Smart Money Staying Put as USDC Remains Off Peg

Crypto’s smart money – which Nansen defines as everything from institutions to large traders – is dropping Circle’s USDC, on-chain data shows.

According to data from Nansen, the total balance of USDC in smart money wallets is approximately $485 million across 1,396 wallets. This is down from $700 million in 1,455 wallets a month ago and $1.02 billion in 1,478 wallets a year ago.

Meanwhile, the percentage of smart money in all stablecoins has dropped to 21%. At the start of the year it was near 30%, and hit an all-time high of 38% at the end of August 2022.

This skepticism of USDC by crypto’s biggest holders is likely impairing the ability for USDC to regain its dollar peg.

Nansen reports the supply of USDC on exchanges is up 8% compared to a week ago.

CoinGecko data says USDC is currently trading at 98 cents. Across all exchanges, Kraken is the closest to regaining its peg, with the USDC-USD price coming in at 99.22 cents.

On Binance, USDC-USDT perpetual futures contracts, are trading at 98.72 cents, slightly ahead of the spot price of 98 cents, implying that some traders are optimistic the peg will be restored.