Deep Dive
1. Technical Breakout (Bullish Impact)
Overview: USTC surged past the $0.0135 resistance level on August 19, hitting a 24-hour high of $0.01435. The 24-hour trading volume spiked 30% to $5.33M, confirming bullish conviction.
What this means: The breakout above $0.0135 – a level that previously capped gains in July – suggests renewed trader interest. The MACD histogram (-0.0000347) shows bearish momentum fading, while RSI (47.57) leaves room for further upside before overbought conditions.
What to look out for: Sustained closes above the 200-day EMA ($0.0143) could target the $0.015 psychological barrier.
2. Supply Reduction via Burns (Bullish Impact)
Overview: On August 19, 39,800 USTC were burned through wallet transfers, with an additional 9,950 tokens allocated to community pools. This follows a cumulative 5.18B USTC burned since May 2022.
What this means: Burns reduce sell pressure – the circulating supply has dropped 12% YTD to 5.59B. With Binance yet to implement USTC burns (unlike LUNC), further supply cuts could amplify scarcity effects.
3. Post-Upgrade Momentum (Mixed Impact)
Overview: Binance completed support for Terra Classic’s v3.5.0 upgrade on August 15, reactivating the Market Module critical for on-chain USTC functionality.
What this means: While the upgrade improved technical foundations, its price impact lagged – USTC dipped 3% post-upgrade before the current rally. This suggests traders are pricing in long-term utility gains rather than immediate effects.
Conclusion
USTC’s rebound combines technical factors, supply dynamics, and delayed optimism about infrastructure upgrades. However, the token remains 98.6% below its $1 peg and faces ongoing regulatory headwinds from Do Kwon’s guilty plea.
Key watch: Can USTC hold above the 200-day EMA ($0.0143) through August 22’s U.S. trading session? Failure here might trigger profit-taking from swing traders.