DAI’s $240B record weekly transaction volume eclipsed the rest of the stablecoins combined.
Stablecoins recorded significant traction last week as losses and volatility compounded in the crypto market. But MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoin benefited the most during last week’s bloodbath.
According to data from the on-chain intelligent platform IntoTheBlock, DAI hit a record $240B in on-chain transaction volume. This record weekly high eclipsed the rest of the stablecoins combined.
$DAI saw $240B in on-chain transaction volume last week.
Not only is this a new weekly high for $DAI, it's also more than all other stablecoins combined! pic.twitter.com/pgm3pv7M5M
— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) April 23, 2024
Typically, a surge in stablecoin volume or supply held by addresses can signal a flight from volatility since stablecoins can offer “stability” compared to other cryptocurrencies.
It could also mean a surge in buying pressure as investors and traders send money to exchanges to buy the dips.
DeFiLlama data revealed that last week’s DAI volume was mostly concentrated on Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC).
Further evaluation of DAI movement in the Ethereum network showed that last week’s surge in volume also marked a slight dip in the Supply on Exchanges metric (orange). It shows that more DAI stablecoins were moved out from exchanges, which was probably a flight to safety from volatility.
Photo: Santiment
However, at the time of writing, the Supply on Exchange metric started to trend higher, denoting that more DAI was being moved to exchanges, probably to grab discounted crypto assets amidst market recovery.
Notably, the spikes in red indicate that whales transacting over $1M were actively involved in the DAI transactions.
MakerDAO and USDe $1B DAI partnership
MakerDAO’s DAI stablecoin is primarily used in DeFi activities like lending and borrowing. On 8 April, MakerDAO announced a $1B DAI allocation to Ethena’s yield-bearing “synthetic dollar” USDe pool.
The deal sparked outrage across the market as others saw it as reckless and aggressive. In fact, the move prompted the lending protocol Aave to update its risk parameters and reduce exposure to DAI.
But MakerDAO pushed through with the massive deal. As of writing, DAI was amongst the top three stablecoins, boasting over $5B in market cap.
Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC held the first and second spots, respectively. Additionally, USDe’s explosive growth has seen it jump into the top 5 stablecoins within a short period of time.
As a result, MakerDAO’s recent tremendous partnership and heightened volatility could partly explain the record surge in DAI volumes during last week’s market drawdowns.
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