Total stablecoin supply reached $315 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2026, with Circle's USDC (USDC) adding roughly $2 billion in new issuance even as the broader crypto market contracted and rival Tether's USDT (USDT) shed approximately $3 billion over the same period.
USDC Supply Growth
The divergence between the two largest stablecoin issuers was the sharpest since mid-2022. USDC transfer activity hit a record high in February, according to reports, as institutional users increasingly favored a U.S.-regulated issuer.
Congress is moving closer to passing stablecoin legislation. That pending regulatory clarity has accelerated the shift.
Total supply grew about $8 billion from the prior quarter, per CEX.io data — the slowest pace since late 2023, but still positive while most other segments of the crypto market were shrinking. Stablecoins captured 75% of all crypto trading volume in Q1, the highest share ever recorded, as investors rotated into dollar-pegged assets rather than exiting the ecosystem entirely.
Quarterly transaction volume topped $28 trillion, extending a streak that has seen stablecoins process more value annually than Visa and Mastercard combined.
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Yield-Bearing Stablecoins
Much of the new issuance came not from USDC or USDT but from yield-bearing stablecoins — products that pay returns similar to interest-bearing accounts. That segment is now valued at around $3.7 billion, with daily trading volumes exceeding $100 million, based on CoinGecko data.
Traditional banks have lobbied Congress against these products, arguing they function more like financial instruments than payment tools. The outcome of that debate could determine how much room yield-bearing stablecoins have to grow in the U.S. market.
Retail Decline
Retail-sized transfers fell 16% in Q1, the steepest single-quarter drop on record. Automated trading and algorithmic activity filled much of the gap, accounting for roughly 75% of all stablecoin transaction volume during the period.
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