Stablecoins stood out as a rare bright spot in an otherwise muted first quarter for the crypto market. Fresh data from CEX.IO shows the sector expanded despite a broad downturn, underscoring their evolving role as the market’s liquidity backbone and a defensive option for investors navigating volatility.

Overall stablecoin supply climbed to a record $315 billion in Q1, rising by about $8 billion. While that is the slowest pace of growth since the final quarter of 2023, it still marks a net expansion during a period of weaker price action across digital assets. Equally notable is the share of activity they generated: stablecoins accounted for roughly 75% of total crypto trading volume in the quarter—the highest level on record and a signal of ongoing demand for a familiar, fast settlement layer in crypto markets.

Key takeaways

• Record liquidity backbone: Stablecoin supply reached $315 billion in Q1, up about $8 billion year over year, with 75% of crypto trading volume conducted in stablecoins.
• Volume vs. retail: Total stablecoin transaction volume surpassed $28 trillion, reinforcing stablecoins’ central role as the main on-chain liquidity layer, even as retail activity cooled.
• Shift in usage: Retail transfers declined 16% in Q1—the steepest drop on record—while automated activity surged, with bots driving about 76% of stablecoin transaction volume.
• Issuer divergence: USDC supply grew by roughly $2 billion, while USDT declined by about $3 billion—the first meaningful split between the two major issuers since 2022.
• Yield-driven growth amid scrutiny: The market for yield-bearing stablecoins sits around $3.7 billion, with daily trading volumes above $100 million, a dynamic drawing regulatory attention in the U.S.

Bot-driven liquidity reshapes on-chain dynamics

The data depict a notable shift in how stablecoins are used on-chain. While retail demand showed a clear pullback, the rise of algorithmic activity points to a growing involvement from institutions and sophisticated trading strategies. Bots’ dominance—accounting for roughly three-quarters of on-chain stablecoin volume—suggests that liquidity provisioning, arbitrage, and market-making have moved to the forefront of stablecoin use cases.

In a market environment characterized by tighter risk appetites, such automation can enhance price discovery and capital efficiency for major exchanges and liquidity venues. Yet it also raises questions about the resilience of demand when non-retail participants dominate flows, and about the potential for sudden shifts if algorithmic strategies recalibrate in response to evolving market conditions.

Diverging paths for the two largest issuers

Among stablecoin issuers, a clear divergence emerged in Q1. Circle’s USDC saw supply expand by approximately $2 billion, while Tether’s USDt contracted by around $3 billion. This marks the first substantive split between the two since mid-2022 and suggests a relative shift in on-chain usage toward USDC—an outcome consistent with rising USDC transfer activity observed earlier in the year.

Analysts have linked the USDC uptick to broader on-chain utility, including trading, settlement, and financial ops, aligning with data that show USDC’s growing centrality in routine liquidity operations. By contrast, the USDT contraction could reflect a combination of redemption dynamics, reserve management choices, and shifting preferences in certain liquidity pools or markets.

For market participants, the divergence underscores how issuer strategies and trusted rails can influence liquidity distribution across protocols and venues. Investors and builders should monitor whether the USDC-USDT dynamic persists, and what it signals about demand regimes for stablecoins across centralized and decentralized ecosystems.

Further context from industry coverage indicates ongoing upticks in USDC transfer activity, reinforcing the view that USDC is becoming a more prominent vehicle for on-chain finance beyond mere trading pairs.

USDC transfer activity has been cited as a notable trend in on-chain volume, a development that dovetails with the supply data described above.

Yield-bearing stablecoins: growth facing regulatory glare

Another notable dynamic in the quarter was the continued growth of yield-bearing stablecoins, a niche that has drawn heightened scrutiny in the United States. The market for these interest-bearing products sits around $3.7 billion, with daily trading volumes topping $100 million, according to CoinGecko data. The appeal is clear: yield segments can attract capital by offering enhanced returns compared with traditional stablecoins, particularly in an environment of rising interest expectations and evolving DeFi strategies.

However, the same yield-focused segment has become a focal point for policymakers and incumbents concerned about the potential risks and the regulatory framework surrounding crypto markets. Lawmakers and industry participants alike are weighing how yield offerings intersect with investor protection, banking relationships, and the broader stability of the payments and settlement stack. In parallel, traditional banks have pushed back against stablecoins that promise yields, highlighting ongoing regulatory ambiguity as a constraint on product design and market adoption.

In this context, the market data on yield-bearing stablecoins provide a meaningful barometer of how far stablecoin innovation can advance within a regulated framework while balancing the needs of retail users, institutions, and on-chain operators. The relatively modest overall size of the yield-bearing segment — about $3.7 billion — doesn’t yet imply a wholesale shift, but it does suggest that product diversification will continue to shape issuer strategies and market structure decisions in the months ahead.

For readers tracking industry momentum, these dynamics are not isolated. They intersect with broader narratives about stablecoins’ role as a settlement layer, the push toward on-chain financial operations, and the risk-reward calculus for yield-based products in a climate of regulatory review. A recent report highlighted that stablecoins had surpassed traditional payment rails in certain on-chain metrics, underscoring how deeply embedded they have become in crypto liquidity and infrastructure. Earlier analysis noted stablecoins’ growing transfer volumes relative to traditional networks, reinforcing the shift toward crypto-native settlement paradigms.

What this means for traders, users and builders

From an investment and trading standpoint, the quarter’s data suggest that stablecoins remain a critical tool for risk management, liquidity access, and calendar-driven strategies. The sheer scale of on-chain activity—$28 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume—reaffirms stablecoins as the de facto liquidity layer for a broad cross-section of on-chain activity, including arbitrage, price discovery across venues, and cross-border settlement flows.

For developers and protocol teams, the issuer divergence and the dominance of bot-driven flows offer both opportunities and cautions. Platform builders may benefit from deeper liquidity and cheaper execution, but they must consider how to design for resilience in the face of heavy algorithmic participation. Regulators, meanwhile, will likely continue scrutinizing yield-based designs and the broader stability implications of stablecoin markets within the evolving market structure debate. In the U.S., the ongoing policy discussions surrounding a crypto market structure bill and yield rules will shape product features, storage and redemption mechanics, and the viability of certain yield strategies.

What to watch next

Observers should track whether the USDC-USDT divergence persists and how it correlates with on-chain activity patterns and exchange flows. The pace of stablecoin supply growth will be telling as market conditions evolve, particularly if macro cues shift risk appetites or driving factors for demand change. Regulators’ approach to stablecoins with embedded yields will likely influence product development and institutional participation going forward. Finally, the extent to which bot-driven liquidity remains the dominant force behind stablecoin activity will be a key question for traders and market planners in the quarters ahead.

TLDR:

• BitGo Mint launches with support for USD1 and SoFiUSD, streamlining stablecoin operations for institutions.
• The platform combines regulated custody, compliance tools, and in-platform reporting in a single workflow.
• BitGo’s global network of market makers, banks, and fintechs gains direct access to native minting features.
• BitGo plans to expand Mint support to tokenized financial products, including money market funds, over time.
  

BitGo Mint is now live, giving institutional clients a single destination to mint, redeem, and manage stablecoins. BitGo Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BTGO) announced the launch, with initial support for USD1 and SoFiUSD.

The new tool integrates directly within the existing BitGo platform. It reduces the need to coordinate across multiple providers and manual processes. Institutions can now access minting and redemption from one regulated environment.

BitGo Mint Centralizes Stablecoin Operations for Institutional Clients

BitGo Mint brings minting and redemption into a unified workflow for institutional participants. Previously, institutions had to coordinate across several systems and service providers to complete these operations.

That process added complexity and created multiple points of failure. The new platform consolidates these steps into a single, familiar environment.

Clients using BitGo Mint can access regulated custody alongside policy controls and compliance tools. In-platform reporting keeps all activity visible from one dashboard, improving oversight.

These features are already part of the BitGo platform that institutions rely on daily. Adding mint and redeem capability extends what they can do within that same infrastructure.

At launch, BitGo Mint supports two stablecoins: USD1 from World Liberty Financial and SoFiUSD from SoFi. Both are backed by BitGo’s Stablecoin-as-a-Service offering, which powers the minting and redemption process.

This integration makes these functions accessible to a broad range of institutional participants. Market makers, exchanges, banks, asset managers, and fintechs are all among the targeted clients.

Mike Belshe, CEO and Co-founder of BitGo, addressed the platform’s purpose at launch. “BitGo Mint brings minting and redemption into a unified institutional workflow,” he stated.

He noted that clients can reduce operational complexity while staying within the platform they already use. The statement reflected BitGo’s focus on building practical, scalable digital asset infrastructure.

Issuers and Partners Gain Broader Network Access Through BitGo Mint

BitGo Mint also opens a new distribution channel for stablecoin issuers on the platform. Stablecoins powered by BitGo’s Stablecoin-as-a-Service product suite can be made available through the tool.

This gives issuers direct access to BitGo’s global network of institutional clients. The network includes liquidity providers, market makers, financial institutions, and fintech firms.

World Liberty Financial and SoFi both confirmed their assets are available on the new platform. Their handles, @worldlibertyfi and @SoFi, were cited in the official BitGo announcement.

USD1 and SoFiUSD are the first two assets supported at launch. BitGo has indicated plans to expand native mint and redemption support to additional assets over time.

Among the assets expected to be added are tokenized financial products, including money market funds. This expansion aligns with the growing role of tokenized instruments in institutional finance.

BitGo is building infrastructure to support the full lifecycle of these assets. That covers issuance, movement, settlement, and safekeeping — all within one platform.

BitGo Mint reflects the company’s broader strategy to serve growing institutional demand in digital assets. Stablecoins now play a central role in how institutions transfer and settle value digitally.

Having minting and redemption in one place removes friction across trading and liquidity operations. The platform offers a compliant, practical solution for institutions that operate at scale.

Venture capital firm Paradigm is developing a prediction markets trading terminal targeted at professional traders and market makers, according to Fortune. Paradigm partner Arjun Balaji is spearheading the project, which has been in development since late 2025. The move comes as Paradigm has emerged as one of the most active backers of prediction markets, participating in three successive funding rounds for leading platform Kalshi in 2025.

Paradigm’s push into prediction markets infrastructure reflects growing institutional interest in the sector. The venture firm’s involvement with Kalshi, combined with this new trading terminal development, signals deepening commitment to the prediction markets ecosystem as platforms like Kalshi and Coinbase’s prediction markets offering expand.

Sources: Fortune

This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.

TLDR:

• XRP deposit transactions on Binance totaled 310,500 over the past 30 days, a yearly low figure.
  
• Withdrawals reached 329,400, creating a net negative transaction balance of roughly -18,900 in total.
  
• Transaction volumes once exceeded 6 million in a 30-day window before sharply declining in mid-2025.
  
• Steady XRP outflows from Binance may reflect cold wallet transfers and long-term accumulation behavior.
  

XRP transaction activity on Binance has dropped to its lowest point this year. Over the past 30 days, deposit transactions totaled around 310,500, while withdrawals reached approximately 329,400.

This resulted in a net negative count of roughly -18,900 transactions. The data reflects a clear decline in trader and investor activity, pointing to a period of visible market stagnation.

Transaction Volumes Reach Year-Long Lows on Binance

XRP deposits and withdrawals on Binance were considerably higher earlier in the year. At certain points in 2025, total transactions exceeded 6 million within a single 30-day window.

A sharp decline began in mid-2025, and volumes have remained subdued since then. The current figures mark the lowest activity levels recorded since that earlier peak.

Source: Cryptoquant

This drop in volume reflects reduced short-term trading interest across the platform. Fewer transactions generally correspond to lower speculative activity in the market.

As buying and selling pressures ease in tandem, price volatility tends to follow suit. The overall environment points to a quieter phase in XRP trading.

Earlier in 2025, stronger engagement from retail and institutional traders drove higher transaction counts. The mid-year reversal was swift, pulling volume down within a short timeframe.

Since then, no notable recovery has appeared in the available data. This extended period of low activity is consistent with the broader market slowdown.

Fewer deposit transactions also suggest a reduced appetite for exchange-based trading. When assets enter platforms at a lower rate, traders are typically less active in short-term positioning.

This aligns with the declining engagement trend observed on Binance. Together, these factors suggest the market has entered a consolidation phase.

Net Negative Transactions Reflect Steady XRP Outflows From Binance

With withdrawals consistently outpacing deposits, a net negative transaction balance has formed. The -18,900 gap reflects a steady movement of XRP away from the Binance platform.

This outflow pattern has persisted throughout the 30-day observation period. Even at low volumes, sustained outflows carry relevance when tracked over time.

This behavior is sometimes linked to accumulation strategies among longer-term holders. Some traders may be shifting XRP into cold wallets or private storage.

This is a common pattern during quieter market periods when speculation recedes. It does not signal selling pressure but rather a shift in asset management approach.

Moving assets off exchanges during calm periods is a recognized risk management strategy. It gradually reduces exchange-held supply, which is a measurable data point.

This trend does not indicate distress but rather deliberate repositioning by holders. Tracking this movement in the coming weeks will provide additional market clarity.

The current XRP data shows reduced activity and steady outflows on Binance. Volumes remain at yearly lows, and assets continue moving off the platform.

These trends reflect observable exchange data. The market is in a low-momentum phase as traders await clearer direction.

Polymarket has added markets tied to equities, commodities and exchange-traded funds, using price data from blockchain oracle provider Pyth Network as the resolution source to determine outcomes for daily contracts.

The new markets include daily up-or-down and closing price contracts for major equity indexes, commodities such as gold and oil, and a range of US-listed stocks, with outcomes settled automatically based on Pyth’s real-time price feeds. The contracts reset at the end of each trading session.

According to the announcement, the offering includes more than a dozen US-listed stocks, including Tesla, Nvidia and Apple, alongside commodities and equity indices.

By making Pyth the resolution layer for these markets, Polymarket is supplanting manual or exchange-specific references with a standardized data source aggregated from trading firms and market makers.

Zug, Switzerland-based Pyth said it also launched a data interface called Pyth Terminal, where users can track live price feeds and the reference values used to settle markets on Polymarket. Traders can follow a live “price to beat” that updates continuously as markets move.

Polymarket allows users to take positions on the outcomes of real-world events, such as sports, elections, financial markets and weather, with contracts resolving based on whether specific conditions are met.

Last week, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, said it had completed a $600 million cash investment in Polymarket and plans to acquire up to an additional $40 million in shares from existing holders as part of a broader multibillion-dollar commitment to the platform.

Related: Polymarket fee expansion boosts revenue amid regulatory pressure

Oracles expand beyond crypto into real-world data infrastructure

Oracle networks, which bring offchain data such as prices, foreign exchange rates and commodities onto blockchains, are expanding beyond crypto into financial, government and prediction-based applications.

Their role has begun to extend into official data systems, with Chainlink and Pyth Network selected by US government agencies to publish economic data onchain, including GDP and inflation metrics. The announcement sent the PYTH (PYTH) token up more than 70% on the day, lifting its market capitalization past $1 billion.

The announcement comes as oracle providers are being used to power prediction markets and real-world event data, with RedStone integrating data from the CFTC-regulated platform Kalshi across more than 110 blockchains in October.

They are also playing a growing role in connecting crypto platforms to traditional financial markets. In January, Chainlink said it would roll out 24/5 price data for US equities and ETFs to crypto platforms, enabling trading, lending and derivatives tied to tokenized stocks beyond standard market hours.

The following month, Ondo Finance said it had integrated Chainlink as the data provider for tokenized US equities on its Ondo Global Markets platform, where the feeds are used to support lending and collateralization.

Data from DeFiLlama shows a highly concentrated oracle market, with Chainlink accounting for around 64% of total value secured. Other providers, including RedStone and Pyth Network, hold much smaller shares at around 5% each.

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