Stablecoin Market Hits $310B Ceiling; Exchange Inflows Halve to $70B
Stablecoin market cap peaked at $310B in Dec 2025, but exchange inflows have since collapsed by 50%, signaling a defensive shift in capital deployment.
Liquidity Pauses After Record Run
The global stablecoin market capitalization tagged an all-time high of $310 billion in December 2025, marking a 50% year-over-year surge before entering a consolidation phase in early January. While the headline number signals robust adoption, underlying flows suggest a defensive rotation. Data from MEXC and Glassnode reveals that monthly stablecoin inflows to exchanges collapsed from $136 billion in September to nearly $70 billion by year-end, a 50% contraction that indicates capital is remaining on-chain but hesitating to deploy into volatile assets.
The Divergence: USDT vs. USDC
Despite the aggregate peak, the composition of liquidity shows distinct institutional preferences. Tether (USDT) extended its dominance, with circulating supply reaching approximately $187 billion, primarily driven by offshore derivatives and cross-border settlement. Conversely, Circle’s USDC ended the year near $76 billion, correcting early reports that inflated its share. The divergence underscores the market’s bifurcation: USDT remains the engine of crypto-native leverage, while USDC is consolidating its role in regulated on-chain settlement following the passage of the GENIUS Act in the U.S.
Exchange inflows fell from approximately $136 billion to around $70 billion. This reduction in incoming funds points to slower activity by investors.
Infrastructure Wars: Ethereum Retains the Crown
Network dominance data from DefiLlama confirms Ethereum has solidified its position as the primary settlement layer, commanding roughly 55% of the total stablecoin supply. This reinforces the “flight to quality” narrative among institutional issuers who prioritize Ethereum’s validator security over lower fees. Meanwhile, Tron continues to capture the remittance sector, with its stablecoin supply expanding by 34% to over $80 billion, catering to high-frequency payments in emerging markets.
The Institutional “Why”
The explosion in issuer count, rising from 161 to 214 active issuers in 2025, signals a commoditization of the stablecoin stack. With 51 projects now exceeding a $50 million market cap, the moat is shifting from simple liquidity to regulatory compliance and banking integration. The current pause in inflows is not an exit but a re-evaluation of risk as market makers digest the new regulatory frameworks established in Q4 2025.
