Stablecoin throughput outpaces supply as USDC gains volume share

For crypto investors, stablecoin market cap no longer captures the full scale of activity. Coinbase Institutional data shows supply has roughly doubled since January 2024, while entity-adjusted transaction volume has grown fourfold to fivefold. Monthly adjusted volume has risen above $1 trillion, suggesting the same pool of digital dollars is circulating more often.

That shift separates capacity from utilization. Supply shows how much liquidity exists, while throughput measures activity across exchanges, treasury accounts, payment systems and settlement flows. The figures still include trading, arbitrage, collateral movements and treasury transfers, so they do not indicate broad consumer adoption.

The market's two largest stablecoins are also diverging. USDT remains the largest by circulating supply, while USDC accounted for about 70% of adjusted stablecoin volume in Coinbase's July analysis, up from the mid-20% range in 2024. The figures create two different measures of leadership: dollars held and dollars moved.

Stablecoin activity also continues through weekends. Coinbase found that Saturdays and Sundays account for about one-fifth of adjusted weekly volume. Fedwire treats weekends as holidays, while stablecoins can settle on public blockchains throughout the week. Visa measured stablecoin velocity at 13.56 in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with 1.65 for US M1, though retail-sized transfers made up less than 1% of activity.