Stablecoin

Coinbase's chief legal officer Paul Grewal said the CLARITY Act has momentum after advancing out of the Senate Banking Committee, but added that significant work remains before it can become law. The bill cleared committee markup 15–9 and now heads toward a Senate floor vote, where it is expected to be combined with Agriculture Committee language tied to the CFTC. Analysts and lawmakers flagged ethics provisions and stablecoin-yield restrictions as potential hurdles, while Bitcoin traded below $78K after falling 5%.

On May 14, the Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, outlining how U.S. regulators would oversee crypto markets. The bill would clarify SEC and CFTC roles, create a joint advisory committee, and set frameworks covering DeFi decentralization tests, stablecoin reward limits, and tokenized securities treatment.

The Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 on Thursday to advance the CLARITY Act, moving the crypto market structure proposal out of committee. Ahead of the vote, banking advocates highlighted figures including $154 billion in 2025 illicit crypto receipts and a 162% year-over-year rise, while others argued enforcement and on-chain controls are increasingly limiting laundering.

Over the last seven days, stablecoin market capitalization rose to $323.343 billion after $1.542 billion in net inflows. USDT stayed on top with about 58.67% share and added $68.2 million since May 9, while USDC fell 1.22% on the week. USDS grew 11.50% to $8.791 billion, and Western Union's USDPT surged 597,568% but remained a $1.5 million market.

Binance Research said law enforcement and private partners recovered about 11% of illicit cryptocurrency volume in 2025, which it framed as 55 times the recovery rate for traditional assets. It also highlighted enforcement efforts involving Tether, Interpol, and the T3 Financial Crime Unit, while critics argued Binance's crime statistics exclude some illicit-activity categories.

Hana Bank plans to acquire a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, the company behind South Korea's largest crypto exchange, Upbit, for about $670 million (1 trillion won). The purchase covers 2.28 million shares from Kakao Investments and is slated to close on June 15. Hana Financial Group said it will fund the all-cash deal using roughly 2.78% of its equity capital.

USDC circulation declined by about $1.7 billion over the past seven days, reducing the amount of the Circle-managed stablecoin available across supported blockchains. The move implies that redemptions exceeded fresh issuance during the week, a dynamic that can affect how much readily deployable liquidity is available for trading and DeFi activity.

Stablecoin supply has climbed to $322 billion, but wallets holding $10 million+ in stablecoins have continued to decline since the 2025 market peak. With total crypto market cap around $2.6 trillion versus above $4 trillion at the 2025 top, the Fear and Greed Index at 43 and the Altcoin Season Index near 30 suggest conditions still look neutral rather than rally-ready.

Antseed said it launched a decentralized, peer-to-peer AI marketplace on May 15 that links AI users directly with model providers and removes centralized intermediaries. The network starts with 20 providers and supports instant USDC settlement to providers' wallets with 0% platform markups. Antseed also says the system is account-free, aiming to let next-generation AI agents transact without centralized authorization.

Solayer has introduced a Visa-compatible payment card that lets users spend USDC through online, in-store and contactless purchases, with ATM withdrawals available in supported regions. The card can be ordered via the Solayer Pay app; existing users can request it for free, while new users pay a $20 annual activation fee.