USDT and USDC Lead $46 Billion Stablecoin Expansion

This growth pushed the stablecoin market cap to around $290 billion. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC led the surge, while Ethena’s USDe emerged as a fast-rising player. Ethereum remained the dominant network for stablecoins, followed by Tron. Despite the sharp increase in supply and demand, usage metrics showed a slowdown.

Stablecoin Inflows Jump

Stablecoins saw a remarkable surge in demand over the past quarter, with more than $46 billion in net inflows recorded over the last 90 days. This is according to data from RWA.xyz. The growth sheds some light on the increasing appetite for US dollar-pegged assets in the crypto sector, particularly as investors look for stability amid market volatility.

Tether’s USDT led the charge with $19.6 billion in inflows, cementing its role as the dominant player in the sector. Circle’s USDC followed closely with $12.3 billion, which was a sharp rebound from just $500 million in net issuance in the previous quarter. Ethena’s synthetic stablecoin USDe also made waves by attracting $9 billion in inflows after recording only $200 million in the prior quarter.

Top stablecoin net flows (Source: RWA.xyz)

Other issuers also contributed to the surge. PayPal’s PYUSD recorded $1.4 billion in inflows, while MakerDAO’s USDS added $1.3 billion. Ripple’s RLUSD and Ethena’s USDtb, although smaller, posted steady growth. 

In total, stablecoin inflows grew by over 324% compared to the second quarter, with $56.5 billion flowing in over the past six months, of which just $10.8 billion came in Q2. The third quarter alone accounted for the bulk of the gains.

Ethereum still dominates as the leading network for stablecoins, hosting $171 billion in circulating supply, while Tron holds the second spot with $76 billion. Other chains, including Solana, Arbitrum, and BNB Chain, collectively host around $29.7 billion. In terms of token dominance, USDT controls nearly 59% of the stablecoin market, with USDC at around 25% and Ethena’s USDe quickly rising to nearly 5%, according to DefiLlama.

Stablecoin market cap by network (Source: RWA.xyz)

Overall, the stablecoin market cap expanded to roughly $290 billion in the past month. However, not all metrics reflected growth. RWA.xyz reported that monthly active addresses fell 22.6% to 26 million, while transfer volumes slipped 11% to $3.17 trillion. This suggests that despite strong inflows and rising supply, actual usage saw a decline.