On June 5, Circle, the world’s second-largest stablecoin, officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock surged 122.58% at market open and triggered a temporary circuit breaker due to extreme volatility during trading. By the close of the first day, Circle’s stock had soared by 168.5%, pushing its total market value above $18 billion.
The enthusiasm in capital markets stems from unprecedented endorsements of cryptocurrencies by sovereign nations, giving stablecoins a higher-level policy environment than their Bitcoin predecessor. As a unique type of cryptocurrency, stablecoins benefit from blockchain’s advantages—decentralisation, peer-to-peer transactions, low cost and high efficiency. Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are typically pegged to fiat currencies or other reference assets to maintain price stability, and they serve as a medium of exchange in crypto transactions.
With US legislative backing, regulatory frameworks from China’s Hong Kong, and Europe, Singapore and Japan bringing stablecoins under supervision, alongside global payment giants racing to enter the field, stablecoins are disrupting traditional cross-border payment systems. This is not just a commercial competition—it also concerns the future status of sovereign currencies.
