USDC weekly volume soars 155% in 2024 following MiCA implementation

Key Takeaways

• USDC's weekly trading volume surged to $23 billion in 2024, up from $5 billion in 2022.
• USDC's market share on CEXs rose from 60% to over 90% after Binance re-listing in March 2023.

The new requirements on stablecoin issuers applied by the European Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA) are boosting the demand for Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), according to on-chain analysis firm Kaiko. USDC’s weekly trading volume surged to $23 billion in 2024, up from $9 billion in 2023 and $5 billion in 2022.

Circle recently announced its compliance with MiCA, which came into force on June 30 in Europe. The regulation requires stablecoin issuers to meet standards in whitepaper publication, governance, reserves management, and prudential practices.

While non-compliant stablecoins still dominate 88% of the total stablecoin volume, the market is shifting, Kaiko analysts highlighted. Major crypto exchanges like Binance, Bitstamp, Kraken, and OKX have implemented restrictions, delisting non-compliant stablecoins for European customers.

USDC’s market share has reached a record high, approaching FDUSD’s 14%. Centralized exchanges (CEXs) have played a crucial role in this surge, with USDC’s market share on CEXs rising from an average of 60% to more than 90% across all exchanges after Binance re-listed it in March 2023.

The stablecoin’s increased usage extends to perpetual futures settlement. The share of Bitcoin perpetuals denominated in USDC on Binance and Bybit rose to 3.6% from 0.3% in January, while Ethereum/USDC trade volume increased to over 6.8% from 1% at the beginning of the year.

This trend suggests a growing preference for transparent and regulated stablecoin alternatives as new regulations come into effect.

However, the USDC monthly on-chain transfer volume plummeted in June, according to data aggregator Artemis. After reaching a $2.7 trillion peak in May, Circle’s stablecoin transfer volume fell to $1.2 trillion the following month, while Tether USD (USDT) managed to lose less than $30 billion of its volume.

Notably, up until now, USDT is ahead of USDC in monthly on-chain transfer volume by $30 billion.