Tether and Circle minted more than $3 billion in new stablecoins in just a few days as the Bitcoin price retested $60,000. BTC briefly bounced at that level, but the buying power many traders expected never showed up. That gap tells us a lot about how defensive this market feels right now.
Bitcoin price lost its grip on $70,000 earlier this week and drifted back to a price zone that has acted more like quicksand than a springboard. At the same time, the supply of USDT and USDC jumped. On the surface, that looks bullish; more digital dollars usually mean more ammo to buy crypto.
But this time was different. The money came in, but the buying pressure did not.
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) February 5, 2026
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USDT And USDC Keep Minting, But That Money Is Not Flowing Toward Bitcoin
On-chain data shows most of that new USDT and USDC stayed parked. It did not rush onto exchanges to buy Bitcoin. The selling pressure pushed Bitcoin to $60K and struggling to attract follow‑through buyers.
- Tether (USDT): Now has approximately $187 billion in circulation. In the first few weeks of 2026 alone, it added over $660 million in new tokens.
- Circle (USDC): Has climbed to roughly $77 billion. Interestingly, USDC is currently growing at a faster percentage rate than USDT in 2026, recently adding $1.74 billion in a single week. Nearly triple Tether’s pace for that same period.
The conclusion here is that investors are waiting, which is to be expected. Bitcoin rebounded from that $60K bottom, but the real test will come in the next few weeks and months. If the price doesn’t stabilize here and slowly build a solid floor, we might see institutions leaving the space to stop the bleeding. That could cause a selling cascade that might compromise the crypto market for a long time.
The role of stablecoins is changing. Tether, for example, is actively diverting profits into physical gold. Tether now holds over 120 metric tons of gold (worth roughly $24 billion), making it one of the top 30 gold holders in the world, surpassing countries like Qatar and Australia.
For now, investors are waiting and timidly buying the dip while Tether continues its gold accumulation (after reporting $10 billion in annual profits) and USDC mints more tokens.
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Bitcoin Price Analysis: Bitcoin Retested $60K, Now What?
(Source: TradingView)
Bitcoin dipped to $60K, its weakest level since late 2024, triggering extreme fear, heavy liquidations, and a $2 trillion+ global crypto wipeout. It has since rebounded modestly to trade around $65,000–$66,000, finding tentative support in this zone: a historically significant long-term floor.
The current level aligns with a major horizontal support zone from previous consolidation. This zone is likely to act as a critical battleground for bulls and bears. A sustained hold here could lead to a relief bounce toward $80K–$90K, where strong resistance is expected.
However, if Bitcoin loses the current support, the next downside targets sit near the $52K region and, in a deeper retracement scenario, around the $30K–$35K long-term support band.
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The post Did Stablecoin Minting Stop Bitcoin Price From Breaking Below $60K? appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
