Circle’s USDC stablecoin has achieved a significant milestone in the stablecoin market by surpassing Tether’s USDT in transaction volume, according to data released by Visa in partnership with Allium Labs. The data reveals that USDC recorded a transaction volume of $456 billion last week, compared to USDT’s $89 billion. USDC also accounted for 50% of total transactions since January. Despite this, Tether remains the dominant force in the stablecoin market, with a market share of over 68% and a market cap of over $100 billion. According to crypto analyst Noelle Acheson, USDC’s rise in transaction volume can be attributed to its predominant use within the US as a transaction currency, while USDT is primarily held outside the US as a store of value. The increase in USDC volumes follows a series of stablecoin adoptions, including Stripe reintroducing cryptocurrency payments with a focus on USDC, PayPal launching its stablecoin PYUSD, and Shopify accepting stablecoin payments. Binance also converted its $1 billion Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to USDC to enhance its reliability. Additionally, the US Congress is considering stablecoin legislation, which could further increase the adoption of stablecoins as the regulatory environment becomes more solidified.
