According to a new report from CryptoQuant, USDC liquidity is at its highest level since February 2023. The report noted that Circle typically mints this many tokens in bearish periods.

USDC’s market cap has also increased by over $9 billion in the past month.

Circle’s USDC Liquidity Keeps Growing

CryptoQuant, a respected blockchain analysis firm, released a brief report today on USDC liquidity. Apparently, Circle minted enough USDC stablecoins to reach its highest level in nearly two years.

The report also claimed that a long-running partnership with a crypto market maker possibly contributed to this minting event:

“It is speculated that this is related to a strategic partnership with Cumberland, a market maker well known in the ETF space. It is unclear whether this liquidity will be deployed immediately or held in reserve. Looking at past [BTC] price patterns, USDC liquidity has typically been injected during periods of price consolidation or decline,” it claimed.

USDC is a popular stablecoin issued by Circle, although its dominance is significantly lower than Tether’s USDT. Still, the report’s assertion that USDC liquidity usually spikes in bearish periods seems odd compared to Circle’s performance.

The firm recently made a major political contribution, and its long-running plan to challenge Tether’s EU market dominance is paying off. In response to Circle’s EU play, Tether also began minting huge amounts of its own stablecoin.

However, this liquidity injection doesn’t quite seem to match USDC’s scenario in a few ways. Instead, the price of Bitcoin might be a better reference point, as it spiked recently.

At the moment, it’s difficult to anticipate what exactly Circle plans to do with this USDC liquidity. The firm’s plan to challenge Tether in Europe has been going well, and it acquired Hashnote Labs yesterday. It also partnered with Aptos to tap into the US TradFi market.

Yet, the firm also carried out substantial layoffs last month. So, Circle’s current financial state is still questionable. The stablecoin issuer is likely reallocating its assets in different avenues to ensure sustainable financial growth under the new regulatory environment – in both the EU and US.

For now, this minting event is one of the clearest windows into Circle’s overall health. Regardless of what it intends to do, this USDC liquidity will give it a broader range of options for the future.

Bitwise, the crypto asset management firm, has submitted an application for a Dogecoin ETF through a Delaware trust. 

This step is limited to registering the trust and still requires a formal filing with the SEC for approval.

Meme Coin ETFs Are Gaining Attention

A surge in ETF filings has emerged since Gary Gensler stepped down as SEC Chair last Friday. Among these filings, meme coin ETFs are capturing significant interest. 

Rex Shares recently submitted applications for ETFs involving TRUMP, BONK, and DOGE, alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Earlier today, BONK saw a price surge driven by increased investor interest following Rex Shares’ ETF filing. The rising demand for BONK signals the possibility of sustained price momentum. Dogecoin could witness similar price action if its ETF application gains approval.

Back in September 2024, Bitwise’s Matt Hougan expressed optimism about ETF opportunities for Solana and meme coins.

Growing Institutional Interest in Meme Coins

Interest in meme coins has grown significantly in recent days. The launch of the TRUMP meme coin by the US President has played a major role in this trend. 

Reports show that 40% of TRUMP coin buyers were first-time crypto investors, highlighting the appeal of meme coins beyond the crypto sector. This could explain why firms like Bitwise are moving quickly to develop an ETF for Dogecoin, a leading meme coin.

Meme coins are also entering institutional markets outside the US. Floki also plans to launch an exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe by early 2025. 

Meanwhile, analysts believe Litecoin could become the first altcoin after Ethereum to secure ETF approval. Nasdaq has already filed Form 19b-4 to list Canary Capital’s proposed Litecoin ETF.  This filing aligns with Canary’s recent S-1 amendment and feedback from the SEC.

Overall, with Bitwise’s latest filing, it’s evident that asset managers are looking to bring meme coins to the retail investment markets soon. 

This week has been interesting for crypto enthusiasts with Trump’s presidency being at the center of the developments. The hype surrounding the US first family’s PolitiFi tokens and the subsequent surge in the bullish market sentiment bolstered Bitcoin price to a fresh all-time high on Monday. 

However, BTC/USD and other cryptos have since pulled back as interest in the PolitiFi tokens fades and market volatility eases. Even so, iDEGEN remains steady. Notably, the project’s resilience is founded on its appeal beyond its virality. It bears immense potential to revolutionize the AI meme coin space and broader crypto market.

Bitcoin price pulls back as interest in PolitiFi tokens fades

On Friday last week, the US president launched his meme coin, $Trump. In less than 24 hours, feverish buying among meme coin enthusiasts had the crypto’s market cap surpass $5 billion. 

Two days later, the US first lady, Melania Trump launched $Melania. As the hype surrounding this meme coin eases, its value has dropped from $2.21 billion on Monday to a market cap of $756.59 million. Besides, over the past 24 hours, its price has dropped by 8.84% with its trading volume falling by 72.71% during this timeframe.

Similarly, as at the time of writing, $Trump was at a market cap of $8.32 billion with its trading volume down by 40% over the past 24 hours. Indeed, this is a significant drop from the $14.30 billion market cap recorded at the start of the week. 

Evidently, the Trump wind that propelled Bitcoin to a fresh all-time high of $109,026.02 isn’t strong enough to sustain it there. At the time of this publication, the crypto major was at $104,969.82 as the bulls strive to break the resistance at around $106,500. 

In the short term, BTC/USD will likely continue to find support at $102,090 as a crypto-friendly US administration strengthens the bullish sentiment. With more buyers riding the wave, the bulls may gather enough momentum to break the resistance at $106,500 to the next target at $108,080. On the flip side, a corrective pullback past the current trading range may have it finding support at $99,700.

Storm sweeping across new meme coins leaves iDEGEN untouched

The highly volatile $Trump and $Melania coins remain subject to the all-so-common pump and dump wave in the absence of a fresh catalyst. Indeed, the tokens are in consolidation as meme coin enthusiasts look past the recent swearing in ceremony.

As the dust settles, crypto majors and meme coins alike are recording corrective pullbacks. For instance, Solana, which largely benefitted from the launch of $Trump, is down from the new all-time high it hit on Sunday at $295.83 to $262.53 at the time of this press release. Similarly, DOGE/USD was down from the 6-week high it reached on Saturday at $0.4350 to $0.3627.

Amid this storm, iDEGEN has continued to thrive. With slightly over a month left before its listing, the project has raised over $17.65 million in its unique presale auction. Besides, about two months since its launch, its toke price has increased from $0.0001 to $0.0133. 

Notably, its pricing model is one of the aspects that continue to fuel its appeal among everyday investors and monied individuals alike. In most cases, the creators come up with random figures that do not necessarily match the project’s value or demand 

In comparison, $IDGN’s token price moves on the principle of transparency. In the initial phase of its auction, the dynamic pricing model ensured that the token’s price moved in tandem with its demand. 

The project has since shifted to a stage-based model ahead of its listing on 27th February. The team justified this move on X stating, 

“While the dynamic auction has been well received, we’ve heard your feedback, and know some of you are concerned about price manipulation and bad actors pushing prices up with small SOL buys. It’s believed that the price manipulation was aimed at driving the listing price as high as possible. To fix this, we’re making things simpler so its easier for everyone to track the presale and make better decisions”. 

The shift further proves that iDEGEN is keen on transforming the AI meme coin space without dismissing its community in the process. It is this reliability that has attracted the over 20,000 holders to the project. With close to 12,000% in returns, these early adopters are already sitting on hefty profits. 

Read more on how to buy iDEGEN token.

Ripple price holds steady above $3 on investor confidence

Ripple price chart by TradingView

Ripple price has been trading above the crucial level fo $3 since the beginning of the week. The rallying has been fueled by the swearing in of a pro-crypto US president and the subsequent surge in investor confidence.

President Trump, who has evolved into a supporter and investor of crypto is expected to create and sustain an environment upon which the digital assets will thrive. Indeed, two days after returning to the Oval Office, he is already lowering the regulatory barriers.

Acting SEC Cair, Mark Uyeda has launched a crypto task force meant to develop a clear and detailed regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. This approach is different from Biden’s administration which included an “anti-crypto” SEC Chair, Gary Gensler. 

Seeing that Ripple price was largely burdened by regulatory struggles during the past government, it is set to continue on its uptrend on the back of heightened investor confidence. In the short term, the range between $2.82 and $3.40 will be worth watching.