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Sonic Labs Unveils USSD Stablecoin as Network Looks to Reverse Decline

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Sonic TVL chart

Sonic’s TVL has plunged to just $34 million, down 97% from its May 2025 peak.

Sonic Labs has introduced the US Sonic Dollar (USSD), a native stablecoin designed to serve as the primary stable liquidity layer across Sonic’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The launch arrives at a pivotal moment for the Layer 1 blockchain, which has seen its key metrics slide sharply over the past year.

Built on Frax’s frxUSD infrastructure, USSD combines permissionless on-chain access with institutional-grade backing from BlackRock, Superstate, and WisdomTree. The stablecoin is fully pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and is available with zero minting fees through non-custodial smart contracts, mintable from over 10 chains using supported assets such as USDC, USDT, PYUSD, and tokenized Treasury products.

Under Pressure

Last year, Sonic reached $1 billion in total value locked (TVL) within just 66 days of launching, but that momentum did not sustain. TVL fell by two-thirds from $1.1 billion in May 2025 to around $367 million by September. According to DefiLlama, the chain’s TVL now sits around $34 million, a fraction of its peak.

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Sonic TVL chart
Sonic TVL

The S token has followed a similar trajectory. S reached an all-time high of $1.03 in January 2025 and has since fallen roughly 96%, according to Coingecko. Over the past month alone, S has dropped approximately 13%, and currently trades at a market capitalization of $150 million.

S Chart
S Chart

Vertical Integration

Against that backdrop, Sonic is framing USSD less as a product launch and more as a structural fix.

“When a network’s primary stable asset is external, liquidity fragments and incentives become harder to align,” Sonic said in a blog post.

Yield generated by the assets backing USSD is designed to flow back into the Sonic ecosystem rather than being retained externally, supporting buybacks and ecosystem incentives as usage grows. The idea is to create a self-reinforcing liquidity loop rather than relying on mercenary capital or third-party market makers.

USSD is live on Sonic, Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, and seven additional chains.

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Crypto World

Bitcoin ETF Flows Rise As Gold Demand Cools: What’s Next for BTC?

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Cryptocurrencies, Israel, Gold, Bitcoin Price, Bitcoin Analysis, Adoption, Iran, Markets, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Bitcoin ETF, ETF

Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows have turned net positive over the past 30 days, while gold ETF demand has started to slow down after nine straight months of inflows. The shift comes even as gold prices remain elevated and sentiment around Bitcoin continues to cool.

With these contrasting trends in ETF flows and the historical pattern of Bitcoin-to-gold performance cycles, analysts are now examining data that may signal a gradual shift in investor demand between the two assets. 

Are ETF flows beginning to rotate?

According to the Kobeissi Letter, the largest US gold-backed ETF, GLD, recorded a $3 billion outflow on Wednesday, the largest daily withdrawal in more than two years. The move followed a 4.4% decline in gold prices, the sharpest drop since the Jan. 30 sell-off.

Gold ETFs had attracted $18.7 billion in January and another $5.3 billion in February, marking the strongest two-month start to a year on record and extending a nine-month inflow streak. The latest outflow points to investors taking profits after gold’s massive rally in 2025.

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Bitcoin ETF flows moved in the opposite direction over the past month. The 30-day net flow shifted to a $273 million inflow on March 6 from a $1.9 billion outflow on Feb. 6

Cryptocurrencies, Israel, Gold, Bitcoin Price, Bitcoin Analysis, Adoption, Iran, Markets, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Bitcoin ETF, ETF
Bitcoin and gold net ETF inflows over the past 30-days. Source: bold.report

The holdings data measured in native units show the divergence more clearly. Bitcoin ETF balances moved to a net increase of 4,021 BTC on March 6 from −42,275 BTC on Feb. 6. Gold ETF holdings declined from 1.4 million ounces to 621,100 ounces during the same period.

The native units represent the actual underlying asset held by funds rather than the dollar value of those holdings. Tracking BTC or ounces isolates real accumulation or distribution without the distortion created by the price movements.

Head of growth at Horizon, Joe Consorti, summarized the current trend and said,  

“Gold is stalling out while bitcoin is soaring. BTC is set to overtake gold’s % growth over the last month as the U.S. economy accelerates and risk sentiment improves. The anticipated risk-off → risk-on rotation could be underway.”

Related: Bitcoin dip may not be over as retail ramps up buying below $70K: Santiment

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Gold rallies precede Bitcoin recoveries

In a “2026 Look Ahead” report released at the end of December 2025, Fidelity Digital Assets analyst Chris Kuiper noted that gold’s 65% return in 2025 was the fourth-largest annual gain since the end of the gold standard. With respect to past rallies, Kuiper noted that gold is potentially near the late stages of its leadership cycle between the two assets. Kuiper said, 

“Historically, gold and bitcoin have taken turns outperforming. With gold shining in 2025, it would not be surprising if bitcoin takes the lead next.”

However, the rotation may take some time to unfold in the market. 

Cryptocurrencies, Israel, Gold, Bitcoin Price, Bitcoin Analysis, Adoption, Iran, Markets, Price Analysis, Market Analysis, Bitcoin ETF, ETF
Bitcoin-to-gold ratio analysis. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

As illustrated in the chart, BTC needed roughly 147 days or 21 weeks to establish a sustained trend outperforming gold after Bitcoin’s 2022 bottom. The period marked a consolidation phase before the ratio began trending higher.

The BTC-to-gold ratio currently trades near the same consolidation zone seen during the earlier rotation phases in 2022-2023.

Kuiper also added that both assets can benefit from the persistent fiscal deficits, trade tensions, and geopolitical uncertainty as investors seek neutral stores of value outside traditional monetary systems.

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The ongoing US-Israel and Iran war has reinforced demand for traditional safe-haven assets, which previously supported gold rallies during periods of geopolitical stress.

Meanwhile, macroeconomic strategist Lyn Alden expects Bitcoin to outperform gold over the next two to three years following gold’s recent rally in the past few months. 

Related: When buying Bitcoin, don’t expect profit for at least 3 years: Data