This week's cryptocurrency market drew attention as stablecoins made significant policy progress amid an overall risk-averse atmosphere. Simultaneously, Bitcoin (BTC) showed a sharp decline in the latter part of the week as geopolitical tensions escalated between Israel and Iran.
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, diagnosed in its latest weekly report that extreme volatility was observed in the global market over the past week. Despite the Federal Reserve maintaining its benchmark interest rate, investors sold off risky assets like Bitcoin and stocks, shifting towards safer asset classes.
Bitcoin showed an initial upward trend but later dropped to $103,500 (approximately 143.87 million won) by Friday due to deepening concerns about Middle Eastern instability. This 'safe-asset preference trend' spread not only to Bitcoin but also to Ethereum (ETH) and major altcoins.
Nevertheless, Binance analyzed that Bitcoin's 'structural demand' remains robust. Up to June 18th, $2.4 billion (approximately 3.336 trillion won) had been flowing into the US spot ETF market for eight consecutive trading days, which is interpreted as a signal reflecting long-term investors' 'bottom-buying' movement.
The Ethereum spot ETF also recorded an inflow of $605 million (approximately 841 billion won), and on-chain indicators showed a positive trend. Notably, the number of staked Ethereum surpassed an all-time high of 34.9 million ETH, reaching approximately 28.9% of circulating supply. It is worth noting that 500,000 ETH was additionally staked in the first half of June.
Binance analyzed that "the market's confidence in Ethereum's profitability and network security are simultaneously being strengthened."
A significant policy milestone was also established. On June 17th, the US Senate passed the 'GENIUS Act' (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act) with 68 votes in favor and 30 against. This includes an AML compliance framework with a provision that only federally regulated institutions can hold reserves, marking the first comprehensive legislative attempt for stablecoins.
However, concerns about risk concentration within the banking system also exist. If this bill passes through the House and is finally enacted, the stablecoin ecosystem is expected to be further integrated into the traditional financial system.
Meanwhile, the total supply of stablecoins has increased by 22.5% since the end of last year, exceeding $250 billion (approximately 347.5 trillion won), and on-chain transaction volume has surpassed $20 trillion (approximately 2,780 trillion won). This demonstrates that stablecoins are establishing themselves as a core component of global financial infrastructure, beyond mere monetary substitutes.
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