USDT Market Cap Shrinks for Second Consecutive Month, Stablecoin Growth Stalls as Cryptocurrency Market Recovery Casts Shadow
On February 25, Tether (USDT)—the world’s largest stablecoin—saw its market cap drop 0.8% this month to $183.61 billion, extending January’s trend when it slipped ~1% from its all-time high of $186.84 billion. This marks the first consecutive monthly contraction since the 2022 TerraForm Labs collapse, a signal of tightening market liquidity.
Analysts note stablecoins act as the crypto market’s “liquidity fuel”; supply contractions typically indicate net fund outflows. Against this backdrop, demand for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs remains muted, prompting market participants to take a cautious view on any rebound’s sustainability.
On the price front, Bitcoin has struggled to build sustained momentum since bottoming near $60k on February 6. While it briefly popped above $70k, it’s now trading in the $65k range.
Meanwhile, fellow major stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) has seen its market cap climb from a January low of $70 billion to ~$75 billion, but full-year growth has stalled. This signa
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If Bitcoin drops below $63,000, the mainstream CEX long liquidation volume will reach $1.054 billion.
On February 25, Coinglass data shows that if Bitcoin drops below $63,000, the total liquidation strength of long positions across major centralized exchanges (CEXs) will hit $1.054 billion.
Conversely, if Bitcoin breaks above $67,000, the total liquidation strength of short positions on major CEXs will reach $686 million.
BlockBeats Note: Liquidation charts do not display the exact number or value of contracts scheduled for liquidation. The bars on these charts represent the relative importance of each liquidation cluster compared to adjacent clusters — in other words, their "strength." Thus, the chart indicates the degree to which an asset’s price will be affected when it reaches a certain level. A higher "liquidation bar" signals that once the price hits that level, it will trigger a more intense reaction due to a liquidity cascade.
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Hong Kong will establish a digital bond issuance platform and connect to a regional tokenization hub to promote bond settlement on core infrastructure
Hong Kong to Launch New Digital Asset Platform in 2026, Integrate Tokenized Bonds into Core Financial Infrastructure
Hong Kong will establish a new digital asset platform this year (2026) to support the issuance and settlement of tokenized bonds, with plans to expand to other digital asset categories over time, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan’s 2026–27 Budget speech delivered on February 25.
The platform will be developed by CMU OmniClear Holdings, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and will connect with other tokenization platforms in the region—strengthening Hong Kong’s status as a digital asset hub.
Hong Kong has already completed multiple government tokenized bond issuances. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui noted that the third batch of tokenized government bonds, totaling 10 billion Hong Kong dollars (roughly $1.28 billion USD), was issued in Q4 2025, with regular issuances to continue going forward. This i
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Aave Team Raises Concerns Over Previous Performance: Received $86 Million in Funding, Holds 23% of Tokens, All Six Products Have Failed or Lost Money
On February 25th, Marc Zeller—founder of Aave ecosystem contributor ACI—published a public report disclosing that Aave Labs has secured roughly $86 million in cumulative capital backing since 2017, including proceeds from its 2017 ICO, venture capital (VC) funding, and direct grants from the Aave DAO.
The founding team set aside 23% of LEND tokens during the 2017 ICO; those tokens later migrated to AAVE at a 100:1 ratio. Prior to receiving DAO funding, Labs held approximately $48.7 million in capital. Since then, it has secured ~$37.4 million in DAO grants and is now seeking an additional $51 million via the “Aave Will Win” proposal.
The report raises critical questions about Labs’ past product performance, noting that six independent products launched alongside the core Aave protocol have either failed outright or failed to become profitable.
For the real-world asset (RWA) project Horizon: while it once claimed to have exceeded $1 billion in scale, its actual RWA collateral t
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Interest Rate Winds Shift? Commodity Currencies Lead G10 Higher as Traders Bet on Global Return to Rate Hikes
February 25th — The forex market hit a turning point Tuesday, with the Australian Dollar (AUD), Norwegian Krone (NOK), and New Zealand Dollar (NZD) leading G10 currencies year-to-date—up roughly 6%, 5%, and 4% respectively. Traders are reassessing the global interest rate trajectory, betting major economies will either wrap up rate-cut cycles or refocus on taming inflation.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kicked off a new round of rate hikes this month, and its preferred trimmed-mean inflation gauge rose to 3.4%—reinforcing market bets on another hike in May. Norway’s markets are pricing in a first-half rate hike amid unexpectedly high inflation, while the Kiwi is also benefiting from wagers on upcoming rate increases. The three top “commodity currencies” strengthened in tandem, boosted by gains in key commodities like oil and copper.
Strategists note that with Australian rates now above U.S. rates for the first time since 2017, plus a weaker greenback and growing demand for
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