Circle Has Minted Over $8 Billion USDC Since Start Of February

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US-based stablecoin issuer Circle has minted over $8 billion in USDC since the start of February, according to data from the Arkham Intel platform. 

USDC is still the second-largest stablecoin by market cap at $78 billion. USDT has a market cap of $184 billion whilst the third-largest stablecoin is USDS with nearly $8 billion. The total market cap of stablecoins is now nearly $315 billion. 

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Circle’s recent minting comes despite the crypto market being in the midst of a crypto winter. Historically, traders have rotated into stablecoins ahead of a potential rebound. However, it could also be interpreted as a sign of caution in the markets. 

You can interact with the specific transactions on Solana in this interactive window direct from the Arkham Intel platform:

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The USDC Mint Authority is the Circle address used to mint USDC on the Solana blockchain. Currently, 10.7% of all minted USDC exists on Solana, equating to $8.4 billion. 66% of circulating USDC is on the Ethereum network. However, a large chunk of USDC is on Ethereum L2s like Base (5.5%) and Arbitrum (2.7%).

The stablecoin market cap reached $300 billion in early October, around the time BTC reached its ATH. Since then, stablecoin circulation has plateaued as the BTC price crashed. However, in recent weeks, stablecoin circulation has once again started climbing, according to data from DefiLlama. 

This rise in stablecoin circulation is occurring as banks and crypto companies debate the issue of stablecoin yields. This issue is one of the sticking points holding up the Clarity Act as it makes its way through Congress. Read our explainer on the stablecoin yield dispute here.