Major TradFi institutions are increasingly entering the stablecoin market, collaborating to launch stablecoins and enhance their credibility in mainstream finance.

: Major TradFi institutions are increasingly entering the stablecoin market, collaborating to launch stablecoins and enhance their credibility in mainstream finance.

: While USDT remains the largest stablecoin by market cap, USDC is rapidly gaining ground, driven by its regulatory compliance and significant institutional demand, with its market cap increasing by 87% year-over-year.

: New legislation, including the GENIUS and STABLE Acts in the U.S., is providing much-needed regulatory clarity for stablecoins, facilitating broader adoption and encouraging compliance among issuers.

: The DeFi ecosystem is moving away from algorithmic stablecoins toward overcollateralized models, reflecting a preference for stability and regulatory compliance amid past failures.

: The stablecoin market has reached a total capitalization of $250 billion, indicating a robust growth trajectory and positioning stablecoins as integral components of the global financial system.

Institutionalization of stablecoins: Big players are rushing in

In 2025, the stablecoin landscape is increasingly being shaped by institutional players, with significant involvement from traditional finance (TradFi) institutions such as JPMorganChase, Bank of America and Citigroup. These banks are exploring joint stablecoin initiatives, leveraging their credibility to enhance adoption and integration into mainstream finance. Projects like Circle's USDC are benefiting from regulatory compliance, capturing market share from competitors. 

Bybit has emerged as a leader in stablecoin innovation, offering unique products such as USDtb, backed by institutional-grade assets. This institutional embrace is blurring the lines between TradFi and 

, enhancing the legitimacy of stablecoins within various financial applications.

The stablecoin market is expanding quickly

The stablecoin market has seen substantial recent growth, with a total market capitalization of $250 billion as of May 2025, marking a 17% increase year-to-date. USDC is emerging as a significant competitor to USDT, growing its market cap from $32 billion to $60 billion and driven by institutional demand for compliant alternatives. While USDT retains the largest market share, accounting for 63% as compared to USDC's 25%, USDC's growth trajectory suggests a potential shift in dominance. Trading volumes for USDC have surged, reflecting its strategic adoption by leading exchanges and further solidifying its position as a preferred choice among regulatory-compliant stablecoins.

DeFi stablecoins pivot to overcollateralization and compliance

The DeFi space is witnessing a marked shift toward overcollateralized and regulatory-compliant stablecoins as it moves away from algorithmic models that have faced increased scrutiny. With the 

, confidence in algorithmic stablecoins has declined significantly. As of now, algorithmic stablecoins represent only $800 million of the total market cap, down 77% since Terra’s UST collapse. In contrast, crypto-backed stablecoins, such as Dai and USDe, account for approximately $17 billion. This trend reflects a growing preference for stablecoins that offer robust collateralization and regulatory compliance, indicating a maturation of the DeFi space in alignment with broader market dynamics.

Advanced

JUN25_R8_Stablecoins in 2025_ Navigating growth, regulation and market shifts.png

Bybit Crypto Insights Report: Stablecoin growth drives crypto adoption, with regulation-compliant stablecoins leading the pack

Circle's NYSE debut under ticker CRCL saw its stock triple the $31 IPO price, triggering multiple trading halts due to volatility. 

Daily top performer — TRON Network (TRX)

The S&P 500 fell 0.53% as labor data weakened and Trump’s clash with Musk dragged Tesla shares down 14.3%. Gold holds above $3,350 as traders await US jobs data. A weak NFP could boost prices, while strong numbers may weigh on the metal. Bullish trend remains intact above key support. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, fell 4.90%, with Bitcoin and Ether down 2.94% and 7.90%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today’s top performer is TRX, up 1.4% after AEON integrated TRON to enable seamless in-store crypto payments across Southeast Asia.

TRON Network (TRX), founded in 2017, is a fast, low-fee blockchain platform for dApps, smart contracts, and digital content sharing. Governed by TRON DAO, it uses its native token TRX for transactions and governance, aiming to empower creators and users by removing intermediaries. AEON has 

 the TRON network to enable seamless in-store payments using TRX, USDT, and USDD via AEON Pay. This move expands TRON's utility across 20 million merchants in Southeast Asia and supports AEON’s mission to make crypto payments fast, affordable, and widely accessible in real-world retail settings.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

 under ticker CRCL saw its stock triple the $31 IPO price, triggering multiple trading halts due to volatility. The USDC issuer, now a public company with a $61B market cap stablecoin, raised $1.1B after an oversubscribed IPO. The surge reflects growing institutional belief in stablecoins as core to modern finance, as Circle positions itself ahead of central bank digital currency competition.

Yesterday, BTC spot ETFs saw $278.4M in net outflows, with $254.3M from non-GBTC funds and $24.1M from GBTC.

 is a new AI-powered crypto assistant that lets users perform tasks like swaps, transfers, and portfolio tracking using natural language commands — no smart wallet setup required. The platform recently raised $3M and launched a points program, which could lead to a future airdrop. Users earn points by interacting with the AI, completing tasks, and optionally minting an NFT from its official collection.

Beginner

4.png

Circle soars on NYSE debut as CRCL triples IPO price amid stablecoin optimism

Space and Time (SXT) offers real-time blockchain data access with ZK-proof integrity, enabling fast, secure SQL queries across on-chain and off-chain data.

Blockchain networks contain incredible amounts of data that may provide valuable insights for analysis and serve as inputs for apps, databases and analytics platforms. Unfortunately, data held in decentralized ledgers is mostly unstructured and expensive to access, and might not be verified for accuracy. For instance, when blockchain validators approve transaction blocks based on the respective consensus model used by the network, they simply confirm the correct format of the data. 

In order to enhance the accuracy and validity of such data, the blockchain industry has implemented a range of solutions, including 

. Unfortunately, standard ZK technology may involve complex data processing, and can become computationally expensive and poorly scalable. Even when implemented efficiently, ZK proofs don’t make blockchain data more accessible, though they do ensure data integrity and security.

Space and Time (SXT) is a decentralized platform that aspires to become a unified, structured warehouse of on-chain and off-chain data, enabling easy, quick and inexpensive access supported by ZK-proven data validation. The platform sources data from numerous blockchains and Web 2.0 systems, generates and stores cryptographic references for the data, organizes it in the standard relational database format and lets external sources — including data-driven applications and smart contracts — query it using the good ol’ SQL, a database query tool ubiquitously known in the developer and analyst communities. 

 modular decentralized network that acts as an enormous warehouse of on-chain and off-chain data from various sources.

 It securely pulls and indexes external data for easy access by 

 (DApps), protocols, enterprise systems and other platforms requiring flexible and efficient data usage. 

The Space and Time blockchain features cross-chain connectivity to several decentralized networks for data collection, including Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), ZKSync, 

 (POL), Sui (SUI) and Avalanche (AVAX). Web 2.0 systems and databases can also be used as off-chain data sources for the platform. 

Space and Time acquires on-chain and off-chain data, assigns cryptographic digital fingerprint references and securely stores the signed references. This ensures that any data you access via the platform is verified and can be obtained efficiently and inexpensively.

Developers and apps can run standard SQL queries on the data that Space and Time stores and organizes to feed it into their own systems or on-chain smart contracts, thus creating various use case opportunities to use the platform.

One potential use case is the tokenization of 

 (RWAs) into dynamic NFTs. Let’s say a real estate property is tokenized to be represented on-chain by an NFT that records its key parameters — market value, sale history, last renovation date and current rental income. As the parameters are updated in the real estate database connected to Space and Time, the updates are pulled in by the blockchain, verified cryptographically and sent to the NFT smart contract for relevant changes to the token’s dynamic values. 

Space and Time can also be used for enterprise auditing purposes. Auditors and regulators can run queries on the financial data uploaded by a business entity via Space and Time, knowing that the data has been verified for authenticity and accuracy, thanks to the platform’s use of cryptographic proofs.

 projects to automatically query Space and Time for necessary data to pull into their own applications, databases or smart contracts. The platform's use of the standard SQL format greatly simplifies the creation of such query agents and bots.

Space and Time has developed Proof of SQL™, a variation of ZK cryptographic proofs, to securely validate the authenticity and correctness of sourced data (which we'll touch upon later).

The Space and Time blockchain’s modular design features three specialized node types: Indexers, Validators and Provers. These nodes coordinate their work in order to complete the entire life cycle of data sourcing, validation, cryptographic reference storage and query retrieval. 

The entire process — from “ingesting” data to generating the final results for user queries — is based on 

Space and Time acts as a giant decentralized data warehouse that many entities across both the web3 and Web 2.0 domains can use to ensure they access structured and verified data. The primary records in the warehouse are tables that contain cryptographic references to the actual on-chain and off-chain data, which can be queried in a secure, scalable and efficient manner. 

Typical blockchain records on most networks represent vast piles of unstructured data from which it’s difficult to cross-verify or derive insights. Using Space and Time's data warehouse, apps and smart contracts can efficiently extract exactly what they need without combing the unstructured records held by numerous blockchains and Web 2.0 databases.

 is a custom-built, high-performance cryptographic proof. It attests that specific SQL queries have been executed in a valid and consistent way. Unlike generic ZK proofs, which confirm data’s validity without revealing all of its internal details, Proof of SQL proves that the results you get based on your query are exactly what you've requested. As a sub-second ZK coprocessor, Proof of SQL can aggregate and verify analytics over millions of rows within less than a second.

Developers can use Proof of SQL to generate cryptographic proofs from any SQL-compatible data source — centralized or decentralized — and return those proofs to smart contracts (on-chain) or external verifiers (off-chain).

, a Layer 1 network designed specifically to act as a tamperproof data repository. Together with its cryptographic proof mechanism (Proof of SQL) and the trio of node types, Space and Time’s blockchain creates opportunities for real-time data queries, updates and verifications for 

 management solutions, audit systems and other applications. 

In essence, any protocol, smart contract or app that requires quick access to data it doesn’t internally possess can benefit from using the SXT Chain.

ZK-based validation systems often have computational overheads that make them less than ideal for certain apps requiring quick data access for running front-end analytics or on-chain data queries. For such use cases, Space and Time offers a custom product, Managed DB via APIs, that enables running optimistically validated queries on blockchain data. Thanks to optimistic validation, it’s even more efficient to execute these queries and deliver results. 

A set of APIs facilitates efficient queries of underlying data via the Managed DB. The product lets you access all of the data held by the SXT Chain, as well as indexed blockchain data from numerous mainnet and testnet platforms.

Space and Time Studio. an easy-to-use platform that offers an AI-powered interface to develop SQL queries, uses natural language prompts. Users unfamiliar with SQL can easily generate queries by specifying their requirements to the AI tool.

 platform allows developers to simulate various tokenomics models, forecast their tokens’ performance and develop detailed analytics and dashboards related to their tokens’ economies. The platform acts as a simulation environment in which aspiring token issuers can model various elements of tokenomics, such as buybacks, burning models, staking, vesting and more.

Users can add and remove tokenomics elements. or adjust them to find optimal models. Price forecasts are generated by Space and Tokens to guide users on the possible outcomes of selecting specific tokenomics features. The platform even offers templates for token economies based on the parameters of distinguished and successful crypto projects, such as 

What is the Space and Time crypto token (SXT)?

The platform's native token, SXT, is designed for several key functions. One of these is staking. Validators stake the token to secure the right to perform their duties on the platform and earn staking rewards in SXT. The SXT Chain supports stake delegation — i.e., anyone who doesn't want to set up and run a validator node can delegate their SXT tokens to their chosen validator and earn a share of the staking rewards.

The platform's users — apps, external databases, smart contracts, oracles, analysts and any other entity that pulls data from Space and Time — pay to run their queries in SXT tokens.

Data publishers can earn SXT tokens by making their datasets available on Space and Time for other users to query. 

The project's white paper also specifies that SXT will be used for governance, with token holders voting on the platform's future direction and changes to it. 

SXT has a total and maximum supply of 5 billion tokens. The chart below shows its supply allocation shares.

Where to buy the Space and Time crypto token (SXT)

The SXT token is available on Bybit’s Spot market as a swap pair with the USDT stablecoin (

). You can also use the token for trading via Bybit’s 

, which allows you to automate your grid trading strategy to capitalize on asset price fluctuations by buying low and selling high at predetermined price points.

As of Jun 6, 2025, the SXT token has been on the market for nearly a month. It’s currently trading at $0.09376, a 42.3% drop from its all-time high of $0.1621 on May 8, 2025.

SXT’s long-term price outlook is quite bullish.DigitalCoinPrice 

 at $0.31 by 2027 and $0.49 by 2030, whilePricePrediction is 

Space and Time’s modular decentralized network has taken on an essential role in the blockchain industry. While popular blockchains store enormous amounts of data, few platforms currently act as centralized depositories in which this data may be indexed, stored, accessed or cross-verified. At the same time, the need for such a structured, easily accessible and industry-wide repository is evident — and the Space and Time network provides a viable solution. 

As more data moves to blockchain, Space and Time’s core service will prove increasingly relevant for analysts, developers, DApp operators, enterprises still reliant upon Web 2.0 systems and countless others who may use SQL to source both on-chain and off-chain data. 

Space and Time crypto.png

Space and Time (SXT): Real-time blockchain data with ZK integrity

Ditto is a liquid staking protocol built on Aptos that issues stAPT tokens to users who stake APT. Learn more here.

 infrastructure, but its native staking creates barriers that exclude everyday users from earning rewards. Traditional staking locks tokens indefinitely, demands technical expertise for validator operation and lacks delegation options for smaller holders.

Ditto addresses these limitations through its innovative 

 that transforms the way users interact with Aptos staking. This article examines Ditto's approach to flexible staking, the mechanics behind stAPT tokens and 

the opportunities Ditto creates for yield-seeking investors.

 protocol built on Aptos that issues stAPT tokens to users who stake APT. It transforms traditional staking from an illiquid commitment into a flexible investment that generates yields while stAPT tokens remain fully tradeable across the Aptos ecosystem.

stAPT is a yield-bearing token that users receive when staking APT through Ditto's liquid staking protocol. Each stAPT token represents a claim on the underlying staked APT, plus accumulated staking rewards within Ditto's validator pool.

Starting at a 1:1 ratio with APT, the stAPT exchange rate increases every epoch as staking rewards accumulate, allowing holders to redeem progressively more APT over time. The token addresses traditional staking's liquidity issue by remaining fully tradable and usable across Aptos DeFi while generating staking yields.

DTO is Ditto's governance token, which will enable decentralized control of the protocol while aligning incentives across users, validators and ecosystem partners. The token facilitates governance participation and helps bootstrap network effects to establish stAPT as the base token of Aptos DeFi.

With a planned initial supply of 1 billion tokens, DTO currently has no fixed launch date. Early users can participate in Ditto's pre-mining program to earn DTO discount tokens, which offer 50% discounts on future DTO purchases once the token becomes available.

Ditto was founded by a team whose focus was on solving Aptos staking limitations that prevented broader user participation. The founders recognized that native staking's illiquidity, high validator requirements and lack of delegation support created barriers for everyday users wanting to contribute to network security.

The project emerged from the belief that liquid staking would significantly benefit the Aptos ecosystem by democratizing access to staking rewards. By removing technical barriers and capital requirements, Ditto enables any APT holder to participate in network validation while maintaining their tokens’ liquidity.

Ditto tackles critical limitations that prevent broader participation in Aptos staking. Native staking locks tokens without liquidity, requires substantial capital for validator operation and demands technical expertise that excludes everyday users from earning staking rewards.

Beyond solving these immediate barriers, Ditto envisions stAPT becoming the foundational token for all Aptos DeFi activities. The protocol aims to transform the way users interact with the Aptos ecosystem by providing a liquid, yield-generating asset that maintains all the utility of native APT.

Ditto provides multiple pathways for users to stake, unstake and trade stAPT according to their specific needs and time preferences. It combines direct protocol interactions with broader DeFi integration to ensure maximum flexibility and liquidity for all participants.

Users stake APT tokens through Ditto's interface to receive stAPT at the current exchange rate, which offers an approximately 7% annual yield as of June 2025. The staked APT joins Ditto's validator network, where professional node operators handle the technical aspects of validation while users earn rewards passively.

Ditto charges a 10% fee on staking rewards, which is split between the protocol treasury and validators. This fee structure aligns incentives by compensating validators for their services while funding protocol development and ecosystem partnerships.

Ditto provides instant unstaking through a dedicated APT pool reserved specifically for immediate withdrawals. Users can instantly convert stAPT back to APT by paying a fee, although this service depends upon pool availability and may become temporarily unavailable if the pool is depleted. This feature ensures stAPT maintains high liquidity and fungibility with APT, thereby supporting healthy DeFi integration across the ecosystem. 

The instant unstaking option proves critical for maintaining stAPT's utility in time-sensitive trading and 

For fee-free unstaking, Ditto offers a delayed option that processes withdrawals at the end of staking subscription periods, potentially taking up to 30 days. This mechanism ensures users always have an exit path, regardless of instant pool availability.

The delayed unstaking feature provides an important arbitrage mechanism that helps maintain the stAPT-APT peg. By guaranteeing eventual redemption at the actual exchange rate, this option adds security and confidence to the broader stAPT ecosystem.

Ditto establishes stAPT-APT liquidity pools across major Aptos DEXs, creating alternative trading routes for users who prefer market-based exchanges over protocol unstaking. These pools enhance overall stAPT liquidity while offering flexible entry and exit options for different trading strategies.

Ditto implements a 10% fee on all staking rewards earned by the protocol. Fee distribution occurs through additional stAPT minting each epoch to ensure transparent and automated reward sharing. This mechanism maintains protocol sustainability while incentivizing high-quality validator services and continued development.

Ditto has successfully launched its liquid staking protocol on the Aptos mainnet, establishing the foundation for stAPT adoption across the ecosystem. The platform currently processes over 53,000 APT in total staked value, while maintaining a 7% annual yield for participants. Ditto launched its pre-mining program alongside mainnet deployment, allowing users to stake stAPT and LP tokens for DTO discount token rewards. 

Looking ahead, Ditto plans to launch the DTO governance token while expanding stAPT integrations across major Aptos DeFi protocols. Future development will focus on deepening the utility of stAPT through partnerships with lending protocols, stablecoin projects and NFT marketplaces. The team aims to establish stAPT to be as ubiquitous as native APT within the Aptos ecosystem, supporting the vision of liquid staking as a foundational pillar of DeFi.

Ditto solves Aptos staking's core limitation by enabling users to earn staking yields without sacrificing liquidity while they participate in DeFi. With over 53,000 APT already staked, Ditto proves that demand exists for accessible staking solutions that remove technical barriers.

Ditto’s combination of automatic yield accrual, instant unstaking and zero-fee delayed withdrawals creates compelling advantages over traditional staking. With stAPT designed for widespread DeFi integration and DTO governance launching to decentralize the protocol even further, Ditto has positioned itself as essential infrastructure for Aptos's growth.

Intermediate

ditto.png

Ditto (stAPT): Flexible staking for the Aptos ecosystem

Bybit Learn

Interviews

This is a thought leadership article written by Mazurka Zeng, Head of Fiat at Bybit.

Stablecoins_beyond_USDT_1.png

This post is written by Mazurka Zeng. Mazurka is the Head of Fiat at Bybit.

Stablecoins have become a cornerstone of the digital asset ecosystem, providing a crucial bridge between fiat currencies and the crypto world. 

As Head of Fiat at Bybit, I've seen firsthand how user needs are diversifying, pushing innovation beyond traditional fiat-pegged stablecoins.

Exponential growth in the stablecoin sector

The stablecoin sector is maturing, driven by increasing adoption and regulatory progress, like the 

 the US House Financial Services Committee, with the GENIUS Act 

 to final passage by the US Senate on May 20.

In my role overseeing Bybit's fiat operations, we've integrated stablecoins deeply into our ecosystem. They enable seamless transactions on the 

 platform. Further, they provide yield in 

 and facilitate seamless spending via the 

. This expanding utility fuels the need for a broader range of stable assets.

This growth is undeniable. The market capitalization of fiat-backed stablecoins surged to an all-time high market cap of $248 billion by May 22, 

 with a $151.9 billion market cap, even as it is facing MiCA compliance hurdles in Europe. This dominance, however, prompts a vital question: 

What's next for stablecoins beyond the established fiat-backed giants?

One compelling alternative that is gaining traction is 

. Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins, XAUT is pegged 1:1 to one fine troy ounce of physical gold, securely stored in Swiss vaults and meeting the LBMA Good Delivery standard. This offers users direct digital ownership of gold, combining its historical stability with blockchain efficiency.

Gold has long been valued as an inflation hedge. In 2025, amid ongoing economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, XAUT saw significant interest, reflected in its 25% year-to-date price surge. Furthermore, XAUT solves the traditional challenges of physical gold ownership — storage costs and accessibility issues. It allows for fractional ownership (down to 0.000001 troy ounce) and easy, borderless transfers, 24/7.

 markets. The strong user interest confirms a clear appetite for stablecoins backed by tangible, non-fiat reserves, especially during times of market volatility.

Another exciting development is the rise of regionally focused, MiCA-compliant stablecoins. In March 2025, Bybit.NL 

, issued by Quantoz Payments and StablR Limited, respectively. Both are fully backed by fiat reserves (USD) and designed explicitly to meet the EU's rigorous MiCA regulations, offering enhanced transparency and user protection within the European Economic Area (EEA).

, based in Malta, have both secured investment from Tether. Significantly, both issuers leverage Tether's new 

, designed to streamline the issuance and management of regulated digital assets. This backing signals strong confidence in these newcomers and their potential to foster compliant stablecoin adoption in Europe.

The stablecoin market is clearly diversifying. Gold-backed options like XAUT could increasingly appeal to those seeking stores of value outside the traditional USD-dominated financial system. Their stability profile offers a different kind of hedge compared to fiat-pegged tokens.

Simultaneously, MiCA-compliant, locally issued stablecoins like USDQ and USDR are poised to bridge traditional finance and crypto within Europe more effectively. Their regulatory clarity may foster greater trust among users and institutions, facilitating seamless digital euro and dollar transactions across the region.

At Bybit, our focus remains on empowering users. We're committed to providing a wide array of stablecoin options — from established leaders to innovative newcomers like XAUT, USDQ and USDR. By offering diverse assets and supporting regional compliance efforts, we aim to provide the tools users need to navigate the evolving digital economy confidently.

In a world where trust and flexibility are key, stablecoins must do more than just hold value — they must create value. At Bybit, we’re proud to be shaping that future.

Stablecoins beyond USDT: Exploring the potential of XAUT and newcomers USDQ & USDR

Compete for 2,500 USDT USDT Every Week

Stablecoins beyond USDT: Exploring the potential of XAUT and newcomers USDQ & USDR

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Compete for 2,500 USDT USDT Every Week

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards