Crypto rallies point to slower USDC growth and faster USDT growth, study finds

USDC and USDT supply can grow to meet different kinds of demand for dollar stablecoins, according to Coin Metrics research published Oct. 20. For Bitcoin investors, that complicates treating their combined issuance as a single pool of cash waiting to buy BTC.The study associates stronger non-stablecoin crypto-market returns with slower USDC growth the following week and faster USDT growth. It also finds a lending-yield association specific to USDC. Those differences matter because a new dollar token can serve a borrower, a lender or someone staying in dollars before it ever reaches a Bitcoin trade.Aggregate stablecoin supply measures tokens outstanding. The new findings give Bitcoin investors a reason to examine what those balances are doing before interpreting issuance as fresh spot-buying demand.What USDC and USDT regressions showThe opposing return relationships show why issuer composition matters. Coin Metrics’ study uses weekly observations over four years, testing six drivers from the previous week against subsequent supply growth. Higher perpetual-futures funding rates associate with faster growth for both issuers, accounting for about 10% of USDC’s weekly supply-growth vari...