
$GRVT A consortium of 21 financial institutions has committed about $270 million in funding to a stablecoin initiative known as Project Faro. The project, backed by big banks, aims to act as a stablecoin issuer and launch a US dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027.
According to Bloomberg, the funding is intended to cover five years of operations for the new company, which plans to issue stablecoins pegged to the currencies of all G7 countries, with a euro-backed coin expected to follow the dollar launch.
The group first announced the initiative in September. While confirmed details are thin, people familiar with the matter said the company is expected to be incorporated in the US, Bloomberg reported.
The group includes banks such as Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank and BBVA. Similar initiatives are also underway, including Stripe-led Open USD, which counts Visa among its founding partners, and Qivalis, a European banking consortium seeking to challenge the dominance of US dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Overlap with rival consortiums
BBVA is one of several Faro members also involved in competing stablecoin initiatives, including Open USD and Qivalis. Dutch lender Rabobank is also a Faro member and joined Qivalis in May, when the euro consortium added 25 banks to reach 37 members. BNP Paribas was among the 10 banks that first explored what became Faro in October 2025 and later joined Qivalis.
Qivalis has since made progress on the regulatory front, receiving authorization from the Dutch central bank as an electronic money institution in October 2026. The consortium is preparing to launch a fully regulated, euro-denominated stablecoin, with plans to make it available for payments, cross-border settlements and tokenized asset transactions.
The overlap highlights how traditional financial institutions are positioning themselves across multiple initiatives rather than committing exclusively to a single stablecoin issuance project.
By participating in competing projects, banks can explore different approaches to issuing and distributing digital currencies while retaining a stake in the infrastructure that could underpin future payment and settlement systems.
Related: BofA, Citi, Goldman Sachs among 21 institutions planning stablecoin launch
A crowded room
Despite the growing institutional interest, Faro is entering a market dominated by two crypto-native issuers.
Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC account for approximately 85% of the roughly $290 billion stablecoin market as of Nov. 10, according to DefiLlama. USDT had a market capitalization of approximately $176.3 billion, while USDC accounted for around $70.4 billion.
Distribution could, however, offer the bank-backed venture a competitive advantage. Faro’s participating institutions already have established banking customers, payment networks and relationships with businesses and financial institutions that could help distribute a new stablecoin.
Rather than building an entirely new customer base, the consortium could leverage those existing relationships to introduce its stablecoin to new audiences, including retail users. Open USD, developed by the Open Standard consortium, is pursuing a similar approach by bringing together payment providers, banks, financial technology companies and merchants around a shared stablecoin infrastructure.
The challenge for both will be translating their existing financial infrastructure and customer relationships into a competitive onchain payment network.
Magazine: Wall Street killed Bitcoin’s wild rallies: 10x’s Markus Thielen
Bitcoin tests $73K support, but where are the buyers?
Bitcoin has returned to the $73,000–$74,000 support zone as ETF outflows and falling stablecoin supply have fueled concerns that buyers remain on the sidelines after the liquidation wave.
According to data from CoinGecko, $BTC traded around $73,912 on Nov. 10, after moving between $73,587 and $75,477 over the preceding 24 hours. Its latest price places it within the support range identified by Wallet analysts.
The analysts said the recent selloff removed some speculative excess, but the recovery still lacks the spot buying and institutional inflows needed to sustain it.
Bitcoin needs buyers after the leverage reset
In its Market Flow #3: AI’s Reality Check commentary, Bitget Wallet Research described a market struggling to attract fresh demand after losses in AI-linked technology stocks spilled into cryptocurrencies.
Reclaiming and holding $80,000 would signal stronger demand, in their assessment. A decisive move below $73,000 could expose $68,000, with a further breakdown suggesting the decline involves more than a temporary liquidation flush.
The latest weakness follows the Nov. 5 crypto liquidation wave, when CoinGlass figures showed $954.38 million in long positions liquidated against $127.30 million in shorts. Bitcoin traded below $76,000 during that snapshot, reversing an earlier recovery above $80,000.
Long positions accounted for 88.2% of the reported total. Within the latest four hours of that snapshot, liquidations reached $896.18 million, including $817.35 million in bullish positions.
ETF withdrawals continue after the selloff
Institutional flows have remained negative. Farside Investors recorded $201 million in net withdrawals from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs on Nov. 9, their third consecutive negative session.
BlackRock’s IBIT lost $213.2 million, while ARK 21Shares’ ARKB recorded a $9.9 million withdrawal. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT attracted $22.1 million, partially offsetting those exits.
Adding the six completed November sessions produces $1.4827 billion in net outflows. Five sessions were negative, interrupted by a $74.6 million inflow on Nov. 4.
The weakness has not been uniform across issuers. During the first November trading week, IBIT lost approximately $1.21 billion while Fidelity’s FBTC received $93.1 million.
Stablecoin liquidity has contracted over the same period of market weakness. DefiLlama put total stablecoin market capitalization at $289.81 billion on Nov. 10, down 1.62% over seven days and 4.57% over 30 days.
USDT’s capitalization fell 1.31% over the week, while USDC’s declined 1.25%. Bitget Wallet’s analysts identified shrinking stablecoin supply alongside ETF withdrawals as part of the liquidity problem facing a sustained Bitcoin recovery.
Inflation complicates the liquidity outlook
The inflation release cited as an upcoming catalyst in Wallet’s commentary has now arrived.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that October consumer prices rose 0.4% month over month, following September’s 0.6% gain. Core prices, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% for a third consecutive month.
Wallet analysts said hotter inflation could reinforce expectations of a December rate hike, while softer core readings could support a relief rally. They nevertheless tied a durable recovery to improving liquidity and spot demand.
ETHEREUM'S $5.6 BILLION STABLECOIN LIQUIDITY DRAIN: IS CAPITAL QUIETLY LEAVING ITS ECOSYSTEM?
ETHEREUM'S $5.6 BILLION STABLECOIN LIQUIDITY DRAIN: IS CAPITAL QUIETLY LEAVING ITS ECOSYSTEM?
A sharp decline in stablecoin supply raises questions about Ethereum's liquidity, DeFi activity and the next direction of the cryptocurrency market.
Ethereum is facing an important development that goes beyond the daily movement of ETH prices. Its stablecoin market is experiencing a significant contraction, potentially signalling changing capital flows across the blockchain ecosystem.
According to DeFiLlama's November 8 data, the total stablecoin market capitalisation on Ethereum stands at approximately $135.08 billion, representing a 4.01% decline over seven days and a 7% decline over 30 days.
The weekly percentage change represents a contraction of roughly $5.6 billion.
This raises an important question: Is capital genuinely leaving Ethereum, or is liquidity simply moving towards competing blockchain networks?
1. Understanding Ethereum's Stablecoin Liquidity
Stablecoins such as USDT, USDC and DAI play an important role in cryptocurrency markets. Unlike volatile assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, these tokens are designed to maintain relatively stable values, usually around $1.
They provide liquidity for cryptocurrency trading, decentralised finance, lending, borrowing and cross-border payments.
Ethereum remains a major settlement network for these assets.
However, its stablecoin market has recently weakened.
DeFiLlama's November 8 figures show:
- Total Ethereum stablecoin market capitalisation: approximately $135.08 billion.
- Seven-day change: -4.01%.
- Thirty-day change: -7.00%.
- USDT market capitalisation on Ethereum: approximately $67.57 billion.
- USDC market capitalisation on Ethereum: approximately $42.82 billion.
These figures demonstrate that the contraction is affecting some of Ethereum's largest stablecoin networks.
The important distinction is that declining stablecoin supply does not automatically mean investors have abandoned Ethereum. Some capital may have been redeemed, transferred to other networks or repositioned into different assets.
2. USDT and USDC: Where Is the Liquidity Going?
Two major stablecoins dominate Ethereum's liquidity structure: Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC.
As of November 8, USDT accounted for approximately 50% of Ethereum's tracked stablecoin market, while USDC represented approximately 32%.
Their recent movements deserve attention.
USDT recorded an approximately 4.20% weekly decline, while USDC declined approximately 3.53%.
This is significant because these assets provide much of the liquidity used by traders and decentralised applications.
If their supply continues shrinking, Ethereum-based trading platforms and DeFi protocols could experience reduced available liquidity.
However, the market needs additional evidence from transaction volumes, exchange balances and cross-chain transfers to establish where the missing supply has gone.
3. The Competition Between Blockchain Networks
Ethereum is no longer the only major destination for stablecoin activity.
Networks such as Tron, Solana, BNB Chain and newer stablecoin-focused ecosystems are competing for users, transactions and liquidity.
This competition introduces another possibility: Ethereum may not necessarily be losing all its users; some capital could simply be changing networks.
Investors increasingly consider transaction costs, settlement speed, application availability and network efficiency when choosing where to deploy stablecoins.
For Ethereum, maintaining its position will require continued improvements in scalability, user experience and decentralised financial infrastructure.
The important question is whether Ethereum can retain its liquidity advantage as competing networks expand.
4. What Does This Mean for ETH and DeFi?
Stablecoin liquidity is important because it helps traders enter and exit positions without constantly converting between volatile cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies.
A sustained decline could have several consequences.
First, reduced liquidity may weaken trading activity across Ethereum-based decentralised exchanges.
Second, DeFi protocols could experience lower available capital for lending and borrowing.
Third, reduced stablecoin availability may limit the amount of capital available to support new trading opportunities.
Nevertheless, these effects should not be assumed without examining actual protocol activity.
A decline in stablecoin supply does not automatically mean that Ethereum transactions, network revenue or ETH demand must fall.
Investors should compare stablecoin supply with decentralised exchange volume, total value locked and active network addresses before drawing conclusions.
5. Bullish and Bearish Outlook
The bearish scenario
If stablecoin supply continues declining, DeFi activity weakens and liquidity moves towards competing networks, Ethereum could face additional pressure.
Persistent contraction would raise questions about its ability to maintain its leading position in decentralised finance.
The bullish scenario
Alternatively, the current contraction could represent temporary portfolio adjustments rather than a structural decline.
If stablecoin issuance returns, DeFi activity improves and Ethereum attracts renewed liquidity, the network could strengthen its competitive position.
An increase in stablecoin supply accompanied by rising transaction activity would provide more convincing evidence of recovery.
Conclusion: Is Ethereum Losing Liquidity or Preparing for a New Capital Cycle?
Ethereum's approximately $5.6 billion weekly stablecoin contraction deserves attention because it highlights a market development that ordinary ETH price charts may not reveal.
Stablecoin liquidity is an important foundation of decentralised finance, cryptocurrency trading and blockchain-based financial services.
However, declining supply alone cannot establish whether investors are abandoning Ethereum or reallocating capital elsewhere.
The next important development will be whether Ethereum can attract fresh stablecoin liquidity while maintaining its position in the rapidly expanding blockchain economy.
For investors, monitoring stablecoin supply, DeFi activity, cross-chain transfers and institutional participation may provide a clearer picture of Ethereum's underlying strength than price movements alone.