The size of the stablecoin market on the Cardano network rose 14.67% in a week to top $60 million.

Data compiled by DefiLlama and cited by blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic on Tuesday showed Cardano’s stablecoin market capitalisation at $60.39 million. It was cited as one of the strongest expansion moves in Cardano’s stablecoin sector in recent months. The market sees it as a signal of increased participation in Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem.

The direct trigger was a large inflow of funds. An unidentified user moved more than $10 million of USDCx to the Cardano blockchain a few days ago, and related figures also took note of the transaction.

USDCx supply continued to rise after that. Data shared by Rami (라미), a co-founder of SNEK, showed about $4.5 million worth of USDCx was newly issued on the Cardano network over two days. The fresh inflows made liquidity across the ecosystem deeper.

USDCx is a Circle-backed stablecoin that quickly became a core asset after being introduced to Cardano early this year. USDCx now makes up $35.85 million of Cardano’s total stablecoin market capitalisation of $60.39 million. Its share is 59.38%. The market sees the growth trend as reflecting demand from users seeking easier access to cross-chain liquidity within the ecosystem.

The rise in stablecoin liquidity also affected Cardano’s total value locked (TVL). TVL climbed to about $82 million early this week, but then fell to around $75 million as ADA prices declined. Analysts, however, see the recent increase in stablecoin reserves as potentially strengthening the foundation for future DeFi expansion on the network.

Cardano research analyst Dr Cuadrado said the recent inflows of stablecoin liquidity signal the start of a major growth phase for the ecosystem. He said that if Cardano’s stablecoin market capitalisation exceeds TVL, the most explosive section of the current bull market could begin. He said it could signal that idle liquidity has built up for deployment into decentralised applications.

He also said that if stablecoin reserves rise further, liquidity pools could deepen, lending and borrowing activity could increase, and it could lead to higher trading volumes and more profit opportunities. The trend is also drawing attention as an indicator of whether Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem is increasing real-world usability.

By contrast, ADA is facing downward pressure despite improving network metrics. ADA has gradually slipped in the global cryptocurrency market-cap rankings and is now 18th. As of the current point, ADA’s market capitalisation was $5.53 billion, and the token price was $0.1519, down 35.43% from a month earlier.

Ultimately, stablecoin liquidity and network usage indicators are improving on Cardano, while the price of its underlying asset, ADA, continues to underperform. The key question is whether the newly added stablecoin funds will flow into actual lending, trading and liquidity provision, further lifting TVL and DeFi activity.