The just-passed year 2024 has created many opportunities for the wider crypto market, with several crypto-based companies and institutions generating massive on-chain revenue. 

According to data from DefiLlama in the last month of 2024, stablecoins issuers succeeded in booking huge revenue of $664 million, representing over 40 percent of the total generated by such protocols. 

It is worth noting that the issuer of USDT, Tether emerged as the top contributor, in revenue with $532.10 million closely followed by Circle followed by $132.77 million.

The stablecoin industry is dominated by Tether and Circle, who own approximately 90% of the market, which is worth over $200 billion.

Speculation over Tether’s future and possible USDT volatility increased as the market capitalization of USDT dropped from its December peak of $140 billion to $137 billion. 

With the passage of new legislation, there were worries that USDT’s operator may leave the EU. The amount of USDC in circulation as of January 2 is close to $44 billion, over twice as much as the 2023 low of less than $24 billion. 

Dan Smith, the data analytics manager at Blockworks, stated in a post on the X platform on January 2 that as consumers move away from Ethereum, holdings are more fairly split among blockchain networks.

Stablecoins leading the way in the market! 

Stablecoins’ capacity to provide investors a haven in times of market turbulence is one of the main reasons they are setting the standard. Stablecoins give investors a low-risk way to park their money by keeping a steady value, which lessens their exposure to market swings.

Regulators and institutional investors are also taking notice of stablecoins‘ ascent. The potential of stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to increase monetary policy, lower transaction costs, and promote financial inclusion is being investigated by several central banks and governments.

All things considered, stablecoins are driving the crypto industry by functioning as a reliable store of value, promoting DeFi expansion, and drawing interest from institutions and regulators. It will be intriguing to observe how stablecoins continue to influence the direction of digital assets as the market develops.

Additionally, stablecoins are helping decentralized finance (DeFi) systems and protocols expand. Stablecoins serve as a reliable store of value and a means of exchange for many DeFi apps, allowing users to lend, borrow, and trade digital assets without requiring permission or trust.

Stablecoins are indeed a major factor in setting the standard for the cryptocurrency market. In recent years, these digital assets which are intended to hold a steady value in relation to fiat money have grown and been widely used.

As of writing the cryptocurrency market capitalization was $3.45 trillion with an intraday surge of 0.61 percent at the same time Bitcoin was trading at above the market of $95k.