USDC overtakes USDT to become transaction volume market leader

Circle’s stablecoin surpassed USDT to become the market leader in transaction volume.

According to data from payment giant Visa and blockchain analysis platform Allium Labs, Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) surpassed its biggest rival Tether (USDT) in terms of transaction volume this year.

Visa metrics show USDC transaction volume last week was $455.5 billion, while USDT barely topped $88.5 billion.

Source: Visa

Since the beginning of 2024, USD Coin has accounted for approximately 50% of the total transfer volume in the stablecoin market. Previously, the leading position was always occupied by USDT, the largest stablecoin in terms of capitalization. According to DefiLlama, the market share of Tether’s stablecoin is estimated at 69%. However, USDC performance points to a possible shift in user sentiment.

As Bloomberg wrote, citing cryptocurrency analyst Noelle Acheson, the shift in the balance of power can be explained by the greater use of USDT as a dollar store of value outside the US, while USDC is used for regular transactions in the country.

“USDT is more commonly held outside the US as a dollar-based store of value, while USDC is used as a transaction currency in the US.”

Noelle Acheson, cryptocurrency analyst

Last week, online payments leader Stripe relaunched cryptocurrency transfers. The platform started accepting USDC on three networks: Solana, Ethereum and Polygon.

Additionally, issuer Circle has joined largest asset manager BlackRock. The latter launched its first tokenized fund at the end of March. With the cooperation of the companies, the fund’s customers will be able to convert BUIDL into USDC in the secondary market.