First Mover Americas: Traders Place Big Bets on Ether for Second Half of 2023

Stablecoins have recently emerged as a key focus for central banks and financial institutions, with the potential to reshape global payment systems and financial infrastructure. According to data from Chainalysis, stablecoins have surged to a monthly trading volume of trillions of dollars, accounting for 60% to 80% of total cryptocurrency trading volume. This explosive growth has attracted significant attention from traditional financial players, who are accelerating their integration into the digital economy by issuing stablecoins, contributing to blockchain network development, and offering related financial services. In the U.S., financial giants such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are exploring the potential of jointly issuing stablecoins. At the same time, regulatory discussions surrounding stablecoins and the proposed GENIUS Act are gaining significant momentum in mainstream media. In the Web2 world, traditional companies like Stripe have entered the space by acquiring Bridge to build out stablecoin payment capabilities. Meanwhile, Circle has emerged as one of the most influential crypto firms in the U.S. stock market, second only to Coinbase, driven by the success of its USDC stablecoin. In the DeFi space, Yield-Bearing Stablecoins (YBS) are drawing substantial capital inflows with their innovative interest-generating mechanisms.

Real World Assets (RWAs) bring real-world financial instruments such as bonds, real estate, and credit onto the blockchain, enabling tokenization, programmability, and global accessibility of traditional financial assets. With U.S. interest rates peaking, monetary policy turning dovish, and ETFs paving the way for institutional capital to enter the crypto space, RWAs have emerged as a leading theme capturing growing institutional attention.

The Base chain has recently seen several major strategic developments: Coinbase has integrated DEX routing for Base on its main app, bridging the gap between CeFi and DeFi liquidity; Shopify has partnered with Base to expand real-world applications and user access points. At the same time, Circle and Coinbase stocks have surged by over 700% and 50% respectively, creating a wealth effect that may spill over into the Base ecosystem—boosting both its TVL and token prices. Recommended projects include: 1) AERO (Aerodrome)—The leading DEX on Base, showing strength despite market downturns; well-positioned to benefit from Coinbase integration. 2) BRETT—A flagship memecoin on Base with over 840,000 holders; likely to lead the next Base memecoin rally. 3) New tokens on Bitget Onchain—Offer early access to emerging Base memecoins while helping users avoid high-risk tokens.