Stablecoin Market Sees Surge Amid GENIUS Act Restrictions
According to Cointelegraph, the stablecoin market has experienced significant growth following the implementation of the GENIUS stablecoin bill in July, which prohibits issuers from offering yields on stablecoins. Ethena USDe (USDe) and Sky’s USDS (USDS) have emerged as major beneficiaries, providing yields when staked in their respective protocols. Since July 18, USDe's circulating supply has increased by 70% to 9.49 billion, ranking third in market capitalization among stablecoins. Similarly, USDS's supply rose by 23% to nearly 4.81 billion, placing it fourth in market capitalization, as reported by DefiLlama.
The surge in USDe supply has led to a 60% rally in the price of ENA, Ethena’s governance token, with its current price at $0.58, according to CoinGecko. Yield-bearing stablecoins have become unexpected winners in the post-GENIUS era, despite the act disallowing them in the U.S., as noted by Anthony Yim, co-founder of analytics firm Artemis. Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant's Head of Research, highlighted that investors are increasingly turning to yield-bearing stablecoins like USDe and USDS, which offer yields through staking within their protocols. This shift is attributed to the GENIUS act's ban on direct yield provision by issuers.
The stablecoin market has grown from $205 billion at the beginning of the year to $268 billion currently, marking a 23.5% increase, according to DefiLlama. Moreno predicts that the total stablecoin supply could reach $300 billion by year-end if the growth trend persists. However, Temujin Louie, CEO of Wanchain, cautioned that tokenization efforts by traditional finance players might impede stablecoin growth, as they offer similar benefits without compromising safety and regulatory oversight.
A report from July suggests that the demand for decentralized finance applications on the Ethereum network may rise following the GENIUS Act's restrictions on yield-bearing stablecoins. Yield-bearing stablecoins generate returns through staking, lending, or utilizing real-world assets like US Treasurys, providing passive income for tokenholders. These stablecoins offer a real rate of return, adjusted for inflation, with the current U.S. headline inflation rate at 2.7% for June. Staked USDe (sUSDe) offers an annual percentage yield (APY) of 10.86%, while staked USDS (sUSDS) provides an APY of 4.75%, resulting in real rates of return of 8.16% and 2.05%, respectively.
