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🏀TradFi Adoption Propels USDC Rebound
The Defiant Daily
Together with
GM Defiers!
Circle published a comprehensive report examining the recent performance of its USDC stablecoin. Despite USDC's market cap falling significantly in 2023, Circle notes a 59% increase in the number of wallets holding at least 10 USDC alongside an uptick in transaction volume, attributing the data to increasing adoption from the traditional banking sector.
Ethereum hosted a record 22.7 transactions per second on Jan. 14. The milestone coincided with Ether's supply dropping to new post-merge lows amid a persistently high burn-rate.
Plus, upstart Ethereum Layer 2s Mantle and Metis both deployed testnet deployments for major forthcoming upgrades.
✍️ In today’s newsletter:
- Circle touts tradfi adoption of USDC
- Ethereum's on-chain activity soars to new highs
- Mantle launches v2 iteration on testnet
- Metis invites community to test decentralized sequencer
🙏Sponsored
📈 Markets in last 24 hrs:
| Ticker | Value | 24h |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | $41,801 | ↙ -2.44% |
| ETH | $2,478 | ↙ -3.8% |
| S&P 500 | $4,784 | ↗ 0.08% |
| GOLD | $2,055 | ↗ 0.4% |
| Arch WEB3 | 1.28pts | ↗ +2.19% |
| ↳ FINANCE | 1.23pts | ↗ 1.96% |
| ↳ INFRA | 1.41pts | ↗ 1.91% |
| ↳ CONSUMER | 1.40pts | ↗ 3.59% |
Learn more about Arch Indices here.
🎬 WATCH
In this week's Crypto with Cami, we explore the aftermath of spot Bitcoin ETF approval. Also watch our podcast with Matt Hougan, the CIO of Bitwise, to get his take on what the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs means for the digital asset markets and web3 sector.
THANKING OUR NEWSLETTER SPONSORS
| Newsletter continues below |
Stablecoins
Circle Releases USDC ‘State of Economy’ Report As Market Cap Rebounds
TLDR A new report from Circle reports more than $197B worth of USDC was transferred between the traditional banking system and blockchain networks in 2023, helping to drive an uptick in USDC transaction volume. The number of wallets holding at least 10 USDC also grew 59% last year.
SO WHAT Circle's report highlights USDC's increasing adoption despite the stablecoin's market cap shrinking 43% since the start of 2023. However, USDC's supply has grown by $1.6B since bottoming out in November.
READ MORE: Circle Releases USDC ‘State of Economy’ Report As Market Cap Rebounds
Ethereum
Ethereum Throughput Tags Record High As Burn Rate Drives Down ETH Supply
TLDR Ethereum hosted a record daily throughput of 22.7 transactions per second on Jan. 14, equating to nearly 2M transactions in 24 hours. The milestone also coincides with a high burn-rate pushing Ether's supply to new post-merge lows.
SO WHAT The spike in Ethereum's on-chain activity comes as activity on Layer 2 is also persistently high, with Arbitrum and ZkSync Era both ranking among the network's top burning entities on the network. Uniswap remains the leading burning protocol, accounting for more than one third of Ether burned in the past seven days.
READ MORE: Ethereum Throughput Tags Record High As Burn Rate Drives Down ETH Supply
SPONSORED SHOUTOUT
Stellar Network's Soroban Smart Contract Platform Releases the Phased Rollout Timeline
Over the past two years, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) and the wider Stellar community have worked tirelessly to bring smart contract functionality to the Stellar network, which will usher in new capabilities and opportunities that will work with all existing network functionality.
Recently the Stellar Development Foundation and the maintainers of key Stellar SDKs announced the release of a full suite of software that supports Protocol 20, which will bring Soroban smart contracts to Stellar. With the technical pieces now in place, Stellar network validators have agreed to a January 30 vote on the Mainnet upgrade to Protocol 20.
Layer 2
Mantle Launches V2 Iteration On Testnet Following Impressive Growth
TLDR Mantle launched its v2 iteration on Ethereum's Sepolia testnet. Mantle v2 is built on top of Optimism's OP Stack, and also enables gasless transactions and support for EIP-1559.
SO WHAT Mantle's v2 overhaul paves the way for Mantle joining Optimism's Superchain, the forthcoming interconnected ecosystem of OP Stack-based Layer 2s. The news comes after Mantle emerged as a leading L2 by throughput, ranking as the top Layer 2 by transaction volume on Jan. 15.
READ MORE: Mantle Launches V2 Iteration On Testnet Following Impressive Growth
Layer 2
Metis Launches Decentralized Sequencer On Testnet Following Meteoric Growth
TLDR Metis has launched a decentralized sequencer on testnet. The project is offering points to reward users who help to stress-test the new sequencer.
SO WHAT Metis says it is committed to becoming the first Layer 2 network to decentralize its sequencer, with many rival L2s having long promised sequencer decentralization but making few moves to realize such. The news follows meteoric growth for Metis, with network TVL up 776% and METIS's price up 384% in 30 days.
READ MORE: Metis Launches Decentralized Sequencer On Testnet Following Meteoric Growth
🔎 OUR REPORTERS ARE WATCHING
🌍 ELSEWHERE
- EU Banking Watchdog Extends Anti-Money Laundering Measures to Cover Crypto Firms (CoinDesk)
- Tether challenges UN claims of USDT use in illegal activities, advocates for blockchain education (CryptoSlate)
- Chainlink integrates with Circle’s CCTP protocol for cross-chain USDC transfers (The Block)
