On July 2, Beijing time, four major events occurred intensively in the global stablecoin market.
Standard Chartered became the first globally systemically important bank to provide direct USDC services; Tether cooperated with U.S. sanctions to freeze 131 wallets linked to the terrorist group ISIS-K.
The alliance-backed stablecoin OUSD, supported by giants such as Visa and BlackRock, triggered a plunge in Circle's stock price; and the preliminary assessment of the market impact after the full implementation of the EU's MiCA regulation was also released on the same day.
The stablecoin industry landscape is about to face new changes.
Standard Chartered launches direct USDC service
Standard Chartered announced on the same day that it became the first global systemically important bank to directly provide USDC minting and redemption services.
Institutional clients can operate directly through Standard Chartered's platform without the need to open a separate Circle account, with the first launch in the Dubai International Financial Centre. On July 1, Bank of New York Mellon also launched similar custody services.
Traditional banks are accelerating their entry into stablecoin infrastructure.
Tether cooperates with sanctions, freezes 131 wallets linked to "Islamic State"
At the request of the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions, Tether froze 131 TRON chain wallets linked to the terrorist group ISIS-K on the same day.
These addresses have received over $1.4 million in crypto donations cumulatively since 2023, of which $880,000 has been transferred out. This move demonstrates the ability of stablecoin issuers to enforce global financial sanctions, but also raises controversy over centralized freezing power.
OUSD alliance emerges Circle stock plunges 18% on the news
An alliance of over 140 giants, including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Coinbase, etc., announced the launch of officially launched the stablecoin OUSD on the same day.
Its core selling point is that partner companies can mint/redeem for free and return the treasury reserve yields to partners, directly subverting the traditional model where Tether and Circle exclusively keep the yields.
After the news, Circle's stock price plummeted 18% to $62 on the same day. The stablecoin is expected to go online within the year.
MiCA first day in effect: market reaction calm
The EU's MiCA regulation came into full effect on July 1, Beijing time. As of July 2, Kaiko data shows that the weekly trading volume of euro-backed stablecoins is only about $30 million, far below previous peaks.
Although USDT is being delisted from European exchanges due to lack of authorization, its global dominance has not been significantly shaken, with USDC's market share only slightly rising to 12%, and the overall impact is limited.
Traditional bank entry, alliance model challenges, sanctions enforcement, and regulatory implementation intertwined on the same day, the stablecoin industry is moving from a "unipolar issuance" to a new stage of multi-party competition