USDC’s market cap is approaching $80B, as is the UAE’s capital flight demand
The market capitalization of the USDC stablecoin has reached an all-time high of nearly $80 billion due to rising demand in the Middle East. One analyst linked it to capital flight from the United Arab Emirates.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, USDC's (USDC) distribution has grown to about $79.2 billion, a new all-time high for the dollar-pegged stablecoin. The market value of the stable coin was less than 79 billion dollars in December of last year.
The increase comes after supply has expanded by billions in recent weeks. The market cap of the stablecoin topped $70 billion in early February and stood at $75 billion earlier this month.
Rami Al-Hashimi, a Dubai-based analyst, said the increase reflects the growing interest of investors seeking to withdraw money from traditional markets. In a Friday post on X, Al-Hashimi said over-the-counter (OTC) desks in Dubai have struggled to meet demand for the stable coin.
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Decline in Dubai property may be signaling USDC rise.
Al-Hashimi attributed the surge in demand for Statcoin to a surge in the UAE real estate market. The analyst said property prices in Dubai have fallen 27 percent this month, prompting investors to rush capital into digital assets.
“War terror. Capital flight. Sellers are bleeding,” he wrote, describing the rapid change in investor behavior.
The DFM Real Estate Index, which tracks the performance of Dubai-listed real estate and construction companies, faced heavy selling, with the index falling to 11,516 from a close of 16,800, a decline of about 31%, according to data from TradingView.
Al-Hashimi said the situation has led some property sellers to accept cryptocurrency payments directly. Some real estate listings now advertise discounts to buyers who pay using Bitcoin (BTC), he said.
“Pay in BTC, get a 5-10% discount,” he wrote, indicating that the trend is growing in demand for digital assets in times of financial instability.
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USDC surpassed USDt in adjusted trading volume
Japanese investment bank Mizuho surpassed Tether USDt (USDT) in adjusted trading volume for the first time since 2019. According to the bank's research, the USDC recorded an annual adjusted transaction volume of about $2.2 trillion.
Despite the change in activity, USDt remains the largest stablecoin by market capitalization at around $184 billion, far more than USDC at $79 billion.
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