Discussion on the Current Status and Future Development of Stablecoins

In a recent episode of the "WEB3 MINT TO BE" podcast, Mint Ventures research partner Alex had an in-depth discussion with dForce founder Min Dao on the topic of stablecoins.

Changes in the Stablecoin Market

The civil way points out that compared to the previous cycle, there have been some noticeable changes in the current stablecoin market:

1. The variety of stablecoins has decreased, mainly focusing on fiat-backed stablecoins.
2. The total issuance of stablecoins has reached a new high, totaling approximately 250 billion USD.
3. Algorithmic stablecoins have significantly decreased, while emerging are some channel-driven stablecoins.
4. There have been financial stablecoins like Ethena's USDE that are priced based on cryptocurrency asset arbitrage.

The Impact of Regulatory Policies on Stablecoins

The latest Genius Act launched in the United States has a profound impact on the stablecoin industry:

1. Clarified the identity requirements of the stablecoin issuance entity.
2. Certain restrictions have been placed on large tech companies issuing stablecoins.
3. Divide regulation into federal and state levels.
4. Provides a reference for stablecoin regulation in other countries and regions.

The Competitive Landscape of USDT and USDC

The market share of USDT continues to expand, mainly due to:

1. USDT is closer to a "shadow dollar" and has a wider range of use cases.
2. The circulation volume of USDT in trading, OTC, and other fields far exceeds that of USDC.
3. USDT no longer requires payment channel fees, while USDC still incurs high channel fees.

The Future of Decentralized Stablecoins

The positioning and development direction of decentralized stablecoins is changing.

1. Shift from competitive payments to specific scenario applications, such as wealth management and inter-protocol accounting.
2. A few projects like DAI may continue to exist, but their scale of growth will be limited.
3. Emerging decentralized stablecoin projects are increasingly focusing on financial management functions.

The Combination of DeFi, AI, and Stablecoins

The combination of AI and DeFi may bring new development opportunities:

1. AI agents can implement more complex DeFi logic, reducing reliance on on-chain contracts.
2. Stablecoins will become an important medium for AI agent payment services.
3. AI can help DeFi projects iterate and optimize strategies more quickly.

Overall, the stablecoin market is still in the blue ocean stage, but the leaders have shifted from crypto-native teams to traditional financial institutions and large tech companies. The future integration of stablecoins, DeFi, and AI may bring more innovation and development opportunities.