NEW YORK–Stablecoins in circulation declined by $7.7 billion in June, marking the largest monthly drop in nearly four years as cryptocurrency markets continued to weaken, according to a new report.
CoinDesk, citing data from RWA.xyz, reported that the total market capitalization of stablecoins fell by $7.7 billion during June, the largest monthly decline in dollar terms since May 2022, when the collapse of the Terra-Luna blockchain triggered a broad cryptocurrency selloff known as the “crypto winter.”
$10 Billion Decline
According to CoinDesk, the value of stablecoins in circulation has fallen by approximately $10 billion since reaching a peak in May, representing a decline of about 3%. While that marks the steepest percentage decline since 2023, it remains well below the roughly 26% contraction experienced during the broader crypto market turmoil of 2022 and 2023.
The report said the recent pullback suggests on-chain liquidity has softened as digital asset markets consolidate near their lowest levels of the year.
CoinDesk noted that the decline comes despite increasingly optimistic long-term forecasts for stablecoin adoption from major financial institutions.
What New Projections Foresee
The publication pointed to updated projections from Citigroup, which recently increased its base-case estimate for the global stablecoin market to $1.9 trillion by 2030, up from an earlier forecast of $1.6 trillion. Citi also raised its bullish scenario to $4 trillion from $3.7 trillion.
Despite June’s decline, CoinDesk characterized the contraction as relatively modest compared with previous market downturns.
Following the collapses of the Terra-Luna ecosystem, cryptocurrency exchange FTX and crypto lenders Celsius, BlockFi and Genesis, the market capitalization of major stablecoins fell approximately 26%, dropping from about $166 billion in March 2022 to roughly $122 billion by September 2023, according to CoinDesk.
