Stablecoins

How USDC, PYUSD are challenging USDT’s stablecoin dominance

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Rising payment adoption and regulatory clarity are reshaping the stablecoin market, pushing USDT to the side.

Posted: March 3, 2026 Avatar

By: Muriuki Lazaro Journalist Edited By: Saman Waris How USDC, PYUSD are challenging USDT's stablecoin dominance

Muriuki Lazaro Journalist Edited By: Saman Waris Posted: March 3, 2026 Share this article

Stablecoin liquidity expanded sharply as total circulating supply increased from about $140 billion in early 2024 to roughly $266 billion recently.

During this period, Tether [USDT] remained the largest issuer, rising from nearly $110 billion to about $193 billion in supply.

However, deeper network-level data suggests its dominance is gradually weakening across EVM ecosystems.

Source: Allium/X

Stablecoins across major EVM networks collectively account for roughly $190.7 billion in supply.

Ethereum [ETH] leads with $159.9 billion, while Solana [SOL] and BNB Chain [BNB] trail with 15.4 billion and 14.4 billion, respectively, within this ecosystem.

Tether [USDT] represents about $90.4 billion, or nearly 47% of the total.

This share sits below USDT’s broader global dominance of around 59%, largely because a substantial portion of its supply still operates on non-EVM networks, particularly TRON [TRX].

Source: Artemis

Issuer-level supply trends mirror this rotation. USDT’s overall supply slipped 1.02% over thirty days, while USDC grew 7.42% and PYUSD expanded 16.66%.

As compliant issuers scale, the market gradually tilts toward regulatory-aligned infrastructure rather than liquidity dominance alone.

Stablecoins evolve into global payment rails

Stablecoin activity increasingly reflects payment demand rather than pure trading flows. Monthly payment volume reached about $10.2 billion by late 2025, annualizing above $120 billion.

Meanwhile, peer-to-peer transfers add roughly $19 billion annually, while crypto card spending approaches $18 billion. This spending segment has grown 106% compounded since 2023, signaling rising real-world adoption.

Once exchange-related noise is removed, actual payments reach nearly $390 billion yearly. Within this total, remittances account for around $90 billion, reflecting stablecoins’ growing role in cross-border settlement.

At the same time, small transfers appear more frequently on networks such as Polygon. Rising micro-payment activity increases USDC velocity and reinforces stablecoins as transaction infrastructure.

Supply distribution further confirms this shift. Centralized exchanges hold about $80 billion, or 26% of the $304 billion supply. Meanwhile, DeFi balances expand as yield protocols reach $9.3 billion.

Alongside this, decentralized exchange volume averages $8.23 billion daily. Bridge flows, including $91.65 million USDC moving to Arbitrum in 24 hours, highlight growing cross-chain liquidity demand.

Regulatory clarity fuels institutional shift

Regulatory clarity is reshaping stablecoin competition as institutions favor transparent, compliant issuers. Circle’s USD Coin [USDC] reflects this trend.

Backed by $75.5 billion in reserves, USDC circulation increased by $3.6 billion over 30 days, signaling institutional inflows.

Meanwhile, PayPal USD [PYUSD] reached a $4.19 billion market cap, highlighting rising demand for regulated alternatives. Tether still dominates with $192.88 billion in reserves and about 59% market share.

As regulation tightens globally, stablecoin competition is increasingly shifting toward issuers that combine transparent reserves, compliance, and institutional-grade infrastructure.

Final Summary

Tether [USDT] remains the dominant stablecoin by supply, yet shrinking EVM market share and slower growth highlight rising competition from regulated issuers.
USD Coin [USDC] and PayPal USD [PYUSD] growth signals a stablecoin market increasingly driven by payments, DeFi utility, and compliance-focused infrastructure.

Next: Ethereum gains on Bitcoin as capital rotates back into altcoins Share

Muriuki Lazaro

Muriuki Lazaro is a on-chain data analyst with a B.Sc. in Data Science. Muriuki specializes in dissecting complex on-chain data into clear and accurate insights for readers in the crypto ecosystem, with a particular focus on Bitcoin. More Articles