As the cryptocurrency market grapples with the impending Bitcoin halving event, a surprising trend has emerged: stablecoin wallets with non-zero balances have been growing rapidly, even as fears of imminent selling pressure loom. This observation, made by Santiment on X, comes at a time when the price action of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) has been considerably more bullish in the past week compared to the latter half of April.

The growth in stablecoin wallets, particularly USDC and Tether (USDT), is a significant development. Santiment's data shows that USDC non-empty wallets have increased by 13.9%, while Tether wallets have grown by 15.7% in 2024. These impressive numbers mirror the rapid growth seen during the last bull run, suggesting that buying power is present in the market.

Since December 2019, the total number of USDT non-zero wallets has been rising rapidly for nearly three years until October 2022. After a quick drop, the metric has seen a gradual uptrend that accelerated in November 2023. This indicates that non-crypto folks are feeling greater FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and a stronger willingness to participate in the crypto space than ever before, which is a positive sign for the entire industry.

However, the exchange reserve does not seem to be mirroring the previous bull run. During the 2020-21 run, the rapidly growing crypto market necessitated enormous amounts of USDT and other stablecoins to be printed. The total supply of stablecoins grew from $3.5 billion in February 2020 to $99 billion in March 2022. Since then, it has declined to $67 billion due to the market contraction before beginning to climb again.

The exchange reserve has slowly climbed in the past 12 months, mirroring the supply. To replicate the previous bull run and keep pace with the next rapid growth cycle in the crypto market cap, the exchange reserve might need to start accelerating.

The Tether dominance chart shows some similarities from the previous halving. During the past halving, the dominance fell for just over two months after the event before shooting higher in August 2020. A falling USDT dominance implies bullish price action across the crypto market, while a rising dominance indicates investors fleeing to the stablecoin and bearish pressure in the market.

If the similarities extend, the crypto market might see a sharp drop early July, just over six weeks later. However, the growing stablecoin wallets suggest that the market may be more resilient this time around, with investors potentially ready to capitalize on any dips.