Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire shilled USDC and EURC stablecoins in an interview on Monday. He anticipates more competition in the space as the EU’s regulatory framework toughens.

Under MiCA, stablecoin issuers must obtain authorization and be licensed by the relevant national authorities in the EU.

Circle Pioneers MiCA Compliance

Circle secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license on Monday. This is a requirement for any issuer looking to offer dollar- and euro-pegged crypto tokens in the European Union (EU) under the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework. It permits the firm to “onshore” its Euro-denominated EURC stablecoin to customers within the EU.

“Circle announces that USDC and EURC are now available under new EU stablecoin laws. Circle is the first global stablecoin issuer to be compliant with MiCA. Circle is now natively issuing both USDC and EURC to European customers effective July 1,” Allaire wrote.

Banks and EMIs can now issue and utilize Euro stablecoins as a core part of their products and services.

Read more: What Is Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)? Everything You Need To Know

In a separate report, Allaire highlighted that compliance is the firm’s competitive advantage. He underscored Circle EURC stablecoin and USD Coin’s commitment to regulations stipulated by the MiCA framework.

“The day that MiCA came into law, we announced our Euro stablecoin EURC.  We also announced our intention to make our stablecoins fully compliant with MiCA and we are very committed to that path.  This is because legal electronic money in the form of Euro or dollar that runs on blockchains is a huge opportunity,” Allaire said in an interview.

Allaire cites two factors that embolden Circle: MiCA’s promotion of a pro-Euro digital asset environment and the firm’s strong compliance track record. This, in his opinion, positions the EURC to become much bigger as regulations in Europe allow Euro stablecoins to be part of a growth-bound financial system.

Why Tether’s USDT is in the Sidelines

The assertion comes after crypto exchanges delisted Euro-denominated stablecoins in their resolve to achieve MiCA compliance. Among them, Bitstamp revealed that the Euro Tether (EURT) stablecoin was delisted, joining the likes of Binance, Kraken, OKX, and Uphold, which also shed EURT.

Tether, the issuer of USDT stablecoin, indicated that it does not currently aim to comply with MiCA, which explains why it is subject to restrictions or cancellation on exchanges. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino is against MiCA’s expectation of 60% of backing in bank cash, citing “bank failure risk.”

“Stablecoins should be able to keep 100% of reserves in treasury bills, rather than exposing themselves to bank failures by keeping big chunks of reserves in uninsured cash deposits. In case of bank failure, securities return to the legitimate owner,” Ardoino wrote in April.

For Tether, this could be another brick in the regulatory wall, shoving it to the sidelines over time as regulation in stablecoins gathers pace around the world.

Nevertheless, the landmark development sets the stage for increased adoption of Euro digital currency in the form of Euro stablecoins. With a clear set of guidelines for Euro digital currency issuance and operations, the new framework will promote a highly competitive market.

Allaire agrees with this speculation, saying that he anticipates more competition. In his opinion, new regulations that streamline the industry tend to attract more competition. Binance CEO Richard Teng lauded Circle in a post, calling for more players in the space.

“USDC becoming a MiCA-compliant e-money token (EMT) marks a positive step forward for the crypto ecosystem in the EEA region. We are hopeful that there’ll be more MiCA-compliant EMTs soon,” Teng wrote.

Read more: Crypto Regulation: What Are the Benefits and Drawbacks?

With the MiCA regulations in effect, firms will be held more accountable.  Their risk and compliance management, banking infrastructure, and assurances from major public audit firms will also be under more scrutiny.

The oversight, promoting regulatory clarity and transparency, will inspire increased customer confidence because of improved consumer protection. For new players looking to join the space, however, entry barriers will likely be higher as the MiCA framework aims to achieve its mandate — to protect consumers and investors, ensure financial stability, and foster innovation.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), once hailed as the future of digital collectibles, experienced a sharp downturn in June. According to the crypto analytics platform Artemis, the NFT sector recorded the worst performance among 21 sectors, with a staggering 51.5% decline.

This trend raises concerns about the sustainability of the NFT market.

Sales Slump Across Major Blockchains: Can NFTs Bounce Back?

The decline is further evidenced by data from CryptoSlam, which shows a 46.03% decrease in NFT sales volume, amounting to $480 million over the past 30 days. Major blockchains like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Solana saw NFT sales plummet by 38% to 50%. This significant drop has led to speculations about the causes behind the fading enthusiasm for NFTs.

Read more: How To Start NFT Trading: A Step-by-Step Guide

Several factors contribute to the current state of the NFT market. Paul Thomas, Founder and CEO of Somnia, noted that the initial hype around NFTs has diminished.

“Utility is becoming more important than ever for NFTs. […] One of the big problems with NFTs is that everyone just tries to repeat and copy what was previously successful. […] For projects to really make an impact, they need to be doing something exciting and original instead of just following the hype,” Thomas said.

Adding to the challenges, the floor price of prominent NFT collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) fell below 10 ETH earlier in June. This dip was exacerbated by notable figures such as Mark Cuban offloading multiple NFTs from their collections. These actions sparked further concerns about the long-term viability of the NFT market.

Despite the downturn, the NFT sector is not all bleak. Some collections, such as Pudgy Penguins and Milady Maker, recorded significant sales volume increases. Additionally, the Ronin blockchain saw a notable rise in NFT sales, indicating that certain niches within the market are still thriving.

Taha Abbasi, CTO of Ferrum Labs, also believes that the NFT sector will likely regain attention as the industry evolves. He believes that some of the key innovators in the NFT industry, like Yuga Labs and Igloo, are strategizing on ways to re-emerge.

“Perhaps the days of overhyped pixelated NFTs are over, and some other media integration or innovation might soon place digital collectibles in the limelight. NFT innovators need to do something drastic that would help the niche stay afloat,” he told BeInCrypto.

Read more: 7 Best NFT Marketplaces You Should Know in 2024

This insight and the resilience of certain collections and platforms offer hope. Although the broader market may struggle, these dynamics suggest that specific projects and platforms could still attract interest and investment.

Layer-2 (L2) blockchains have registered a significant increase in unique addresses in the first half of 2024.

Key network adjustments, including transaction fee reduction, and changes to protocol governance are some of the key reasons behind the growing interest.

Optimism Shines in L2 Address Growth

Data analytics platform Coin98 Analytics highlights significant growth in the number of unique addresses among L2 blockchains. BNBChain, Polygon, and Ethereum blockchains continue to lead the pack with the most number of addresses, data shows.

Ethereum Layer-2 network Optimism stands out, recording the most new addresses, with over 58.4 million since January. This marks a 64% increase in the last six months. The seven-day net flow across the blockchain was over $56 million as of June 29.

Read More: What is Optimsim? All You Need to Know

The report coincides with the Optimism Governance Season 6 launch, announced by the network’s governing body, Optimism Collective. With this initiative, the Optimism community, developers included, will jointly enact improvements for the network based on the “Optimizing to Support the Superchain” theme. 

Core tenets of Season 6 include decentralization goals, growing the Superchain with more networks, and fostering application developers on the Superchain. The platform’s commitment to enhancing user experience and promoting community engagement has been instrumental in attracting more network participants.

Other notable mentions on metrics of the number of unique addresses include Mantle, Scroll, and Linea, which recorded over 380%, 235%, and 212% increases, respectively.

BNB, Ethereum, Polygon Lead the Pack

While the governance adjustment did it for the Optimism blockchain, changes to network fees boded well for other ecosystems, including BNB Smart Chain. The BNB blockchain is leading the pack with a prolific 458.7 million new unique addresses as of June 30. This growth is achieved through the opBNB L2 solution, which enhances the network’s performance and scalability.

BNB adjusted its network fees through the successful BEP 336 Haber Hardfork activation, delivering a 90% transaction fee reduction. The upgrade introduced blob-carrying transactions, optimizing the network’s data storage and processing capabilities.

With significantly reduced data availability costs for L2 solutions on BNB Smart Chain, transactions become more affordable and accessible. It enhances the ecosystem’s overall efficiency, positioning BNB Chain among the most economical platforms for users and developers.

Read more: A Beginner’s Guide to Layer-2 Scaling Solutions

Like BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum’s reduced fees also come courtesy of blobs after implementing Upgrade EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding). The blobs transaction model frees up space within the mainnet while decreasing the fees on L2 networks.

Polygon’s position in the pack’s frontline comes as the network provides a multi-chain scaling solution. Its framework offers a haven where decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts can flourish, free from Ethereum’s typical constraints.

As key adjustments promote growing interest in Layer-2 blockchains, they reflect the impact of improved overall user experience, incereased sustainability, and network scalability in driving adoption. The surge in unique addresses also mirrors the increasing acceptance and recognition of L2 solutions as viable alternatives to “traditional” blockchain platforms.