Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has stated that Circle’s recent IPO is the starting gun for a “stablecoin mania” bubble, cautioning investors of impending carnage.
The warning, detailed in Hayes’ latest Substack essay, clashes with bullish data showing stablecoin market capitalization surging to a record $228 billion.
The Distribution Imperative
In the June 17 piece, the crypto entrepreneur called Circle’s public listing, which raked in more than $1.1 billion, “grossly overvalued.” He also claimed that it signaled the beginning of a speculative frenzy destined to end in significant losses.
“The bubble will pop after the launch of a stablecoin issuer on a public market, most likely in the U.S., that separates fools from tens of billions of capital by using a combination of financial engineering, leverage, and amazing showmanship,” Hayes predicted.
He hinged his thesis on one crucial factor for any stablecoin’s survival: distribution at scale.
“The only question you must ask yourself when evaluating an investment in a stablecoin issuer is this: how will they distribute their product?” the market watcher asserted.
According to him, legacy financial institutions and large crypto exchanges such as Coinbase have effectively monopolized viable distribution channels. For this reason, he feels new entrants will face near-insurmountable barriers in their bid to replicate the successes of incumbents like Tether (USDT).
The 40-year-old believes social media giants like Meta and traditional banks are facing an “Extinction Level Event” from efficient stablecoins, which will inevitably build proprietary solutions, shutting out third-party partnerships.
He pointed to Tether’s staggering profitability, earned via the spread on U.S. Treasury holdings, as the irresistible lure driving the coming wave of overvalued IPOs, despite the closed distribution landscape.
“The stablecoin narrative is unique in that it has the largest most obvious TAM for a TradFi muppet,” the crypto enthusiast wrote, acknowledging the allure but predicting a “road to destruction” for those who will invest in new stablecoin issuers lacking Tether’s network effects or Circle’s connection with Coinbase.
Booming Stablecoin Market
Hayes’ warning comes against a backdrop of undeniable sector momentum. According to CryptoQuant, the stablecoin market cap has ballooned 17% year-to-date (YTD), adding $33 billion to hit $228 billion.
USDT added slightly more than 13% to its market cap in that period, pushing it past $155 billion. Meanwhile, USDC seems to have finally shaken off the aftereffects of its 2023 depeg crisis following the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, surging 39% to $61 billion.
Liquidity is also flooding exchanges, with ERC-20 stablecoin reserves hitting about $50 billion, and yield-bearing stablecoins recovering to $6.9 billion.
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