The world’s largest stablecoins are increasingly becoming chain-specific financial products, with Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) playing distinct roles across the crypto ecosystem rather than competing head-on.
Dunes Digital Asset Summary found that USDT overwhelmingly dominates on-chain payments. During the first half of 2026, the largest stablecoin settled around $95 billion in identified trade payments, compared to $14 billion for the second-largest USDC. It also accounted for approximately 92% of the $48 billion in business-to-business payment volume. On Tron, the largest USDT network, around 93% of the token’s supply is held in ordinary wallets rather than exchanges, underscoring its role as a payment and remittance asset.
Meanwhile, USDC has established itself as the dominant stablecoin in decentralized finance. USDC on Base processed approximately $2.6 trillion in transfer volume in June, the highest of any pair of token chains, while on Ethereum, that stablecoin handled another $1.6 trillion.
USDC on Base recorded a daily velocity of approximately 20 times its circulating supply in June, reflecting its extensive use in trading and DeFi. Fountain: Dune
The findings suggest that the traditional USDT versus USDC narrative is becoming less useful. Instead, each stablecoin is carving out its own niche, with USDT dominating payments and USDC underpinning much of cryptocurrency trading and DeFi activity.
USDT supply is split almost evenly between Tron and Ethereum, while USDC remains heavily concentrated on Ethereum despite expanding to newer blockchains. Source: Dune
The findings come as the two digital assets continue to dominate the stablecoin market. Together, they represent about 83% of the sector’s roughly $315 billion market cap, according to Dune, which tracked more than 200 stablecoin tokens across multiple blockchains.
Related: UN agency takes Stellar blockchain payment initiative beyond pilot stage
US members reshape stablecoin rules
The stablecoin sector has gained momentum in the United States following the passage of the GENIUS Act. GENIUS, signed into law in 2025, established the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, paving the way for banks and other companies to issue digital assets pegged to the US dollar.
Lawmakers are now debating the CLARITY Act, which would establish a broader market structure for digital assets by defining when cryptoassets fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. While the bill does not regulate stablecoins directly, it would shape the broader regulatory environment in which stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and DeFi platforms operate.
CLARITY was approved by the Senate Banking Committee in May and could receive a full Senate vote before the break in August, although Galaxy recently lowered its chances of passage before the break to 50% as lawmakers ran out of time.
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