Bitcoin Bulls Bolstered by Fresh $20M USDC Printing

USD Coin (USDC) is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization. Backed by Coinbase and Circle, the asset is a competitor to Tether (USDT). It has just emerged that its treasury has minted another $20M in coins. The minting was first picked up by Whale Alert (@whale_alert).

pic.twitter.com/n2137XK4Wt

— Diary of a REKT man (@diaryrektman) January 15, 2020

Responses to the minting were mostly enthusiastic. Many seem to believe that the new USDC would only extend the market’s 2020 positive price movement. USDC has had an explosive 2019 and it’s now trying to extend its growth in 2020. December, in particular, saw an uptick in mintings. As BeInCrypto reported, $19M USDC was minted on Dec 4; $2.9M was minted on Dec 11; $1.5M was minted on Dec 16, and $10M was minted on Dec 18. Overall, December was a very active month for the USDC Treasury. The rise of USDC has been quick. The stablecoin assumed the second-largest position by market capitalization in just under 3 months. It was able to do this by providing not only liquidity but also an authoritative basis for its reserves with the backing of both Circle and Coinbase. However, it hasn’t been all good news as of late. Earlier this month, BeInCrypto reported that Binance was delisting some USDC-based trading pairs due to low trading volume. Many have criticized the move as unfair since Binance U.S. is directly competing with Coinbase. In total, USDC’s trading pairs with ALGO, FTM, ONT, XLM, and USDS will be delisted. Coinbase has butted heads with Binance in the past and even excluded the exchange from its own Crypto Rating Council. Binance was the sole major exception. Regardless, the stablecoin seems poised to further extend its market capitalization. At the time of writing, it has some $475M in trading volume and has a market capitalization of $444M. It has seen its market capitalization tick higher and higher consistently since May 2019.