28/5/2026 · 8:28

Stablecoin liquidity daily (May 27–28): Tether's 19-day silence breaks as chain rotation, BTC pins at $73,251 Deribit expiry level

Tether Treasury broke its 19-day silence with a Solana-burn / Ethereum-mint rotation (net −$60M), not new issuance — the dominant stablecoin channel remains in net contraction. The synchronized Sui/Aptos/Stellar USDC drain (~$800M cumulative over 4 days) has effectively stopped, but Hyperliquid L1 USDC accelerated sharply to −$100.3M (−1.55%, ~3× the prior day). BTC fell to $73,243, which is effectively identical to Deribit's May 29 delivery price of $73,251 — consistent with pre-expiry pinning behavior ahead of Friday's $6.6B options settlement. IBIT posted its worst-ever single-day outflow at −$527.8M, bringing the 9-day ETF outflow streak total to approximately −$2.87B. Fear & Greed fell to 22, a new series low.

Stablecoin Liquidity @NeoDrop Official

Coverage window: May 27, 14:02 UTC – May 28, 13:00 UTC (~22.9 hours)

Tether Treasury broke its 19-day silence at 12:52 UTC today — but the move was a Solana-to-Ethereum chain rotation, not new issuance: 240M USDT burned on Solana, 180M minted on Ethereum four minutes later, net −$60M. The Sui/Aptos/Stellar drain that shed ~$800M over four days effectively stopped; all three chains showed near-zero 1-day change. Hyperliquid L1 USDC, however, accelerated its pullback to −$100.3M (−1.55%), about three times the prior day's pace. BTC dropped to $73,243 — nearly exactly at the Deribit May 29 expiry delivery price of $73,251, a level consistent with pinning behavior ahead of Friday's $6.6B options settlement. Fear & Greed fell to 22 (Extreme Fear), a new low for the tracking series, and IBIT recorded its worst-ever single-day outflow at −$527.8M.

Quick scan

Entity / chain	Direction	1d change	Notes
Tether Treasury	Broke 19-day silence	−240M USDT (Solana burn) / +180M USDT (ETH mint)	Net −60M; chain rotation, not new issuance
Circle Solana mints	Day 4	+500M USDC (2×$250M)	May 27 18:45 UTC + May 28 09:26 UTC
Hyperliquid L1 USDC	Accelerating drain	−$100.3M (−1.55%)	3-day cumulative: −$132.4M; Day 2 was −$31.7M
Monad USDC	Surge	+$26.4M (+11.43%)	Largest % gain any chain; API vs. asset-page conflict, API preferred
Sui USDC (Day 4)	Drain nearly stopped	−$11.1M (−3.95%)	Day 3 was −$124.6M (−30.72%); 4-day cumulative: ~−$382M
Aptos USDC (Day 4)	Drain nearly stopped	−$1.6M (−0.84%)	Day 3 was −$107M (−36.58%); 4-day cumulative: ~−$323M
Stellar USDC (Day 2)	Drain stopped	−$0.58M (−0.31%)	Day 1 was −$102.2M (−34.94%)
Arbitrum USDC	Inflow reversed	−$10.0M (−0.43%)	Day 2 was +$174.6M (+8.06%); momentum exhausted
Polygon USDC	Inflow decelerating	+$60.7M (+3.20%)	Day 2 was +$221.8M (+13.17%); still positive but slowing fast
Plasma USDT	3-day decline reversed	+$9.5M (+1.27%)	First positive day after −6.3%, −1.0%, −1.0% streak
USDT total	Flat / soft contraction	−$153.4M (−0.081%)	7d: −$412.8M; Tether Treasury still net −60M today
USDC total	Slight pullback	−$142.7M (−0.186%)	7d: +$171.9M
DAI total	Marginal decline	−$20.4M (−0.443%)	7d: −$0.5M
Aave USDC cycle #10	Round-trip	$128.65M in/out (54 min)	Same wallet pair; 10th consecutive cycle
Kraken↔Bitfinex USDT	Escalating rebalance	~$1,260M (3 rounds)	Day 3 of escalation: May 23 $206M → May 27 $411.5M → May 28 $1,260M
200M USDT → Binance	Exchange deposit	$200M (Ethereum)	Largest single exchange stablecoin deposit this window
Coinbase Institutional BTC	Net outflow	−4,665 BTC (~$344M)	Largest single leg: 2,266 BTC ($169.8M) to new unknown wallet
BTC	Down	$73,243 (−3.0% vs. yesterday's $75,531)	Near-exactly the Deribit May 29 delivery price of $73,251
ETH	Up vs. BTC	$1,988 (+3.51% 24h)	BTC/ETH divergence: BTC −2.26% vs. ETH +3.51%
Fear & Greed (Alt.me)	Series low	22 (Extreme Fear)	Yesterday 25, last week 29, last month 33
IBIT (BTC ETF)	Worst single-day outflow ever	−$527.8M (May 27)	9-day streak total: ~−$2.87B

Supply snapshot

Supply snapshot — May 28, 2026 ~13:00 UTC

Source: DeFiLlama Stablecoins API. 24h delta vs. prior-day snapshot.

USDT	$189,083,511,234.00	−0.1%24h
USDC	$76,438,212,044.00	−0.2%24h
DAI	$4,588,997,893.00	−0.4%24h

Cargando tarjeta de estadísticas…

USDT stands at $189.08B, down −$153.4M (−0.081%) over 24 hours and −$412.8M (−0.218%) over seven days 1. USDT is priced at $0.9983, a slight discount to par. Today's net supply change incorporates the Tether Treasury rotation (burn 240M on Solana, mint 180M on Ethereum) as well as organic chain-level drift.

USDC lands at $76.44B, down −$142.7M (−0.186%) on the day but still +$171.9M (+0.225%) over seven days 1. The aggregate 24-hour decline is modest, but it masks two opposing forces: Circle's 500M Solana mints continuing on the production side, and ongoing outflows from Hyperliquid L1, Base, and Avalanche on the distribution side.

DAI is at $4.589B, down −$20.4M (−0.443%) on the day and nearly flat over seven days (−$0.5M, −0.011%) 1. DAI price: $0.9995, near par. The chain distribution remains heavily Ethereum-weighted: $3.712B (81%) on Ethereum, $739M (16%) on Polygon.

Issuer watch

Tether Treasury — 19-day silence breaks, but net effect is −$60M chain rotation

At approximately 12:52 UTC today, 240,000,000 USDT moved from Bitfinex to Tether Treasury on Solana and was burned 2. Four minutes later, at ~12:56 UTC, Tether Treasury minted 180,000,000 USDT on Ethereum and sent it to Bitfinex 2.

The structure is a Solana-to-Ethereum cross-chain supply rotation: Solana loses 240M USDT, Ethereum gains 180M USDT, Tether Treasury net is −60M. This is not new liquidity entering the market. The 19-day silence (last activity ~May 9) remains the longest observed in this series; today's move resolves the issuer inactivity flag but does not reverse the overall USDT supply contraction.

The prior day's checkpoint ($189.269B) to today's ($189.084B) represents a −$185M gap — the rotation plus ongoing chain-level drift accounts for the difference.

Circle — Day 4 on Solana, 500M USDC in two tranches

Circle minted 250M USDC on Solana at 18:45:23 UTC on May 27, then another 250M USDC at 09:26:48 UTC on May 28, both credited to Treasury vault 3emsAVdmGKERbHjmGfQ6oZ1e35dkf5iYcS6U4CPKFVaa 3 4.

The four-day Solana mint cadence: May 25 = 750M (3×), May 26 = 750M (3×), May 27 = 250M (1×), May 28 = 500M (2×, up to 13:00 UTC). Day 4 is back above Day 3's reduced pace. Solana USDC (part of the broader $7.6B Solana balance) has been absorbing these mints; net on-chain balance has not grown proportionally, implying substantial concurrent redemptions — the same pattern observed in the prior window.

Cross-chain distribution

USDC: the Sui/Aptos/Stellar drain ends, Hyperliquid takes over as the concern

The multi-chain USDC drain that started ~May 24 has now functionally stopped. Sui, Aptos, and Stellar all showed near-zero change after losing a combined ~$700M+ over four days.

Chain	Supply	1d change	4-day cumulative	Notes
Ethereum	$49.4B	—	—	#1 USDC chain
Solana	$7.6B	—	—	#2 USDC chain
Hyperliquid L1	$6.373B	−$100.3M (−1.55%)	−$132.4M (3 days)	Accelerating; Day 2 was −$31.7M
Base	$4.156B	−$59.2M (−1.40%)	—	7d −1.93%, 30d −6.91%
Arbitrum	$2.337B	−$10.0M (−0.43%)	—	Reversed from +$174.6M (Day 2)
Polygon	$1.956B	+$60.7M (+3.20%)	—	Slowing from +$221.8M (Day 2)
Avalanche	$432.5M	−$26.7M (−5.82%)	—	7d −7.66%, 30d −20.18%; structural drain
Sui	$269.7M	−$11.1M (−3.95%)	~−$382M	Day 3 was −$124.6M; drain has stopped
Stellar	$189.6M	−$0.58M (−0.31%)	~−$103M	Day 1 was −$102.2M; drain has stopped
Aptos	$184.0M	−$1.6M (−0.84%)	~−$323M	Day 3 was −$107M; drain has stopped
Monad	$257.4M	+$26.4M (+11.43%)	—	Largest % gain this window; API vs. page conflict — API preferred

Source: 1 5

Hyperliquid L1 USDC at $6.373B is now the main active concern. The drain tripled from Day 2 (−$31.7M, −0.52%) to Day 3 (−$100.3M, −1.55%). The 3-day cumulative is −$132.4M. The 7-day figure is still positive (+17.78%, from ~$6.50B to $6.37B), so the long-term uptrend in Hyperliquid USDC deployment has not broken — but the short-term acceleration is notable. 60.23% of Hyperliquid's USDC is bridged via LayerZero (a decentralized cross-chain messaging protocol). No announcement from the Hyperliquid team explaining the withdrawal acceleration has been identified.

Monad USDC rose +$26.4M (+11.43%) to $257.4M — the largest single-chain percentage gain in this window. Monad is a new Layer 1 blockchain; USDC deployment there is growing from a small base. The DeFiLlama asset page and API showed conflicting values; the API snapshot is treated as the more current reading, and this data point should be re-verified in the next window.

The Arbitrum inflow that accumulated +$346.4M over the two prior days has effectively stopped, with a −$10.0M (−0.43%) reversal. Polygon's inflow also decelerated sharply from +$221.8M (Day 2) to +$60.7M. As noted in the prior session, the near-identical daily rate consistency (Polygon's Day 1 and Day 2 varied by $0.2M on $221M moves) pointed to a scheduled institutional operation. The deceleration and reversal on Day 3 are consistent with that operation completing.

USDT by chain

Chain	Supply	1d change	Notes
Tron	$88.715B	~flat (+0.0001%)	46.9% of total USDT; dominant chain
Ethereum	$82.118B	−$160M (−0.19%)	Largest absolute USDT outflow this window
BSC	$9.168B	~flat	No meaningful movement
Plasma	$755.6M	+$9.5M (+1.27%)	Reversed 3-day decline streak (prior 3 days: −6.3%, −1.0%, −1.0%)
Polygon	$848M	−$17.3M (−2.00%)	Notable decline
Arbitrum	$982M	+$3.8M (+0.39%)	Marginal positive

Source: 1 6

Ethereum USDT registered the largest absolute chain-level outflow at −$160M (−0.19%). Tron and BSC, together constituting ~52% of total USDT supply, were both essentially flat. Plasma USDT reversed its three-day decline for the first time, though the +$9.5M uptick is small relative to the prior streak.

Large transaction watch

Aave USDC cycle #10 — same wallet pair, 10th consecutive round-trip

At 23:21:35 UTC on May 27, 128,646,199 USDC moved from Aave (0x98c23e9d...) to Unknown Whale 1 (0x56957e41...) on Ethereum mainnet 7. Fifty-four minutes later, at 00:15:59 UTC on May 28, 128,674,389 USDC returned from Unknown Whale 1 back to Aave 8. Net difference: ~28,000 USDC (~$28K), consistent with one Aave lending cycle's interest accrual.

This is the 10th consecutive cycle from the same wallet pair. The behavior is structural — automated yield harvesting on a large Aave USDC position. No net supply change results; the tokens return to Aave every cycle.

Kraken↔Bitfinex USDT — third consecutive day of escalation, reaches $1.26B

The Kraken-Bitfinex USDT cross-exchange rebalance operation has now run three consecutive days, and each day's volume is larger than the last 9 10:

May 23: ~$206M (first detection)
May 27: ~$411.5M (4 legs)
May 28: ~$1,260M (3 rounds: Round A ~$411.8M, Round B ~$360.8M, Round C ~$487.5M)

Each round involves Solana and Ethereum legs running in opposite directions between the two exchanges — Kraken shifting USDT from Solana to Ethereum while Bitfinex does the reverse, or vice versa. Net effect in each round: zero new USDT issuance, pure inventory rebalancing. The tripling of volume on Day 3 could indicate heightened settlement demand at both exchanges, or a change in the rebalancing schedule. The cause is not determinable from on-chain data.

200M USDT deposited into Binance

At 00:15:47 UTC on May 28, 199,999,999 USDT (~$199.7M) transferred from unknown wallet 0x981ee4f44922a024753c674f682a94732f874c68 to a Binance-labeled address (0x8b1b0e9b...) on Ethereum 11. This was the largest single stablecoin exchange deposit detected in this window. The sending wallet is unlabeled; origin and intent are unknown.

Coinbase Institutional BTC — net outflow of 4,665 BTC (~$344M)

Coinbase Institutional recorded a net outflow of approximately 4,665 BTC (~$344M) across this window: total gross outflows 8,511 BTC (~$632M), total gross inflows 3,846 BTC (~$288M) 2. The largest single outflow was 2,266 BTC (~$169.8M) sent to a previously unseen wallet address. The outflows follow Coinbase's typical batch-processing pattern (multiple 700 BTC tranches). Destination wallets are unlabeled.

Market context

Spot snapshot — May 28, 2026 ~09:10 EDT

Sources: CoinDesk (BTC/ETH prices). Fear & Greed: Alternative.me API.

BTC	$73,243.00	−2.3%24h
ETH	$1,988.00	+3.5%24h
Fear & Greed	22	−3.0%vs yesterday

Cargando tarjeta de estadísticas…

Cargando gráfico…

Fear & Greed dropped another three points from 25 (yesterday) to 22 (Extreme Fear) today — the lowest reading in the tracking series 12. The index peaked at 34 on May 26, then fell back to 25 on May 27 and now 22 on May 28.

BTC is at $73,243 (−3.0% vs. yesterday's checkpoint of $75,531) 13. The headline 24-hour figure per CoinDesk shows −2.26%, reflecting a different measurement window. The more relevant comparison for this series is checkpoint-to-checkpoint: −$2,288 in one session.

The Deribit API reported the estimated delivery price for the May 29 BTC options expiry (notional ~$6.6B) at $73,250.91 as of this window 14. BTC spot is trading at $73,243 — a $8 gap. The convergence is consistent with options-expiry pinning behavior, where large short-gamma participants (those who sold options and face larger losses if spot moves away from the expiry price) have a financial incentive to keep spot near the delivery price through Friday 08:00 UTC. The largest put open interest concentrations are at $70,000 (3,402 BTC), $60,000 (1,985 BTC), and $69,000 (1,320 BTC); the largest call clusters are at $84,000–$96,000, well above current spot. This distribution places the estimated max pain zone near $70,000–$73,000.

The Block Scholes Week 21 report noted that BTC's 7-day 25-delta put-call skew stands at −5% (put options carry a 5-volatility-point premium), while 7-day ATM implied volatility is at 35% — near the year-to-date low of 31% 15:

"Options markets show an interesting divergence – put-call skew shows signs of panic from options traders, though that nervousness is not being reflected in at-the-money implied volatility."

A bearish skew alongside subdued ATM IV means traders are buying downside protection but not pricing a panic-driven spike in volatility. The combination points to positioning for a gradual drift lower rather than a sharp gap move.

ETH rose to $1,988 (+3.51% 24h) 16, a notable divergence from BTC's −2.26%. The last time these two diverged sharply in the same 24-hour window, the divergence closed within a few sessions. ETH remains below the $2,100 level Block Scholes cited as strong support.

BTC perpetual funding rates remain near-neutral across all major venues: Binance +0.0050%, Bybit +0.0011%, OKX +0.0041%, BitMEX +0.0027% (stablecoin-margined, normalized to 8-hour intervals) 17. Deribit's coin-margined perpetual sits at 0.0000%. No venue shows the sustained negative funding that would indicate a crowded short.

BTC ETF flows (May 27): IBIT (BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF) recorded −$527.8M — its largest single-day outflow since inception 18. Total ETF net outflow for May 27 was −$733.4M: GBTC (Grayscale) −$104.8M, FBTC (Fidelity) −$60.3M, ARKB (ARK) −$17.4M, BITB (Bitwise) −$17.5M, BTC (Grayscale Mini) −$9.9M; only MSBT (Morgan Stanley) posted a positive day at +$4.3M. This extends the outflow streak to 9 consecutive trading days, with cumulative outflows of approximately −$2.87B. A $1.29B dark-pool block trade flagged in the May 26 window materialized as real institutional redemptions in the May 27 settlement cycle. May 28 ETF flow data will not be available until after US market close.

Signal read

Tether's 19-day silence is resolved, but the resolution is not bullish. A rotation from Solana to Ethereum at a net of −$60M is housekeeping, not a new liquidity pulse. The prior 19 days of silence meant no large new USDT entered the market; today's move confirms that interpretation but does not change it. USDT supply is still contracting on a 7-day basis (−$412.8M), and the dominant stablecoin channel remains in net contraction.

The Sui/Aptos/Stellar drain is over — but the reason it started remains unexplained. Roughly $800M in USDC left those three chains over four days without any public statement from Circle, the affected chains, or any major protocol. The cause has not been confirmed. Traders monitoring those ecosystems can remove the active drain alert, but the unresolved cause is a monitoring item for any future anomaly on those chains.

Hyperliquid L1 USDC is now the active outflow signal. The acceleration from −$31.7M (Day 2) to −$100.3M (Day 3) is the sharpest single-day change across any major chain this window. Hyperliquid (a decentralized perpetuals exchange) had been one of the strongest USDC growth stories over the prior 30 days (+36.80%). Whether this represents a margin reduction, market-maker de-risking, or protocol-level change is not determinable from current data. If the drain continues at this rate, Hyperliquid will cross below $6B within three days — a level last seen in mid-April.

BTC pricing at precisely the Deribit delivery price heading into a $6.6B expiry is the clearest near-term positioning signal. With spot at $73,243 and the delivery price at $73,251, the two are effectively the same number. Large short-gamma positions have a direct financial incentive to hold that range through Friday 08:00 UTC. A sustained break above or below the $70,000–$73,000 max-pain zone before expiry would be the signal to watch. Post-expiry, the gamma constraint lifts.

The Kraken↔Bitfinex tripling to $1.26B in a single day merits ongoing monitoring. Three consecutive days of escalating volume — from $206M to $411M to $1.26B — is not a normal settlement rhythm. The most likely explanation is heightened inventory management driven by withdrawal pressure at one or both exchanges, but it could also reflect a structural change in how these venues handle cross-chain USDT settlement. Until the volume normalizes, it represents elevated operational activity between two of the largest USDT custodians.

IBIT's −$527.8M is not a rounding error. A single ETF posting its worst-ever outflow while the 9-day streak total approaches −$3B represents sustained institutional net selling. Funding rates show no crowded short, which means this is not hedged outflow — it is outright net capital reduction from the spot BTC ETF complex. Whether that capital is being redeployed elsewhere or is simply leaving the crypto asset class cannot be determined from ETF flow data alone.

Fear & Greed gauge — Reads 22 (Extreme Fear) on May 28 — lowest in the tracking series 12

Supply data: DeFiLlama Stablecoins API (~13:00 UTC May 28). Whale transaction data: Whale Alert via Nitter (window May 27, ~14:02 UTC – May 28, ~13:00 UTC; Nitter pagination covers approximately 40 tweets across two pages, so events near the window's May 27 open edge may be partially captured). BTC/ETH prices: CoinDesk as of ~09:10 EDT May 28. ETF flow data: Farside Investors, most recent confirmed session May 27. Fear & Greed: Alternative.me API. Options delivery price / IV / skew: Deribit and Block Scholes Week 21 report (dated May 20). Funding rates: Coinalyze.