Stablecoin supply has hit a record $304 billion, rising even as the broader crypto market struggles to recover from its sharpest crash of the year.
Summary
- Stablecoin supply has reached an all-time high of $304 billion despite the market downturn.
- The surge suggests fresh liquidity entering crypto following the Oct. 10 flash crash that wiped out $19 billion in leveraged positions.
- Binance has pledged $283 million in compensation to users affected by the temporary USDe depeg during the crash.
Even though the larger cryptocurrency market is still reeling from the weekend’s severe sell-off, stablecoins have hit a record high.
According to DefiLlama data, as of Oct. 13, the total supply of stablecoins has climbed to $304 billion, marking a new all-time high. This represents a 1% increase over the past week and nearly a 50% rise since January, when total circulation stood near $200 billion.
With over half of the market and roughly $180 billion in supply, Tether is still the undisputed leader. USDC follows with $75 billion, while Ethena’s yield-bearing USDe has grown to $12 billion, making it the third-largest stablecoin by market size.
Fresh stablecoin liquidity amid sharp downturn
The growth in stablecoin supply comes at a time of extreme market stress. On Oct. 10, the crypto market experienced one of its steepest one-day declines on record, erasing over $500 billion in value. The decline came after U.S. President Donald Trump declared that all imports from China would be subject to a 100% tariff.
The announcement sparked a wave of liquidations totaling almost $19 billion across major exchanges, raising concerns about a trade war. Ethereum fell below $3,700, and Bitcoin briefly fell below $115,000 before finding support.
Despite the chaos, investors continued moving funds into dollar-pegged assets like USDT and USDC. This trend suggests that capital is not leaving the ecosystem entirely, but is waiting on the sidelines for market stability before re-entering riskier assets.
USDe depeg exposes exchange risks
The rise of Ethena’s USDe has been one of the more notable developments this year, but the recent flash crash exposed vulnerabilities in centralized exchange infrastructure. During the sell-off, USDe’s price fell to $0.65 on Binance before recovering to its peg within 24 hours.
Ethena’s team said the drop was caused by a liquidity issue tied to Binance’s internal pricing system rather than a flaw in USDe’s design. During the panic, Binance’s order book for USDe became thin, causing forced liquidations that deepened the fall.
Binance responded by pledging to return $283 million to affected users across its futures, margin, and loan products. The exchange also declared that it would update its pricing oracles and put safeguards in place to prevent future occurrences of this kind.
Despite the fact that confidence was quickly restored, the incident shows how exchange-level technical gaps can amplify market stress.
Source: https://crypto.news/stablecoin-supply-record-high-crypto-market-crash-2025/