USDC Holds Steady at $1.0003 While Legal Action Prolongs Freeze on Illicit Funds

As of October 31, 2025,

increased by 0.02% over the past day, reaching $1.0003, demonstrating stability despite ongoing legal and market challenges. In the last week, the stablecoin rose by 0.04%, and its monthly increase stood at 0.06%. Over the past year, USDC slipped by 0.17%. These statistics underscore the token’s durability and its importance as a dependable peg within the crypto sector.

A federal judge in New York has prolonged the freeze on $63 million in stolen USDC connected to the 2023 Multichain breach, aiding Singapore-based liquidators in asset recovery. The court’s decision mandates that

, USDC’s issuer, continue to block access to three wallets holding the stolen crypto. This measure ensures the funds remain secure during international legal proceedings, promoting cooperation between U.S. and Singaporean courts.

The Multichain incident in July 2023 led to a $210 million theft, with USDC among the assets taken. This legal intervention is a key milestone in the ongoing process to retrieve digital assets and enforce accountability in the crypto industry. By extending the freeze, the court aims to stop any unauthorized transfer or depletion of the funds, supporting broader objectives of global insolvency collaboration.

USDC is increasingly favored for on-chain transactions, outpacing Tether’s

in both growth and total market value. According to JPMorgan analysts, USDC’s market capitalization has surged 72% since January 2025, reaching $74 billion, while USDT grew by 32%. This trend is largely due to USDC’s regulatory transparency, clear reserve disclosures, and adherence to frameworks such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

Circle’s compliance with MiCA and the U.S. Genius Act has further enhanced USDC’s reputation among institutional and regulated clients. Partnerships with payment giants like Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe have expanded USDC’s use in blockchain settlements and merchant transactions. The Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) also allows USDC to move securely between blockchains without the need for custodial bridges, strengthening its role in decentralized finance.

The stablecoin’s expansion is also fueled by its integration with high-traffic blockchains such as

and Base. These networks have experienced renewed DeFi activity, broadening USDC’s applications. As USDC surpasses USDT in both transaction speed and transparency, it is solidifying its status as a top stablecoin in the changing crypto environment.

Separately, Revolut has launched a feature that lets users convert USD directly to USDT and USDC at a 1:1 ratio with no fees, up to €500,000 within a 30-day period. This service is available on six blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, and

, making both on-chain and off-chain transactions more accessible. This update streamlines crypto management for everyday users and supports Revolut’s goal of providing transparent, cost-effective financial solutions.

Backtest Hypothesis

Given USDC’s remarkable price stability from 2022-01-01 to 2025-10-31, a backtest searching for daily swings of ±5% or more would find no such events, as the coin never deviated that far from its peg. This demonstrates its consistent track record and reliability as a benchmark in the often volatile crypto market.

To conduct a more insightful backtest, one could lower the threshold to capture smaller changes (for example, 0.5% or 1%) or focus on absolute price shifts greater than $0.01 from the $1.00 peg. Such adjustments would yield a richer dataset, offering a closer look at how even minor price movements could affect trading approaches.

Alternatively, the analysis could focus on drawdown periods or examine liquidity patterns in markets where USDC is traded across multiple blockchains. These insights would be especially valuable for institutional players and financial firms that depend on USDC for cross-chain settlements and stable value storage.

By fine-tuning the backtest criteria, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of USDC’s performance under various market scenarios, further establishing its role as a foundational stablecoin in the digital asset ecosystem.