Analysts: New agreement with Binance will boost USDC growth, but USDT’s liquidity advantage remains unshakable in the short term.

Circle announced that Jeremy Fox-Geen will step down as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) after more than five years in the role. To ensure a smooth transition, he will remain in his position through the end of December 2026, though his tenure could conclude earlier if a successor is appointed sooner. The company has launched a search for a new CFO. Fox-Geen joined Circle in May 2021, where he contributed to building the firm’s financial organizational structure and supported its $1.2 billion initial public offering (IPO). Circle noted that he also helped drive over five consecutive years of the company’s growth. Fox-Geen stated that his time as Circle’s CFO has been a significant career experience, adding that after the company achieved multiple milestones, now is the appropriate time to step down and take a break before the next phase of his professional journey. He also expressed confidence in Circle’s future.

According to Forbes, Bitcoin briefly neared $90,000 earlier this month. Meanwhile, global debt continues to climb, and "currency devaluation trades" focused on the declining purchasing power of fiat currencies have emerged as one of the factors driving up assets like Bitcoin and gold. Data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) shows global debt rose by $10 trillion in the first half of this year, pushing the total above $365 trillion. U.S. debt has exceeded $40 trillion, with annual interest payments hitting $1.27 trillion—surpassing spending on defense and Medicaid, and trailing only Social Security expenditures. The IIF warns interest costs will rise further as benchmark rates increase. Nic Puckrin, founder and cross-asset analyst at The Coin Bureau, said the current environment favors "devaluation assets" such as Bitcoin and gold, which is part of the reason for Bitcoin’s recent rally. The larger major economies’ debt loads, the more likely they are to suppress real borrowing costs and let inflation erode debt’s real value, boosting the appeal of such trades. Analysts at The Kobeissi Letter point out the U.S. dollar’s purchasing power has fallen 23% since 2020; if assets have only risen 30% over the same period, investors are essentially breaking even when adjusted for real purchasing power. U.S. inflation has stayed above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for 60 consecutive months.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) told the "When Shift Happens" podcast that he does not oppose Hyperliquid and welcomes more centralized and decentralized exchanges to pursue innovation, noting the crypto industry is far from saturated. Zhao estimated that roughly 5% to 15% of the global population holds some crypto asset, but when measured as a share of individual wealth, crypto penetration is less than 1%, meaning the sector remains in its early stages. CZ added that some Hyperliquid community members are attempting to build their own communities by criticizing centralized exchanges and Binance, but he views this as normal competition and has no objections to the project. He also noted that former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent mention of Hyperliquid is a positive development for the industry, with assets including HYPE, BNB, and Bitcoin all poised to benefit from the sector’s overall growth. Additionally, CZ pointed out that first movers do not always emerge as the biggest long-term winners, citing examples like Google, Facebook, and Binance—none of which were the first products in their respective fields, and later entrants often optimize on the foundation laid by pioneers. Despite holding large stakes in Binance and significant BNB holdings, centralized exchanges represent only a portion of his asset allocation; rather than focusing on expanding a single platform, he prioritizes driving the growth of the entire crypto industry.

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen posted that attacker addresses linked to the exchange’s security incident have been made public and are under ongoing tracking. Bitget is now formally requesting THORChain to deny services to these addresses. “Decentralization is a design principle, and it should not serve as a shield to facilitate the flow of known stolen funds,” Chen said. She added that the entire cryptocurrency industry is monitoring THORChain’s handling of the matter.

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