Whales unleashed $30B in stablecoins this September

Stablecoins were a major source of liquidity this September. For the past 30 days, whale liquidity shifts moved another $30B into the market. 

Stablecoins flowed into the crypto market, following the outflows in early August. In September, whales made more active deposits, adding $30B in total liquidity. The latest recovery of BTC above $85,000 coincided with another wave of stablecoin deposits. 

September also broke the trend of subdued stablecoin activity. For the past 30 days, on-chain data showed a 40% increase in deposits above $1M sent to Binance. During slower market times, stablecoins often wait on the sidelines or are used for DeFi yield, where the risk is justified. 

For September, inflows to Binance expanded from around $26B to over $30B, extending a trend that started around August 14.

As Cryptopolitan reported, stablecoins are in demand recently, remaining a major factor for crypto sentiment.

In September, new liquidity deployment meant whales tried to make use of the trend shift and position themselves for an October rally. However, allocation remains cautious, as BTC is still shaky in the face of global uncertainty and growing bond yields. 

Stablecoins on Binance signal early market recovery

Stablecoin inflows to Binance remain weaker compared to previous market peaks. In the short term, however, the stablecoins are seen as a bullish signal, preparing for more asset exposure. 

The inflow of stablecoins may also go toward derivative trading, leading to expanded open interest, which is not necessarily immediately bullish. Some of the whales may attempt to short crypto assets from what they consider a temporary peak. 

At the same time, the inflow of stablecoins coincided with a period of renewed large whale orders on Binance, signaling some of the liquidity translated into direct spot demand. 

The market recovery is still tentative, as Binance stablecoin reserves fluctuated in the past month. As of October 2, the exchange carried around $42B in stablecoin reserves, peaking at $43.8B on September 8. 

All other exchanges as a whole carry around $58B in stablecoins. Liquidity is also shifting between markets, with some outflows from spot markets and into derivative markets. 

Stablecoins became a leading narrative in September

Stablecoins had rising social media volume, becoming one of the narratives in focus according to Santiment. 

Stablecoin mentions also increased around the discussion of the US Clarity Act. Stablecoins are more closely watched, as issuers now hold over $200B in US Treasuries, turning into some of the biggest debt holders and even offsetting debt shedding by China. 

Despite the overall focus on stablecoins, retail behavior shows slower stablecoin usage. In the past 30 days, active addresses are down by 8.1% to around 5.1M daily. According to Artemis, daily turnover is around $244B, down 32% in the past 30 days. Whale activity may have more impact on prices, but retail shows overall crypto sentiment and readiness to use stablecoins. 

In Q3, there were also shifts in stablecoin usage, according to a recent report by the RWA Foundation. Total stablecoin supply was at $300.9B on October 1, with 195 assets, 152 issuers and 47 chains. A total of 308.4M addresses held stablecoins. 

For the past three months, Ethereum lost $4.9B in stablecoins, while the supply on TRON increased by $5B. Tether’s USDT supply contracted by $207.7M, while stablecoins by Circle and Ripple posted more active growth.

For retail and native traders, the growth of stablecoins on HyperEVM showed renewed activity, adding $1.5B in liquidity for Q3. Robinhood Chain added $649.2M in stablecoins for the same period, driving its own brand of trading and meme launchpads.