Binance Stablecoin Flipped By Cardano, Polygon As Billions Burn

Binance branded stablecoin BUSD has given up its seventh spot on crypto market cap leaderboards, as the SEC’s threat to Paxos looms

article-image

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao | Stephen McCarthy/ for Web Summit/"Changpeng Zhao" (CC license) modified by Blockworks

share

Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD has taken a beating since issuer Paxos confirmed receipt of an ominous Wells notice from the SEC, falling to ninth place on crypto market cap leaderboards.

BUSD is now worth less than the native token for prominent blockchain cardano (ADA). The dollar-pegged token is currently jostling polygon (MATIC), which powers the Layer-2 Ethereum network of the same name, for the eighth spot.

MATIC has flipped BUSD several times over the past few days, but at press time, MATIC is $65 million ahead of BUSD, per data from The TIE.

If MATIC falls even slightly from here, BUSD could very well reflip the token, but additional reductions in BUSD supply would jeopardise its position.

BUSD has shed about 20% circulating supply since reports of the SEC’s intent to sue first surfaced on Feb. 12. 

SEC regulators have informed New York-headquartered Paxos it considers BUSD a security, which should’ve been registered before being sold to US investors.

Paxos quickly announced it would pause all new token issuances, effectively ceasing sale of fresh BUSD to customers. The firm also said it would cut ties with Binance, leaving the stablecoin in limbo.

There was as much as $23.5 billion in BUSD circulating the crypto ecosystem at its peak in mid-November as crypto exchange FTX blew up. That figure is now $12.8 billion.

Blockchain data reviewed by Blockworks shows Paxos burning almost $3.5 billion BUSD across that time, indicating the firm had redeemed an equivalent amount for US dollars (Blockworks has reached out for comment).

Still, BUSD remains the third-largest stablecoin by market value, behind tether (USDT) and USD coin (USDC), which boast $70.4 billion and $41.9 billion, respectively. Fourth-place DAI, the decentralized stablecoin stewarded by MakerDAO, has around $5.2 billion.

But which cryptocurrencies might flip BUSD next? If prices stayed flat, Paxos would need to reduce BUSD’s supply by a further $1.11 billion to be under threat of dogecoin (DOGE). 

An additional $1.84 billion would need to be burned to be eclipsed by solana (SOL).


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Ethena Labs is leaping from its flagship synthetic dollar, USDe, to a full product suite—USDtb, iUSDe, and the Arbitrum-based Converge Chain—designed to marry crypto-native yields with TradFi-grade compliance. Our analysis shows how expanding into CME, ETF options, and tokenized Treasuries could lift protocol revenue from sub-$500 million in a bear case to several billion dollars if favorable regulation and institutional adoption align.

article-image

Why an analyst is kicking off COIN coverage with “buy” rating

article-image

“Bitcoin does not require a strong equity rally to move higher,” YouHodler markets chief Ruslan Lienkha said

article-image

President Trump’s comments that he will not look to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell sent stocks higher in after-hours trading Tuesday

article-image

The trading card game will use Immutable’s zkEVM chain

article-image

From Ethereum primitive to multichain coordination layer, Symbiotic, EigenLayer, Puffer and MoreMarkets are evolving restaking