The stablecoin ecosystem enters a new phase: the transition from issuance to distribution

Stablecoins have become one of the most widely used products in the crypto space, with a total supply exceeding $240 billion and an annual trading volume of over $3.1 trillion. However, behind these numbers lie some phenomena worth exploring.

As the regulatory environment becomes increasingly clear, the stablecoin market is shifting from the issuance to the distribution phase. Issuers previously made huge profits through reserve earnings, but now distributors are becoming a key link in the value chain. Circle recently disclosed that it paid nearly $900 million to partners such as Coinbase in 2023 to promote USDC, exceeding half of its total revenue.

At the same time, the actual usage of stablecoins is also worth paying attention to. Data shows that 31% of the trading volume comes from high-frequency operations of MEV bots, rather than real human trading. Among 150 million stablecoin wallets, 99% have a balance of less than $10,000, accounting for only 4% of the total supply. In contrast, fewer than 20,000 "whale" wallets control $76 billion, accounting for 32% of the total supply.

The next phase of the stablecoin ecosystem will focus on building applications and infrastructure. With the improvement of regulatory frameworks and the rise of user-friendly applications, stablecoins are expected to experience exponential growth. The future financial world will not only be defined by the stablecoins themselves but will depend more on the ecosystem formed around them.

In this process of transformation, we can expect more innovations in the ways value is created, distributed, and acquired within the entire ecosystem. Those creators of applications, infrastructure, and user experiences that can fully leverage the potential of stablecoins will dominate the future stablecoin ecosystem.