Last year, global stablecoin trading volume climbed 72% year over year to $33 trillion, marking a record high. The biggest shift was a reversal in the ranking of turnover, with USDC surpassing USDT in annual activity. USDC’s annual trading volume reached $18.3 trillion, ahead of USDT’s $13.3 trillion.
USDT’s market capitalization stood at about $187 billion, roughly 2.5 times larger than USDC’s $75 billion. Anthony Im, co-founder of Artemis, noted that USDC is favored on decentralized finance platforms that run on automated blockchain software, and that turnover remains high as traders repeatedly use the same USDC to enter and unwind positions. Dante Disparte, Circle’s CSO, said that the Genius Act enacted last July provides clear regulatory standards, encouraging investors to choose USDC for its regulatory trust and liquidity.
Industry observers point to a policy shift under the Trump administration and the removal of regulatory uncertainty after the act’s passage as drivers of institutional inflows. Major global corporations, including Standard Chartered, Walmart, and Amazon, are reportedly considering issuing stablecoins. World Liberty Financial, a crypto project backed by the Trump family, released its own stablecoin USD1 in March. The IMF warned in October that the rapid growth of the stablecoin market could threaten traditional lending structures and undermine the effectiveness of monetary policy.
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