Author: Helen Partz, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Baishui, Golden Finance
Crypto financial services platform Matrixport said that Tether USDT's market value and trading volume have fallen by billions of dollars recently, but this is not enough to indicate bearish signs in the market.
According to CoinGecko data, Since reaching a peak of $141 billion on December 19, 2024, the market value of Tether's USDT stablecoin has fallen by 2.8%.
USDT trading has also fallen sharply in the past few weeks, with daily trading volume plunging 64% from approximately $154 billion in mid-December to $55 billion on January 6, 2025.
However, Matrixport said in a January 6 post on X that USDT's downward trend may be the result of slower holiday trading and should not be associated with a bearish turn in the cryptocurrency market.
In the article, Matrixport mentioned that an increase in stablecoin trading volume is typically a bullish indicator for the cryptocurrency market, reflecting more fiat currency flowing into the ecosystem.
“However, when these trends reverse, it often signals a consolidation phase for Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market,” Matrixport reported.
Source: Matrixport
Matrixport wrote: "Although Tether's market value has declined recently and trading volume has gradually decreased, it may be too early to be bearish now."
“These trends may simply reflect a seasonal downturn during the Christmas holiday period. We will soon see whether the market’s bullish momentum will resume as the New Year approaches.”
Matrixport is not the only company to highlight the current holiday liquidity shortage.
On January 4, CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler said that Bitcoin needs to accumulate more trading volume to generate strong bullish momentum, which may appear after the market recovers from the holiday.
Matrixport’s comments on Tether came as the community reacted to earlier reports that linked USDT’s market decline to the full implementation of the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA).
While some online reports suggest that European cryptocurrency exchanges should delist Tether’s USDT by Dec. 30, 2024, local regulators have yet to give such guidance.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the lead oversight body for MiCA compliance, has repeatedly declined to comment on the status of USDT under MiCA, even after the Dec. 30 deadline.
USDT trading also continued across Europe after Coinbase delisted USDT, with exchanges such as Binance saying at the end of 2024 that it would continue to support USDT on the platform until further notice.
Source: Nostradamus
Many community members on X slammed reports of USDT being delisted from major EU exchanges, calling such reports fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD).
“All the ‘news’ about Tether USDT being delisted from major global crypto exchanges due to the EU MiCA law is just FUD,” one industry observer wrote on X on January 6.
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