Bitcoin Volatility Hits Record Low As Stablecoin Transactions Surge

According to Cointelegraph, 2024 marked a significant year for digital assets, with Bitcoin's annual volatility reaching unprecedented lows and stablecoin transaction values surpassing those of major payment networks like Visa and Mastercard. These insights are drawn from ARK Invest's "Big Ideas 2025" report, released on February 4. The report highlights that Bitcoin's annualized one-year volatility dropped below 50% in 2024, a notable decrease from 80% in 2022 and over 100% in 2018. Bitcoin achieved a return of 122.2% in 2024, attributed largely to the successful launch of 11 spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States in January, which ARK described as the "most successful ETF launch in history." By the end of the year, these ETFs had amassed over $100 billion in net assets. Additionally, Bitcoin's inflation rate fell to 0.9% following the quadrennial halving in April, marking the first instance where Bitcoin's issuance rate was lower than gold's long-term supply growth. Stablecoins also emerged as a significant blockchain use case in 2024, with annualized transaction values reaching $15.6 trillion, surpassing Visa and Mastercard by approximately 119% and 200%, respectively. The report notes that the number of stablecoin transactions reached 110 million monthly, representing 0.41% and 0.72% of Visa's and Mastercard's transaction volumes, respectively. However, the value per stablecoin transaction was significantly higher than those processed by Visa and Mastercard. On the regulatory front, stablecoins have become a focal point for pro-crypto Republicans in Congress. Prior to the November presidential election, Senator Bill Hagerty introduced the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2024, building on a previous proposal by former House member Patrick McHenry. Earlier in the year, a bipartisan bill was introduced by Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Following the Republican victory in both houses of Congress during the November elections, passing comprehensive market structure and stablecoin legislation is seen as a crucial step for establishing clear crypto guidelines, according to Republican Representative Tom Emmer. Miller Whitehouse-Levine, head of the DeFi Education Fund advocacy group, mentioned to Bloomberg that there is a "broad consensus" in Congress regarding stablecoin regulation.