Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC Eyes $145,000 Rally as Michael Saylor Launches Another $21B Plan

Circle’s USDC (USDC) has become the first and only stablecoin officially approved for use in Japan’s regulated financial market. This marks a significant step toward mainstream adoption of the stablecoin in one of Asia’s largest economies.

This move follows shortly after the Philippines’ leading digital wallet, GCash, added support for the dollar-backed coin.

SBI Holdings and Circle Bring USDC to Japan

In the latest press release, the company revealed a strategic joint venture with SBI Holdings, a major Japanese financial conglomerate. The partnership will see SBI VC Trade, a cryptocurrency exchange under SBI Holdings, launch USDC trading on March 26, 2025. 

Other prominent exchanges, including Binance Japan, Bitbank, and BitFlyer, are set to follow suit, further expanding USDC’s reach in the region. The approval comes after SBI VC Trade secured regulatory clearance from the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) on March 4, 2025.

Circle’s expansion into Japan through its local entity, Circle Japan KK, signals growing institutional confidence in USDC’s reliability and utility. By integrating USDC into Japan’s digital finance ecosystem, Circle aims to provide secure solutions for payments, settlements, and treasury operations, potentially setting a precedent for stablecoin adoption globally.

Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder and CEO of Circle, celebrated the achievement in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

“We have spent 2+ years engaging with Japan’s regulators, major industry players, strategic partners, banking partners, and others to enable USDC for the Japanese market, which unlocks tremendous opportunities not just in trading digital assets but more broadly in payments, cross-border finance and commerce, FX and more,” Allaire stated.

The launch highlights Japan’s forward-thinking approach to blockchain technology and digital finance. The country has been at the forefront of Web3 adoption, with clear regulations on stablecoins already in place.

Yoshitaka Kitao, President and CEO of SBI Holdings, stressed that Circle’s entry into Japan will enhance financial accessibility and drive innovation in the digital economy.

“We believe this initiative will enhance financial accessibility and drive digital asset innovation, aligning with our broader vision for the future of payments and blockchain-based finance in Japan,” Kitao said.

This development comes as USDC continues to experience significant global growth. According to Circle’s 2025 report, the stablecoin’s monthly trading volume hit $1 trillion in November 2024. Moreover, its all-time trading volume surpassed $18 trillion. 

That’s not all. USDC’s circulation grew by 78% year-over-year. The report also shed lights on USDC’s expanded accessibility to more than 500 million user wallets worldwide. Circle expects this growth to continue in 2025. 

“Beyond the US dollar’s preeminent role in trade, payments, and global finance, three factors are poised to accelerate the adoption and utility of USDC. First, legal and regulatory clarity; second, the scalability of new blockchain networks; and third, superior UX,” the report added.

The post Circle’s USDC Becomes First Stablecoin Approved for Use in Japan appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Bitcoin (BTC) is now one year past its most recent halving, and this cycle is shaping up to be unlike any before it. Unlike previous cycles where explosive rallies followed the halving, BTC has seen a far more muted gain, up just 31%, compared to 436% over the same timeframe in the last cycle.

At the same time, long-term holder metrics like the MVRV ratio are signaling a sharp decline in unrealized profits, pointing to a maturing market with compressing upside. Together, these shifts suggest Bitcoin may be entering a new era, defined less by parabolic peaks and more by gradual, institution-driven growth.

A Year After the Bitcoin Halving: A Cycle Unlike Any Other

This Bitcoin cycle is unfolding noticeably differently than previous ones, signaling a potential shift in how the market responds to halving events.

In earlier cycles—most notably from 2012 to 2016 and again from 2016 to 2020—Bitcoin tended to rally aggressively around this stage. The post-halving period was often marked by strong upward momentum and parabolic price action, largely fueled by retail enthusiasm and speculative demand.

The current cycle, however, has taken a different route. Instead of accelerating after the halving, the price surge began earlier, in October and December 2024, followed by consolidation in January 2025 and a correction in late February.

This front-loaded behavior diverges sharply from historical patterns where halvings typically acted as the catalyst for major rallies.

Several factors are contributing to this shift. Bitcoin is no longer just a retail-driven speculative asset—it’s increasingly seen as a maturing financial instrument. The growing involvement of institutional investors, coupled with macroeconomic pressures and structural changes in the market, has led to a more measured and complex response.

Another clear sign of this evolution is the weakening strength of each successive cycle. The explosive gains of the early years have become harder to replicate as Bitcoin’s market cap has grown. For instance, in the 2020–2024 cycle, Bitcoin had climbed 436% one year after the halving.

In contrast, this cycle has seen a much more modest 31% increase over the same timeframe.

This shift could mean Bitcoin is entering a new chapter. One with less wild volatility and more steady, long-term growth. The halving may no longer be the main driver. Other forces are taking over—rates, liquidity, and institutional money.

The game is changing. And so is the way Bitcoin moves.

Nonetheless, it’s important to note that previous cycles also featured periods of consolidation and correction before resuming their uptrend. While this phase may feel slower or less exciting, it could still represent a healthy reset before the next move higher.

That said, the possibility remains that this cycle will continue to diverge from historical patterns. Instead of a dramatic blow-off top, the outcome may be a more prolonged and structurally supported uptrend—less driven by hype, more by fundamentals.

What Long-Term Holder MVRV Reveals About Bitcoin’s Maturing Market

The Long-Term Holder (LTH) MVRV ratio has always been a solid measure of unrealized profits. It shows how much long-term investors are sitting on before they start selling. But over time, this number is falling.

In the 2016–2020 cycle, LTH MVRV peaked at 35.8. That signaled massive paper profits and a clear top forming. By the 2020–2024 cycle, the peak dropped sharply to 12.2. This happened even as Bitcoin price hit fresh all-time highs.

In the current cycle, the highest LTH MVRV so far is just 4.35. That’s a massive drop. It shows long-term holders aren’t seeing the same kind of gains. The trend is clear: each cycle delivers smaller multiples.

Bitcoin’s explosive upside is compressing. The market is maturing.

Now, in the current cycle, the highest LTH MVRV reading so far has been 4.35. This stark drop suggests long-term holders are experiencing much lower multiples on their holdings compared to previous cycles, even with substantial price appreciation. The pattern points to one conclusion: Bitcoin’s upside is compressing.

This isn’t just a fluke. As the market matures, explosive gains are naturally harder to come by. The days of extreme, cycle-driven profit multiples may be fading, replaced by more moderate—but potentially more stable—growth.

A growing market cap means it takes exponentially more capital to move the price significantly.

Still, it’s not definitive proof that this cycle has already topped out. Previous cycles often included extended periods of sideways movement or modest pullbacks before new highs were reached.

With institutions playing a larger role, accumulation phases could stretch longer. Therefore, peak profit-taking may be less abrupt than in earlier cycles.

However, if the trend of declining MVRV peaks continues, it could reinforce the idea that Bitcoin is transitioning away from wild, cyclical surges and toward a more subdued but structured growth pattern.

The sharpest gains may already be behind, especially for those entering late in the cycle.

The post One Year After Bitcoin’s Latest Halving: Why This Cycle Looks Very Different appeared first on BeInCrypto.