Weekly Market Highlights Review: The Resonance of Stablecoin U.S. Treasury Bondification and the Strategic Rise of Bitcoin in a New Cycle

This week, the cryptocurrency market has been mainly volatile, with Bitcoin experiencing multiple spikes, while Ethereum remained relatively strong, and UNI and ETHFI performed well. Trump Media Technology Group raised $2.5 billion in private financing to purchase Bitcoin, and Pakistan is establishing a national-level Bitcoin strategic reserve. The initial repayment of $5 billion from FTX stimulated a market rise. However, even with the good news of the SEC easing staking regulations released on Friday, the market still saw a broad decline, and attention needs to be paid to the subsequent direction.

In terms of hotspots, stablecoins remain the main theme of the market, gradually becoming one of the directions for the U.S. government and global institutions; although the Bitcoin conference did not yield substantial benefits, mainstream opinions are worth paying attention to; the relaxation of SEC regulations, opportunities in the staking sector, and the U.S. market are also worth noting.

1. The Trend of Stablecoinization of US Treasury Bonds

1. Circle IPO

Stablecoin issuer Circle has launched its IPO, planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, 2025, under the stock code "CRCL". Circle plans to issue 24 million Class A common shares, with a price range of $24-26 per share. The IPO is expected to raise approximately $624 million, with a valuation of about $5.65 billion.

Circle's USDC stablecoin currently has a market value of approximately 60.793 billion USD, accounting for 24.59% of the total market value of stablecoins, second only to Tether's 62.12%. Since the beginning of this year, USDC's market value has grown by 38.44%, while Tether has only increased by 11.51%.

Circle draws on the listing model of Coinbase, relying on USDC interest income and trading fees to provide a financial foundation for its IPO. Coinbase has signed a 50% revenue-sharing agreement with Circle, receiving 100% of the interest earnings from USDC products. In 2024, Coinbase is expected to receive approximately $900 million in USDC revenue from Circle, accounting for about 25% of its total valuation.

After the Circle IPO, it will be easier to obtain funds from the capital markets for innovation and expansion, attracting more strategic investors or partners. The growth of USDC directly benefits Coinbase platform revenues and the Base public chain ecosystem, potentially driving up Coinbase's stock price.

2. Tether shifts to emerging markets

Tether CEO stated that despite the U.S. advancing stablecoin legislation, Tether will still focus on overseas markets and pay attention to the impact of the Genius Act on foreign issuers. Part of the reason is that its Bitcoin and collateralized loan assets may not meet the proposed standards.

3. The close connection between stablecoins and US Treasury bonds

The business model of stablecoin issuers is extremely advantageous for the issuers. The two major issuers, Tether and Circle, hold a total of $116 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, placing stablecoin companies among the top 20 direct holders of U.S. Treasuries.

As the U.S. Genius stablecoin bill is about to be passed, more and more stablecoin issuers will become channels for the digital dollar to enter the global economy, enhancing the global accessibility of the dollar and expanding the coverage of U.S. monetary policy.

The U.S. government has made it clear that it will use stablecoins to maintain the dollar's status as the global reserve currency. The Secretary of the Treasury stated: "We will maintain the dollar's status as the world's primary reserve currency and will use stablecoins to achieve this goal."

2. Bitcoin Conference

1. Vice President Vance

Wans announced that the Trump administration has ended the previous government's hostile policies and cleared regulatory obstacles. It has committed to establishing a national Bitcoin reserve within 100 days to compete for global leadership. It is promoting the legislation of the GENIUS Act to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, positioning stablecoins as a new engine for the dollar economy.

Wans pointed out that 50 million Americans hold Bitcoin, with a target increase to 100 million. He emphasized that Bitcoin is a tool against inflation, policy risks, and financial censorship, especially its potential as a strategic asset.

2. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis

Lummis discussed the importance of the market structure bill, pointing out that the bill has a greater impact on the industry. She proposed a tax exemption for Bitcoin transactions under $600 and has submitted the proposal to the Finance Committee.

Lummis suggests that the United States buy and hold 1 million Bitcoins, which could halve the $37 trillion national debt in 20 years. She emphasizes that Bitcoin is crucial for the economy and global defense, serving as a deterrent against aggression.

3. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce

Peirce stated that Meme coins are more like collectibles and believes that a Meme coin regulatory committee could be established to fill the regulatory gap.

3. Policy Regulation

1. SEC policy statement: Three types of PoS network staking activities do not constitute securities issuance.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a policy statement clarifying that three types of staking activities do not constitute securities offerings:

• Self-staking: Node operators use their own crypto assets to participate in network validation.
• Third-party non-custodial staking: Asset owners retain control of their assets and only delegate the verification rights.
• Compliant Custodial Staking: The custodian strictly isolates client assets, not using them for operations or re-collateralization.

The policy states that the network rewards obtained from the aforementioned staking activities belong to the consideration for verification services, rather than investment income derived from the management efforts of others, and do not meet the security identification criteria of the Howey test.

2. The SEC of the United States filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against Binance.

The U.S. SEC has submitted documents to the court requesting the dismissal of the lawsuit against a certain trading platform and its former CEO. The SEC, the platform, and the founder's lawyer signed a joint motion to dismiss and submitted it to the federal court in Washington, D.C. The SEC stated that the dismissal is "final," meaning that no further lawsuits can be filed on the same charges.

For the platform, the next step may be to actively layout the US market, and its ecological tokens are worth paying attention to.