Circle’s USDC has emerged as the dominant stablecoin by transaction activity, accounting for approximately 70% of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume during the first half of 2026, while Tether’s USDT represented about 25%, according to new on-chain data compiled by Visa.
The figures mark a significant change in the competitive landscape of the stablecoin market. For years, USDT dominated both supply and transaction activity, but Visa’s adjusted metrics indicate that institutional adoption is increasingly flowing through USDC instead. The data exclude exchange transfers, bot activity and other blockchain transactions that do not represent genuine economic activity, providing what Visa describes as a more accurate picture of real-world stablecoin usage.
Visa’s analysis also showed that adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached a record $1.79 trillion in June 2026, up 63% from $1.1 trillion in May and 125% higher than approximately $795 billion recorded in June 2025. During the first six months of 2026, adjusted stablecoin volume totaled $8.82 trillion, already surpassing the $5.8 trillion processed during all of 2024, though still below the $10.8 trillion recorded in 2025.
The findings suggest that while Tether remains the largest stablecoin by circulating supply, USDC is increasingly handling a larger share of economically meaningful transactions.
Institutional Adoption Drives the Shift
The growing dominance of USDC appears closely tied to institutional adoption. Banks and financial institutions have increasingly integrated USDC into payment, settlement and treasury operations rather than developing proprietary stablecoin infrastructure. Recent announcements from institutions including BNY and Standard Chartered have expanded services built around USDC, reinforcing Circle’s position as the preferred settlement asset for regulated financial firms.
The passage of the US GENIUS Act, which established a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, has also encouraged greater institutional participation in dollar-backed digital assets.
Meanwhile, Tether continues to dominate trading activity on many cryptocurrency exchanges and remains the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization. However, regulatory challenges in some jurisdictions, including Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, have prompted certain financial institutions and exchanges to prioritize USDC for regulated use cases.
Competition Continues to Intensify
Although USDC has gained market share by transaction volume, competition across the stablecoin sector is accelerating. Major financial and technology companies—including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and Coinbase—have joined the newly launched Open USD consortium, while banks are increasingly exploring tokenized deposits and blockchain-based payment systems. These developments could pressure Circle’s margins even as USDC continues expanding its network effects.
Analysts also caution that transaction volume tells a different story from circulating supply. Tether still maintains a larger outstanding supply than USDC and remains deeply embedded within global crypto trading markets. Visa’s adjusted metrics instead highlight where stablecoins are being used for payments, settlements and other economic activity after filtering out non-economic blockchain transactions.
For investors and market participants, the latest data suggest that stablecoins are increasingly evolving beyond trading instruments into financial infrastructure. USDC’s rise to roughly 70% of adjusted transaction volume reflects growing institutional confidence in regulated digital dollar networks, while USDT’s 25% share underscores its continued importance within the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.
As traditional financial institutions deepen their use of blockchain-based settlement and payment rails, competition among stablecoin issuers is likely to shift from market capitalization toward transaction utility, regulatory compliance and enterprise adoption.