Despite a recent decline in Tether's market capitalization and trading volumes, crypto financial services platform Matrixport believes it's too early to sound the alarm on a bearish market turn.
Since peaking at $141 billion on December 19, 2024, Tether's USDT stablecoin has witnessed a 2.8% market cap drop. Concurrently, daily trading volumes have plummeted by 64% from around $154 billion to $55 billion on January 6, 2025.
Matrixport attributes this downturn to the typical trading slowdown during the holiday season, rather than a fundamental shift in market sentiment. They argue that increased stablecoin trading volume usually precedes bullish crypto market activity, indicating greater fiat inflows. Conversely, a decline in these trends often signals a period of market consolidation.
Community Rejects FUD Around Tether and MiCA
These observations from Matrixport come amidst community backlash against reports linking USDT's market drop to the full implementation of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
While some reports suggested that European exchanges were mandated to delist USDT by December 30, 2024, regulators have not provided such guidance. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has consistently declined to comment on USDT's status under MiCA.
USDT trading continues across Europe, with exchanges like Binance affirming its continued support.
Many community members have criticized these reports as fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), emphasizing the lack of concrete regulatory action.
January 2025, Cryptoniteuae