The market value of global stablecoins has reached $130.7 billion, and significant progress in stablecoin regulations has been witnessed this year. According to PwC’s “2023 Global Cryptocurrency Regulatory Report,” which analyzed 43 countries, 25 countries (58%) have implemented stablecoin regulations, including Austria, the Bahamas, and Denmark.
These countries have mostly implemented comprehensive regulations, including cryptocurrency regulatory frameworks, licensing/registration systems, and compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) travel rule. The FATF’s cryptocurrency travel rule is a regulatory requirement that requires cryptocurrency service providers (such as exchanges) to share transaction information to prevent money laundering and illicit activities.
Approximately 18% of countries have not yet started stablecoin regulations, including Bahrain, Brazil, India, Taiwan, and Turkey, while approximately 23% of countries, such as Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, have begun actively promoting the development of stablecoin laws.
However, PwC’s analysis also pointed out that some major countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, have not yet completed stablecoin legislation and a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulatory framework. Additionally, cryptocurrency-friendly countries like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates have adopted most cryptocurrency-related regulations but have not specifically developed regulations for stablecoins.
Regarding Taiwan, PwC’s analysis shows that Taiwan has not yet started regulating stablecoins. However, Taiwan is actively promoting the regulation framework and licensing/registration systems for cryptocurrencies. Currently, Taiwan has only implemented compliance with the FATF travel rule.
In terms of recent developments in stablecoins, the risk of stablecoin detachment is the main concern for investors and regulatory authorities. Moody’s and S&P, including other credit rating agencies, have begun researching stablecoins. Moody’s has launched an AI tool specifically for stablecoin detachment risk, while S&P has recently conducted its first formal rating for stablecoins.
In S&P’s assessment, Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, received a rating of 4 (second-lowest) due to its lack of asset transparency. However, USDT remains the stablecoin with the highest market share. According to CoinGecko data, its market value surpassed $90 billion in mid-December and currently stands at approximately $91.3 billion, accounting for a market share of 71.53%.
A report released by Bitwise, a cryptocurrency asset management company, predicts that funds settled with stablecoins will surpass those settled with Visa. It highlights stablecoins as one of the “killer applications” of cryptocurrencies and anticipates significant growth in the market, from nearly zero over the past four years to $137 billion next year.
On the afternoon of the 25th, @whale_alert observed that Tether had issued an additional 1 billion USDT on the Ethereum network. Although Tether’s CEO stated that this was not an incremental issuance but an authorized but unissued transaction intended for future issuance requests and on-chain exchange inventory, it was enough to spark discussions in the market about the return of the DeFi bull market.
(Additional reading:
Tether issued an additional 1 billion USDT on Ethereum! Is the bull market for DeFi coming back?
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