Bitcoin dropped 14% in the second quarter, falling below $60,000 and reaching its lowest level since 2024, while total stablecoin supply slipped to $312 billion, the first quarterly contraction since the third quarter of 2023, according to a report from CEX.IO shared with CryptoSlate.

The broader crypto market declined 6.2% during the quarter, and stablecoins’ share of total market capitalization rose to 14% from 13%, indicating that investors continued to hold dollar‑linked tokens despite overall capital outflows, a trend observed in data from CEX.IO.

Yield‑bearing stablecoins, which had risen for three consecutive years, lost more than $3.5 billion, or 15%, in Q2, reversing a 19% gain in the prior quarter; assets such as Ethena’s sUSDe fell 52% and Sky’s sUSDS fell 16%, while institutional demand shifted toward real‑world asset‑backed tokens, causing BlackRock’s BUIDL fund to grow 2% and Treasury‑backed offerings like USYC and USDY to increase 16% and 66%, respectively, according to the same report. Stablecoin balances on Ethereum layer‑2 networks fell 24%, or $4.34 billion, led by a 45% drop on Arbitrum, whereas Tron added $3.4 billion and BNB Chain gained $700 million, reflecting divergent movements across networks, as reported by CEX.IO.

Transaction counts for stablecoins fell to 4.48 billion in Q2, the largest quarterly decline on record, though smaller transfers rose 5% to $19.39 billion, suggesting continued retail activity, while regulatory developments such as the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets framework and the U.S. GENIUS Act may influence future demand, and the market’s recovery timeline remains uncertain as institutional interest in regulated stablecoin products persists.