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Stablecoins, DeFi Likely to Be SEC’s Next Targets in U.S. Crypto Crackdown: Berenberg
If USD Coin is targeted by regulators, the impact on Coinbase revenue could be significant, the report said
Updated Jun 21, 2023, 6:21 p.m. Published Jun 21, 2023, 7:32 a.m.
Stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi) are likely to become the next targets in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s crackdown on the crypto industry, Berenberg said in a research report on Tuesday.
The investment bank said the SEC may now focus on bringing stablecoins, including the two largest by market cap, tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), and decentralized finance protocols into regulatory compliance.
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The SEC said earlier this month that it was suing crypto exchange Binance, its founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and the operating company for Binance.US on allegations of violating federal securities laws. A day later it sued rival exchange Coinbase (COIN) on similar charges.
If the SEC is looking to reduce the potential for unregulated DeFi protocols to serve as viable alternatives to regulated lenders and exchanges, then they could “target the stablecoins that serve as the lifeblood of decentralized finance,” analysts led by Mark Palmer wrote.
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By targeting these stablecoins, the SEC may also weaken the DeFi ecosystem, the report said.
Berenberg says that if USDC is targeted by U.S. regulators, the impact on Coinbase’s revenue could be significant, noting that in first-quarter 2023 the exchange generated $199 million in net revenue – about 27% of the total – from interest income earned on USDC reserves.
Bitcoin (BTC), which the SEC has affirmed as a commodity rather than an unregistered security, is likely to be the ultimate beneficiary of the crackdown, the note said.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares are well positioned to outperform, given the company’s focus on acquiring and holding bitcoins, as the regulatory clampdown will likely give rise to a U.S. crypto industry that is more bitcoin-focused than it has been in recent years, the report added.
Read more: Crypto Market Regulatory Uncertainty Overshadows Blockchain Development: Bank of America
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Exchange Review - March 2025
CoinDesk Data's monthly Exchange Review captures the key developments within the cryptocurrency exchange market. The report includes analyses that relate to exchange volumes, crypto derivatives trading, market segmentation by fees, fiat trading, and more.
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Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.
- Trading Volumes Decline for Third Consecutive Month: Combined spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges fell by 6.24% to $6.79tn in March 2025, reaching the lowest level since October. Both spot and derivatives markets recorded their third consecutive monthly decline, falling 14.1% and 2.56% to $1.98tn and $4.81tn respectively.
- Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions.
- Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.
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