Stablecoin Supremacy: Tether and USDC Lock Down 85% of $246.5B Market
The stablecoin arena just hit a staggering $246.5 billion valuation—proving once again that crypto’s ’boring’ corner is where the real action happens. Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC continue their duopoly, swallowing 85% of the market while smaller players fight for scraps.
Wall Street’s still pretending stablecoins are a ’niche’ product—right as they quietly become the backbone of decentralized finance. Liquidity flows where the friction is lowest, and TradFi’s 19th-century plumbing isn’t cutting it.
Funny how the ’stable’ in stablecoins refers to price pegs—not the existential dread traditional banks feel watching this sector eat their lunch.
- USDT and USDC control over 85% of the $246.5B stablecoin market capitalization.
- DAI and USDe show high trading volumes despite relatively lower market capitalizations.
- Smaller stablecoins like USDO and USDY reflect increasing diversity in the stablecoin ecosystem.
According to new data published by Phoenix Group, the total market capitalization of stablecoins reached $246.50 billion as of May 16, 2025. Stablecoins now account for 7.46% of the total crypto market, offering insight into the role these tokens continue to play in trading activity, liquidity provision, and decentralized finance systems.
The report presents a detailed breakdown of the top-performing stablecoins by market cap and trading volume, highlighting the market’s concentration and the performance of smaller competitors.
TOP #STABLECOINS BY MARKET CAPITALIZATION
TOTAL #STABLE MARKET CAP – $246.50B
STABLE DOMINANCE – 7.46%… pic.twitter.com/7ZwTcDzZfl
Tether (USDT) leads the category with a market capitalization of $151.0 billion, representing 62.41% of the entire stablecoin market. It also leads in 24-hour trading volume with $87.4 billion exchanged, indicating high turnover and liquidity.
The figures reflect Tether’s persistent presence across centralized exchanges, DeFi protocols, and crypto payment infrastructure. Its market performance places it significantly ahead of all other stablecoins.
USDC is the second-largest by market cap, totaling $60.6 billion. Its daily trading volume stands at $11.1 billion. USDT and USDC comprise over 85% of the stablecoin market’s total capitalization. This level of concentration suggests that a majority of stablecoin-based activity still relies on two primary assets, even as new tokens continue to emerge.
DAI, USDe Show High Volume-to-Cap Ratios
Among decentralized options, DAI holds a market capitalization of $5.3 billion. However, its daily volume of $17.1 billion exceeds its total market value, indicating significant transaction velocity. The data suggests DAI plays an active role in short-term trading and DeFi applications, where users frequently mint and redeem the token.
Another entry is USDe, which reported a daily volume of $150.3 million with a relatively modest market cap of $4.9 billion. This high trading activity relative to its size may reflect growing short-term interest or increased integration with newer protocols.
PYUSD, in contrast, shows a different profile. Its market cap is $911.5 million, but its trading volume is comparatively low at $19.8 million. The discrepancy may be due to more limited exchange listings or less user engagement on-chain. The asset remains under observation as adoption patterns evolve.
The latest list features the USDO and USDY stablecoins. USDO is worth $647.1 million in the market, compared to USDY’s $585.4 million. This demonstrates that stablecoins are becoming more diverse, but neither currently sees significant trading.
The stablecoin business is highly centralized, and USDT and USDC own most of the shares and provide much of the liquidity. Besides, smaller and lesser-known coins are gaining popularity, hinting at possible new ways they can be used.
