Circle’s USDC has overtaken Tether’s USDT in annual transaction quantity for the primary time, marking a historic shift within the stablecoin panorama.
For a decade, USDT has reigned because the undisputed king of stablecoins. It nonetheless instructions a $187 billion market cap—practically 2.5 instances USDC’s $75 billion market cap. But 2025 revealed a distinct story beneath the floor: the smaller stablecoin is now shifting more cash.
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USDC Leads by 39%
In keeping with information from Artemis Analytics, USDC processed $18.3 trillion price of transfers in 2025, in comparison with USDT‘s $13.2 trillion—a 39% hole.
Artemis Stablecoin Switch Quantity filters out MEV bot transactions and intra-exchange transfers, isolating the platform’s “natural” on-chain exercise. This metric gives an higher sure on precise funds and DeFi utilization, slightly than uncooked transaction counts inflated by automated buying and selling. Briefly, real-world funds, P2P transfers, and DeFi exercise depend; automated bot trades and alternate pockets reshuffling don’t.
Why USDC Pulled Forward
The hole comes right down to 4 elements: how DeFi works, the place it’s taking place, an surprising catalyst, and regulatory timing.
1. DeFi Turnover
Analysts attribute the hole largely to how every stablecoin is used. USDC dominates decentralized finance platforms, the place merchants ceaselessly enter and exit positions. The identical greenback will get recycled a number of instances by lending protocols and DEX swaps. USDT, in contrast, serves extra as a retailer of worth and cost rail—customers have a tendency to carry it in wallets slightly than transfer it continuously.
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2. The Solana Issue
Solana’s explosive DeFi development turned USDC’s main engine. The stablecoin now accounts for over 70% of all stablecoins on the community, whereas USDT stays targeting Tron. In Q1 2025 alone, Solana’s whole stablecoin provide surged from $5.2 billion to $11.7 billion—a 125% improve pushed nearly solely by USDC inflows.
3. The Trump Token Irony
The January 2025 launch of the TRUMP memecoin inadvertently supercharged USDC adoption. The token’s main liquidity pool on Meteora DEX is paired with USDC, not USDT. This meant merchants dashing to purchase TRUMP first wanted to amass USDC, creating a requirement spike that rippled throughout Solana’s DeFi ecosystem.
The irony runs deeper: the Trump household launched its personal stablecoin, USD1, by World Liberty Monetary in March. But the TRUMP token they impressed ended up boosting a competitor’s stablecoin.
4. Regulatory Tailwinds
The July passage of the Genius Act within the US established clear authorized requirements for stablecoin issuers. Trade observers be aware that USDC’s longstanding emphasis on regulatory compliance and reserve transparency positioned it to profit most from the brand new framework. In Europe, USDC’s MiCA compliance has given it an edge amid delisting stress on a number of exchanges going through USDT.
A Rising Tide
The USDC surge contributed to report stablecoin exercise general. Complete transaction quantity reached $33 trillion in 2025, up 72% 12 months over 12 months. This fall alone noticed $11 trillion in flows, accelerating from $8.8 trillion in Q3.
Bloomberg Intelligence initiatives stablecoin cost flows may attain $56 trillion by 2030, positioning the sector as a serious international cost rail alongside conventional networks.