In the aftermath of the U.S. election, the crypto market has experienced a massive surge in liquidity, as evidenced by a remarkable increase in the supply of stablecoins. This trend reflects heightened investor interest and capital inflows into digital assets.
The combined supply of Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC increased by a staggering $5.4 billion shortly after the election, according to TradingView data. Notably, USDT in circulation rose by $3.8 billion, hitting a peak of $124 billion, while USDC's supply surged by $1.6 billion to approach $37 billion. This expansion is indicative of a bullish outlook for the digital asset sector, signaling substantial capital injection into the crypto economy.
Stablecoins, predominantly pegged to the U.S. dollar, provide critical liquidity in crypto trading, functioning as reserve assets for investing in exchange-traded cryptocurrencies. USDT is especially liquid on offshore platforms, while USDC is more prevalent on U.S.-oriented platforms like Coinbase and within decentralized finance applications.
David Shuttleworth, a partner at Anagram, observed that investors—both retail and institutional—were initially hesitant ahead of the election. However, once results were announced, there was an influx of liquidity and buying pressure, as Shuttleworth shared with CoinDesk.
A notable metric illustrating this effect is the increase in the balance of Ethereum-based stablecoins on exchanges. Prior to the election, this balance saw a decline, mirroring a cautious 'wait-and-see' stance among investors, as Shuttleworth noted. Yet, following November 5, Nansen's on-chain data revealed that stablecoin balances on exchanges surged to a yearly high of $41 billion, up from $36 billion earlier in the month.
This growth coincides with heightened activity in the crypto market, marked by record highs in bitcoin prices following Donald Trump's election victory, sparking enthusiasm for a potentially crypto-friendly leadership. Additionally, the native supply of USDC on Solana's network expanded by 14% to roughly $2.9 billion, driven by increased transaction volumes and revenues in Solana-based DeFi applications, as per DefiLlama data.
The USDT supply on the TON blockchain also surged to a new peak of $1.1 billion, rising 10% in the same period as users explored this emerging ecosystem facilitated by Telegram.