Leading the way are USDT from Tether and USDC from Circle & Coinbase, which hold most of the funds: $143 billion and $58 billion, respectively. Other guys are plugging in as well: USDS, Athena USDe, sUSDS, Dai and First Digital USD, together raking in another $22 billion. In total, that’s already $223 billion – and that’s not the limit yet.
In parallel, a bunch of small stables with a capitalization of less than a billion are flying into the market, but they are also gaining momentum. In the last 7 days alone, $2.45 billion of freshly created coins have been injected into the system, according to DeFiLlama.
The USDT and USDC don’t just exist – they are fiercely competing for market dominance. So far in terms of growth USDC is outperforming its main rival, although it is still far away from USDT.
Back in November 2023, there was $35 billion USDC in circulation. But after Trump’s election, whose campaign greatly inflamed the market and crypto-enthusiasts, it grew by 66% to $58 billion. At the same time, USDT also rose, but only by 18% – from $121 billion to $143 billion.
Tether, though, has some problems looming on the horizon. In Europe, they are heavily restricted by the MiCA regulation, causing major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase to start delisting USDT. In the States, the GENIUS Act is on the agenda, which wants to tighten the screws on stablecoin issuers outside the US.
But the most interesting thing is not just trading and lending in DeFi, but how staples are moving beyond the crypto industry. They are starting to integrate into the classical financial system.
For example,CEO of Bank of America, recently hinted that his bank would be willing to use stablecoins if Congress approves a law to that effect. And by the looks of it, it’s only a matter of time.
PayPal isn’t lagging behind either – their PYUSD (now in 10th place among staples with a $665 million capitalization) could soon be used for. Also on the case are Revolut and Stripe, which are beginning to venture into new payment schemes based on stablecoins.
And Paxos in general have partnered with Standard Chartered, one of the largest banks, to move their USDG and USDL.
Apparently, the new Trump administration has no intention of slowing down the process. At the White House crypto summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent bluntly stated:
“We are going to keep the US the dominant reserve currency in the world, and we will use stablecoins to do that,” he said.
This idea could turn the world market upside down – stablecoins could become the basis for global trade and cross-border payments, and not just at the level of companies, but at the level of entire countries.
As SynFutures CEO Rachel Lin says:
”The new record for the capitalization of stablecoins is not just a number, it’s a signal that more and more people and organizations see them as a key bridge between crypto and traditional finance. Trump’s pro-crypto stance adds legitimacy to this trend, but the big question is what happens next? Will regulation create a fair playing field for all, or will it simply entrench the monopoly of the big players? The future of digital dollars depends on the answer to this question.”
This article was originally Posted on Coinpaper.com
