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Opera's mobile browser, Opera Mini, is upgrading its cryptocurrency wallet MiniPay to include two of the world's most popular stablecoins - Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. Users can switch between USD Coin and cUSD with minimal fees. The process uses a simple drag-and-drop motion. Jørgen Arnesen, Opera's executive vice president of Mobile, explained the feature. "It abstracts assets swapping in Web3," he said. "Users can effortlessly swap between all 3 stablecoins." Just to remind you, MiniPay was launched in September 2023 inside Opera Mini browser and run on the Celo blockchain. It uses Mento's cUSD, pegged to the US dollar. A kind of an own stablecoin, to be precise. The wallet initially targeted African markets. Opera said from the beginning that the browser wallet aimed to facilitate stablecoin transfers using mobile numbers. Arnesen discussed the rationale behind this focus. "We recognized the significant potential of blockchain-enabled peer-to-peer solutions within the continent," he stated. He noted common concerns among consumers. These included high fees, unreliable services, and lack of transparency in local payment options. All of that is supposed to be overcome by Opera's wallet built in the popular browser. MiniPay has also launched a Discover Page for decentralized applications (DApps). It organizes native DApps, providing direct access to various tools. Since its launch, MiniPay has seen rapid growth. It has over three million wallet activations across several African countries. Arnesen highlighted Africa's potential for digital asset adoption. He cited its young population and widespread smartphone use. Opera Mini is the most downloaded mobile browser in Africa. It boasts nearly 100 million users.

A significant Ethereum (ETH) transaction caught the attention of crypto analysts over the weekend. On-chain data revealed a single entity withdrew over $206 million worth of ETH from Bitfinex. What is this whale up to? Lookonchain suggests the whale is likely Abraxas Capital Management. it is a famous UK-based investment firm that specializes in crypto assets. Abraxas has been active in the crypto space since 2017. As of April 2024, its three digital asset funds manage over $2 billion. The whale's actions didn't stop at withdrawal. There was a serious game to be carried out, that someone must have planned meticulously. So at first, the ETH was deposited into Spark, a DeFi infrastructure provider. This move appears strategic. The deposited ETH serves as collateral for the stablecoin DAI. No wonder, our whale then borrowed 101 million DAI from Spark. But the next move was kind of surprising, if not to say unpredictable. This borrowed DAI was then swapped for 101 million USDC. That's a second most popular stablecoin in the world, in case you forgot. The final step saw the USDC deposited into Binance, the world's leading crypto exchange. This series of transactions demonstrates complex maneuvering within the crypto ecosystem, basically, our whale definitely knew what to do. Spark offers multiple DeFi products. These include SparkLend, a DAI-centric money market protocol, and sDAI, a yield-bearing stablecoin. At the time of writing, ETH trades at $3,442. While up 3% over seven days, it's down 10% month-on-month. ETH remains 29% below its November 2021 all-time high of $4,878. USDC and DAI rank as the second and third-largest stablecoins by market cap. Both aim to maintain a 1:1 peg with the US dollar.

Circle has obtained registration as an electronic money institution in France. This grants the firm a crucial license to issue stablecoins under the European Union's new stringent crypto regulations. And thus Circle's USDC might finally get an edge over Tether's USDT. The approval comes from France's banking regulator, ACPR. Circle is now the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which many crypto fans have already dubbed 'demonic', 'unhealthy' and even 'orwellian'. The license enables Circle to issue its USDC and EURC tokens in the EU. These will now comply with MiCA's stablecoin rules. Circle is also launching its Circle Mint service in France. Jeremy Allaire, Circle's CEO, called the approval "a huge milestone". He emphasized the company's commitment to regulatory compliance since its founding and now this long-term investment has paid off. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to traditional assets. They offer stability in the volatile crypto market. Traders use them to move quickly between cryptocurrencies. The EU passed MiCA last year. It's the world's first comprehensive crypto law. Also deemed as one of the harshest ones. MiCA outlines investor protection rules and safeguards against market manipulation. Stablecoin provisions under MiCA were approved last week. These rules are particularly strict. They limit trading volumes for certain stablecoins, especially those denominated in US dollars. Circle's French registration allows it to offer services throughout the EU. This includes minting and redeeming USDC via Circle Mint. MiCA permits crypto businesses to "passport" their services across the bloc. The remaining MiCA obligations will apply from December 30, 2024, but crypto companies will have until July 2026 to achieve full compliance. Two years isn't a very long period for the world of finance, to say the least. USDC is the second-largest stablecoin globally. It has $32.4 billion in circulation. Tether's USDT remains the largest, with $112.7 billion in circulation. Yet, Tether hasn't done crucial steps to comply with MiCA demands, and we will have to wait and see how it ends for the leading stablecoin. As well as for its competitors.

Stablecoin holdings among investors fell from 50.2% in December to 42.8% in May, Bybit's Q2 Asset Allocation report reveals. Bitcoin remains the largest single asset held, accounting for 26% of total assets. That should not come as a surprise, but excluding stablecoins, Bitcoin and Ethereum comprise 61% of users' crypto investments. Retail traders favor Bitcoin over Ethereum. This preference persists despite renewed optimism for ETH Spot ETFs, analysts note. Institutional positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum are more concentrated than retail traders'. Holdings stand at 39.4% and 20.9% respectively as of May. The report highlights institutional investors' clear preference for Bitcoin. Satoshi would be proud of us. His creation remains the leading crypto despite all the new winds blowing in the crypto world recently. Since Bitcoin Spot ETF approval in January 2024, institutional Bitcoin holdings have increased. It clearly shows us that ETFs were really the way to go. Ether positions have decreased. This suggests institutions view Bitcoin as more attractive. Concerns about Ether Spot ETFs not including staking rewards may be a factor. Retail traders demonstrated market timing skills during the March-April 2024 correction. They reduced Bitcoin positions in March and gradually increased them in April and May. This indicates some avoided the pullback and capitalized on the market's rebound. The report also examined asset allocation strategies across user segments. Institutions hold more concentrated positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Their concentration ratio increased from 25.4% in December 2023 to 39.4% in May 2024. Retail traders maintain more diversified portfolios. However, they show a slight increase in concentration due to preference for new altcoins. Altcoin holdings fluctuated, initially dropping from 25% in January 2024 to 20.9%, before rebounding to 22.5% in May 2024. New trading narratives drove these fluctuations. Bitcoin Layer 2 projects and meme tokens gained popularity among retail traders. Institutions increased altcoin positions in Q2 2024, primarily through new token investments. Stablecoin advocates argue for their potential to disrupt payments. PayPal introduced its PYUSD stablecoin last year to facilitate instant, low-cost transfers. Stripe announced on April 25 that it would allow merchants to accept stablecoins for online transactions. Stripe's initiative starts with USDC stablecoins on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon blockchains.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire predicts a quick rise of the stablecoins. The man's company runs second largest stablecoin out there - our beloved USDC - so it's not a surprise Allaire is bullish. But he has some rather interesting arguments. Allair took to X to reveal four reasons why he is 'more optimistic about crypto and stablecoins than ever before.' According to Circle's chief, stablecoins could account for 10% of “global economic money” over the next ten years. The biggest reason for that would be the adoption by most of the world’s largest payments companies. They are actively using stablecoins and trying out the benefits of blockchain for their business. We're talking about 'billions market', Allaire thinks. He also claims that unleashing digital dollars on blockchains can fulfill the promise of banking the unbanked. Remittance costs will be lowered and seamless cross-border commerce will become available for everyone, said Allaire. Of course, all of that means global crypto adoption, including Bitcoin and leading altcoins. But Circle's chief predicts that stablecoins will become an increasingly accepted form of digital money. According to Allaire, stablecoins will make up a “larger and larger portion” of the world’s $100 trillion market for electronic money within the next 10 years. Analysts note that for Allaire’s 10% prediction to come true by 2034, the stablecoin market would need to grow at least at a compounded annual growth rate of 47.7%. As of now, USD Coin (USDC) — a U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by Allaire’s Circle — currently has a $32.8 billion market cap. It's the second largest stablecoin in the world behind Tether's USDT.