tether, the issuer of USDT, had been on the radar of many regulators, especially those in the US, and had been targeted for criticism. Criticisms were raised regarding Tether not holding sufficient cash reserves and lacking transparent management. Despite Tether‘s company repeatedly responding to criticisms, it failed to fully clear the doubts in the investors’ minds.
