The stablecoin landscape is evolving as the two major players, Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, specialize in different sectors of the cryptocurrency market instead of competing directly. Analysis from Dune reveals USDT’s overwhelming dominance in on-chain payment transactions, settling roughly $95 billion in commerce payments during the first half of 2026—far surpassing USDC’s $14 billion in the same category.
USDT’s role as a payment asset is further highlighted by its strong presence on the Tron network, where about 93% of USDT tokens are held in regular wallets rather than exchanges. This distribution emphasizes its use for remittances and business transactions. In fact, USDT accounted for approximately 92% of all business-to-business payment volume, totaling $48 billion.
Conversely, USDC has emerged as the stalwart stablecoin within decentralized finance (DeFi) and trading ecosystems. On Base, a newer blockchain, USDC processed nearly $2.6 trillion in transfers in June alone, the highest volume recorded for any token on any chain. Ethereum also hosts significant USDC activity, handling an additional $1.6 trillion. USDC’s daily velocity on Base reached about 20 times its circulating supply, signaling a vibrant use in trading and DeFi protocols.
The supply dynamics further underscore their distinct roles. USDT’s supply is split almost evenly between Tron and Ethereum, while USDC remains heavily concentrated on Ethereum despite expanding onto newer blockchains. Together, these two stablecoins now represent around 83% of the stablecoin market’s estimated $315 billion valuation, based on data covering more than 200 tokens across various chains.
This shift in use cases suggests the traditional narrative positioning USDT and USDC purely as rivals is becoming outdated. Instead, each stablecoin is taking on a unique niche: USDT reigns as the preferred tool for payment and remittance, while USDC powers much of the DeFi and crypto trading frameworks.
These developments come amid significant regulatory progress in the United States. The GENIUS Act, enacted in 2025, established a federal regulatory framework specifically for payment stablecoins, allowing banks and other institutions to issue US dollar-backed digital assets under regulated environments. Meanwhile, lawmakers are moving forward with the CLARITY Act, which would define the regulatory boundaries between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for various crypto assets. Although the CLARITY Act does not directly regulate stablecoins, it will affect the broader landscape for stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and DeFi platforms. The bill recently cleared the Senate Banking Committee and could see a full Senate vote soon, though its passage remains uncertain as lawmakers contend with tight schedules.