USD Coin [USDC] vs TerraUSD [UST]

The forces appear to be preparing for a battle of stablecoins. Looking at the top 10 cryptos by market cap, it’s evident that Tether [USDT] is the undisputed champion. However, USD Coin [USDC] is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and the second-largest stablecoin. TerraUSD [UST] was ranked tenth at the time of publication.

So, is there a chance that UST will dethrone USDC anytime soon?

The Clash of the Titans

To begin, consider the market caps of the two stablecoins. At the time of publication, USDC has a market cap of roughly $49,172,892,190,( R778 233 794 787) placing it between BNB [BNB] and Ripple’s XRP.

Meanwhile, UST had a market cap of around $18,639,297,415 (R294 994 467 752)  and was positioned between Cardano [ADA] and Binance USD [BUSD]. As projected, UST’s market cap must more than double in order to match USDC.

On that topic, let’s compare the volumes of the two stablecoins. At the time of publication, USDC had a volume of roughly 4.12 billion( R 65 billion). While volumes have been increasing since around April 24, the most recent big increase occurred in February 2022.

Meanwhile, when it comes to UST, we can observe that the stablecoin had a volume of roughly $540.59 million( R8.5bn) at the time of publication. Volumes have been stable since around April 25, although it is apparent that UST is still a long way from matching USDC.

What is your exchange policy?

Examining exchange supply can reveal the demand for both stablecoins. At the time of publication, USDC was rapidly departing the exchanges, with more than one billion gone between April 2 and May 2. This indicates that the asset is in high demand.

UST, on the other hand, was leaving the exchanges, though the volumes were nothing like those of USDC. In reality, millions of UST returned to the exchange in April, kicking off a trend of UST exiting exchanges.

Finally, it’s crucial to realize that other assets are involved when it comes to Terra. At the time of publication, the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) Reserves had a total of $1.96 billion( R 30bn). Around 148.66 million( 2.4 bn) of this was kept in USDC, while 26.28 million(R 415m) was held in USDT.