Stablecoin transaction volumes jumped 72% year‑over‑year in 2025, reaching a record $33 trillion as USD Coin (USDC) processed roughly $18.3 trillion and Tether (USDT) around $13.3 trillion, according to data compiled from industry reporting.
The expansion was broad-based. Total market capitalization of dollar‑pegged tokens rose into the low hundreds of billions by mid‑2025, with estimates clustering between $250 billion and $300 billion. Tether continued to lead in supply, holding a market cap above $150 billion, while USDC’s market cap climbed roughly 73% to about $70–$75 billion.
Three dynamics powered the breakout: network throughput, corporate settlement pilots and regional demand. Solana emerged as a hub for transactional volume—especially for USDC flows—because of its low latency and capacity to handle high transfer counts.
At the same time, Ethereum retained the bulk of stablecoin supply, hosting roughly 70% of tokens in circulation.
Drivers: chains, payments networks and regional demand
Institutional activity amplified volumes. Payment networks and corporates moved to pilot or enable stablecoin settlements: industry reporting noted Visa facilitating USDC settlements for U.S. institutions on Solana, while other firms signaled strategic workstreams to fold stablecoins into payments rails. That institutional pathway lifted USDC’s transactional footprint despite USDT’s larger supply.
Regional economic pressures shaped use cases. Latin America registered outsized stablecoin activity driven by remittances and currency instability, while emerging markets such as Kenya rose into top positions for transactional volume.
Regulatory progress in 2025 contributed to the environment for adoption. More than 70% of jurisdictions advanced stablecoin frameworks during the year, and policymakers in the U.S. and EU moved proposals that industry participants pointed to as clarity for institutional use.
Investors and practitioners are watching whether settlement experiments and regulatory rollouts in 2026 will convert transaction growth into durable commercial revenue. Visa’s public target to shift new payment flows—including stablecoin settlements—into its revenue mix by 2026 will serve as an early test of whether 2025’s volume gains translate into ongoing, institutionalized payment flows.
