Agora, Galaxy has completed the first live trading of the AUSD stablecoin
Asset manager Galaxy and stablecoin issuer Agora have completed the first sale of AUSD, Agora's stablecoin, according to a January 8 announcement.
“This transaction marks AUSD's transition from concept to real-world implementation,” Agora CEO Nick Van Eyck said in a statement.
Agora's AUSD is the latest stablecoin looking to grab market share from defaults like Circle's USDC (USDC) and Tether (USDT). It joins other relative newcomers like Athena's USDe.
Agora's AUSD describes itself as a “developer-oriented” stablecoin. Source: Agora
Related: Stablecoin adoption, ETFs to drive crypto performance in 2025: Citi
A stable coin market is growing
Stablecoin market capitalization has increased significantly since President-elect Donald Trump won the US election in November. Trump has pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the world” and has promised to appoint pro-industry leaders to key regulatory positions.
In the year By 2024, the total market capitalization of the three major stablecoins – USDT, USDC, and Dai (DAI) – will grow to more than $25 billion, especially during the fourth quarter, investment bank Citi reported in December.
As of January 6, the total stablecoin market capitalization exceeded $210 billion, with USDT and USDC holding an estimated market capitalization of $137 billion and $45 billion, respectively, according to CoinGecko.
Stablecoin supply increased after Trump's election win. Source: Ct
DeFi use cases
“Stablecoins are especially bullish for decentralized finance (DeFi) as “Stablecoins are on-ramp for decentralized finance,” Citi said.
The DeFi protocol's Ethena stablecoin reached a market cap of nearly $6 billion in December, surpassing rival Sky (its former developer) Die stablecoin.
Analysts attribute USD's success to double-digit stock yields and DeFi use cases.
“As of February 2024, sUSDe holders have earned an average APY of 17.5%, down from 55.9% (March 2024) and 4.3% (August 8, 2024),” said cryptocurrency researcher Messari. He said in a December 12 memo.
Agora touts AUSD as a “developer-oriented” stablecoin designed to attract traders and developers with “gas-optimized” smart contracts.
It also says that the stable coin is fully supported, with guarantees from the world's largest asset managers and regular reserve audits.
“As US regulations around digital assets take shape,” Agora said it aims to position “the USD as the cornerstone of an institutionally stable coin market.”
Magazine: How crypto laws are changing around the world in 2025.
