The stablecoin market absorbed a net 46 billion dollars in the last quarter, reshaping how capital moves in crypto and touching every trader, custodian and institution that keeps value in tokenised dollars. That cash changes liquidity patterns and the risk lens applied to tokenised dollars. A stablecoin is a blockchain token that tracks a fiat currency, usually the dollar—its price stays level.
Data show Tether (USDT) took 19.6 billion, USDC took 12.3 billion and the synthetic token USDe took 9 billion; these numbers shift both the liquidity map and the risk scores that analysts apply to the sector.
Ethereum now holds 171 billion dollars of the tokens, Tron holds 76 billion, and Arbitrum plus BNB Chain together hold 29.7 billion, according to data. Even though the supply grew, on chain use slowed: the count of monthly active addresses dropped 22.6% and the dollar value of transfers fell 11%. The pattern as a move from day trading to holding.
Regulation, market structure and changing risk
The inflow arrives while regulators write tougher rules. The draft GENIUS Act in the United States but also warnings from the IMF draw steady comment. J.P. Morgan Global Research projects the market could reach 500–750 billion dollars. Binance now keeps record balances of stablecoins on its books—the exchange itself becomes a single large liquidity pool and a single point of oversight.
The split mirrors what users experience day to day: Ethereum for liquidity and composability, Tron for speed and negligible costs and Solana for a smoother, high-throughput experience.
The quarter’s flood of stablecoins rewires crypto liquidity besides governance. The next unknown, is how far the GENIUS Act and similar rules go and how exchange reserve levels evolve—those two factors will set the scope of oversight or operating limits in the quarters ahead.
