Polymarket, the crypto-powered prediction platform, is considering the launch of a custom stablecoin to capture yield from reserve assets.
The move would shift the platform’s reliance away from Circle’s USDC and give Polymarket direct control over the interest-bearing collateral backing user bets.
Polymarket To Enter the US Stablecoin Market?
According to several reports, the firm is still deciding between issuing its own stablecoin or accepting a revenue-sharing arrangement with Circle. No final decision has been made.
The motivation is reportedly financial. Polymarket holds a large volume of USDC, but currently, Circle collects the yield from those backing reserves.
By issuing its own dollar-pegged token, Polymarket could monetize this flow internally.
Community Comments on Polymarket’s Stablecoin Rumors. Source: X (Formerly Twitter)
The news follows Polymarket’s efforts to reenter the US market through the acquisition of crypto exchange QCEX. This comes after the DOJ dropped its investigation into the company related to unlicensed access by American users.
These bank-issued stablecoins aim to compete with Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT in both consumer and institutional settings.
By launching a platform-native stablecoin, Polymarket could join a growing list of fintech and financial players seeking to vertically integrate token issuance, reserve management, and platform economics.
Still, regulatory risk remains high. Any new issuance would likely require compliance with US stablecoin regulations and potential oversight under the GENIUS Act framework.
For now, Polymarket is still exploring its options. But the decision could have major implications for the prediction market’s revenue model—and for the broader stablecoin ecosystem.
Coinbase announced Verified Pools, a new service intended to attract institutional users. These liquidity pools will offer clients a secure way to take advantage of high efficiency and native on-chain infrastructure.
Liquidity pools, in general, offer many of the same advantages, but they do not have sufficient security assurances for major institutions. The exchange hopes to provide security and confidence with proactive measures like KYC and sanctions screening.
Today, the exchange announced the introduction of Verified Pools, an institutional-grade service to enhance on-chain trades and swaps.
“Verified Pools is a curated selection of liquidity pools available only with the Coinbase Verifications credential. Verified Pools is the next step in Coinbase’s commitment to advancing the onchain ecosystem and generating the next wave of onchain adoption,” the firm claimed via social media.
Coinbase’s Verified Pools hope to solve an important issue for institutional investors in the crypto space.
Specifically, how can retail users or traditional institutions participate in DeFi despite significant barriers around compliance, counterparty risk, and operational complexity?
Sketchy exchanges and business practices are epidemic in the industry, and these institutions need real assurances.
Through Verified Pools, Coinbase addresses several of these concerns. It ensures that all participants of a liquidity pool are identity-verified using Coinbase’s verification system
The whole platform is powered by Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum-centric L2 blockchain solution. This means that the service is natively on-chain and can benefit from smooth transactions while ensuring security, transparency, and accountability.
Verified Pools offer a few other attractive features for Coinbase’s institutional clients. For example, the pools are non-custodial, allowing users to maintain control over their assets.
In the main, however, the exchange is trying to offer liquidity pools with all their advantages to institutional traders, which is uncommon. The main benefits are inherent to pools in general.
In short, Coinbase’s Verified Pools can offer liquidity, efficiency, and transparency while prioritizing user security and confidence. Moving forward, the exchange plans to expand asset coverage and trading pairs, integrate more DEX aggregators, offer the service in more countries, and more.
Ethereum (ETH) remains in the spotlight for the third week in a row, benefiting from a surge in institutional interest. Amid growing interest in Ethereum reserve strategies, the largest altcoin has pushed crypto inflows to a record weekly high.
Meanwhile, interest in Ethereum is spilling over to altcoins, inspiring calls for an imminent altseason among analysts.
Crypto Inflows Hit $4.39 Billion Last Week
The latest CoinShares report indicates crypto inflows reached $4.39 billion last week. It marks an all-time high (ATH) in weekly inflows, bringing year-to-date (YTD) positive flows to $27 billion. Meanwhile, assets under management (AuM) are at a record $220 billion.
“Digital asset investment products recorded their largest weekly inflows on record, totaling $4.39 billion, surpassing the previous peak of $4.27 billion set post-US election in December 2024,” wrote James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares.
As indicated in the chart, Bitcoin (BTC) led, recording up to $2,196 billion in crypto inflows. However, Ethereum remains the outlier, more than doubling its inflows in a week. As BeInCrypto reported for the week ending July 12, Ethereum inflows reached $990.4 million.
Last week, however, inflows into Ethereum products reached 2,188.7 billion, a 2.1x growth in a week. Meanwhile, positive flows to Bitcoin dropped from $2,731 to $2,196.
“Ethereum stole the show, attracting a record $2.12 billion in inflows, nearly double its previous record of $1.2 billion. The past 13 weeks of inflows now represent 23% of Ethereum AuM, with 2025 inflows already exceeding the full-year total for 2024 at $6.2 billion,” Butterfill added.
The 2.1x surge in Ethereum inflows is unsurprising, coming on as institutional interest in the pioneer altcoin accelerates. Among them are Sharplink Gaming and BitMine, which now hold over $1 billion in Ethereum.
Ethereum is inevitable
— SBET (SharpLink Gaming) (@SharpLinkGaming) July 20, 2025
Nevertheless, even as Ethereum continues to ride the wave of soaring interest, both at retail and institutional levels, some analysts call for caution.
“It’s time to start thinking about exit strategies… Bitcoin and altcoins are approaching the traditional 4-year cycle tops in terms of timing,” Ran Neuner, host of Crypto Banter, told his followers.
Similarly, Benjamin Cowen, founder of Into the Cryptoverse, notes that many altcoins are underperforming Ethereum.
According to the analyst, Ethereum’s growing dominance at the expense of smaller-cap assets often signals a late-cycle, with capital consolidating into majors before a broader downturn.
Against these backdrops, trader Daan Crypto Trades advises investors to consider rotating gains and managing risk, a strategy for maximizing returns in the face of inevitable volatility.
80% of altcoins in the top 100 have outperformed $BTC this month.
This drops down to 41% when looking at the last 3 months.
Both of these are on the rise as we speak. This cycle has rarely seen these moves occur with a few exceptions.
Bitcoin (BTC) enters May 2025 with renewed momentum, gaining over 14% in the past 30 days and trading just 6.3% below the key $100,000 mark. Behind the price action, Bitcoin’s apparent demand has turned positive for the first time since late February, signaling a shift in on-chain behavior.
However, fresh inflows—especially from US-based ETFs—remain subdued compared to 2024 levels, suggesting institutional conviction has yet to fully return. According to MEXC COO Tracy Jin, if current conditions hold, a summer rally toward $150,000 is plausible, with sentiment turning increasingly bullish.
Bitcoin Apparent Demand Turns Positive, But Fresh Inflows Still Lacking
Bitcoin’s apparent demand has shown clear signs of recovery recently, rising to 65,000 BTC over the past 30 days. This marks a sharp rebound from the trough on March 27, when apparent demand—defined as the net 30-day change in holdings across all investor cohorts—reached a deeply negative level of -311,000 BTC.
Apparent demand reflects the aggregated balance shifts across wallets and provides insight into whether capital is entering or exiting the Bitcoin network.
While the current demand level is still well below earlier peaks in 2024, a meaningful inflection point occurred on April 24: Bitcoin’s apparent demand turned positive and has remained positive for six consecutive days after nearly two months of sustained outflows.
Despite this improvement, broader demand momentum remains weak.
The continued lack of significant new inflows suggests that most of the recent accumulation may be driven by existing holders rather than fresh capital entering the market.
For Bitcoin to mount a sustainable rally, both apparent demand and demand momentum must show consistent and synchronized growth. Until that alignment occurs, the current stabilization may not support a strong or prolonged price breakout.
US Spot Bitcoin ETF Inflows Still Far Below 2024 Levels
Bitcoin purchases from U.S.-based ETFs have remained largely flat since late March, fluctuating between daily net flows of -5,000 to +3,000 BTC.
This activity level sharply contrasts with the strong inflows seen in late 2024, when daily purchases frequently exceeded 8,000 BTC and contributed to Bitcoin’s initial rally toward $100,000.
So far in 2025, BTC ETFs have collectively accumulated a net total of 28,000 BTC, well below the more than 200,000 BTC they had purchased by this point last year.
This decline shows a slowdown in institutional demand, which has historically been key in driving major price movements.
Bitcoin: Net Cumulative Inflows to US Spot ETFs by Year. Source: CryptoQuant.
There are early signs of a modest rebound, with ETF inflows beginning to tick higher recently. However, current levels remain insufficient to fuel a sustained uptrend.
ETF activity is often viewed as a proxy for institutional conviction, and a notable increase in purchases would likely signal renewed confidence in Bitcoin’s medium-term trajectory.
Until those inflows return in force, the broader market may struggle to generate the momentum needed for a prolonged rally.
Bitcoin Nears $100,000 as Momentum Builds Despite Macro Pressure
Bitcoin price has gained over 14% in the past 30 days, rebounding strongly after dipping below $75,000 in April.
This renewed momentum comes as BTC shows relative resilience amid broader macroeconomic volatility and policy-driven pressures, including Trump’s tariff measures that have weighed on risk assets.
While the entire crypto market has felt the impact, Bitcoin appears to be detaching slightly, showing less sensitivity to these external shocks than other digital assets.
BTC now sits just 6.3% below the $100,000 mark and remains under 17% from a potential move toward $110,000. According to Tracy Jin, COO of MEXC, sentiment is turning positive again:
“Beyond immediate price action, the growing institutional appetite and shrinking supply mechanisms against the macroeconomic uncertainty backdrop point to a structural shift in Bitcoin’s role within the global financial market. BTC is used to hedging against inflation and the fiat-based financial model. Its liquidity, scalability, programmability, and global accessibility offer a reliable modern alternative to traditional financial instruments for many corporations,” Jin said.
According to Jin, a summer rally towards $150,000 is plausible. She stressed that the $95,000 range will likely become a launch point for the brewing decisive breakout above $100,000 in the coming days.
” Should global trade tensions stabilize further and institutional accumulation continues, a summer rally towards $150,000 is plausible, potentially extending towards $200,000 by 2026. Overall, the external background remains favorable for the continuation of the upward movement, especially given the growth of stock indices on Friday, which could support Bitcoin over the weekend.”
