USDC Overtakes USDT in Adjusted Stablecoin Settlement Volume for June 2026

CoinDesk, citing on-chain data compiled by Visa and Allium, says the stablecoin market is settling into a clearer split of roles: USDC is becoming the primary rail for large-ticket settlement, while USDT continues to dominate everyday, low-value transfers and offshore demand for U.S. dollars. By market capitalization, USDT remains the largest stablecoin. But when activity is measured by "real economic use"—with internal movements, bot-driven loops and other noise filtered out—USDC is now firmly ahead. The gap widened in June. In June 2026, adjusted stablecoin settlement volume hit a record $1.79 trillion. USDC accounted for about $1.21 trillion, roughly 67%, while USDT represented around $573 billion. For the first half of 2026, USDC's share was close to 70%, compared with about 25% for USDT. The figures underline a growing disconnect between size and usage in stablecoins. USDT leads in market cap at roughly $184 billion, versus about $73 billion for USDC, yet their contributions to actual fund flows are diverging. The report attributes USDC's rise largely to bank and institutional adoption, arguing it reflects years of positioning rather than a short-lived swing. Circle has emphasized a compliance-led approach, including backing reserves with U.S. Treasuries and cash, providing regular reserve disclosures, and building products designed to fit regulatory frameworks more readily accepted in the U.S. and Europe. Institutional uptake accelerated in 2026. Standard Chartered started offering USDC minting and redemption through its traditional banking infrastructure. BNY Mellon added USDC to its digital-asset custody platform. The article argues that large banks increasingly prefer connecting to established compliant stablecoin networks instead of issuing their own tokens. USDT still leads on transaction count. June data show USDT handled about 145 million transactions, far above USDC's 57 million. The report says USDT remains the tool of choice for high-frequency, low-value dollar transfers across a broad user base, especially in emerging markets and offshore trading environments. Put differently, USDC tends to carry larger average transfer sizes, while USDT serves more users and more individual payments. The article frames the split as two markets: one resembling an institutional settlement channel, the other functioning more as a store of value and medium of exchange. The methodology remains contested. The "adjusted" volume is not raw on-chain totals, but an estimate produced by filtering out internal transfers, bot activity and aggregation-related movements, which inevitably involves judgment calls. The report also notes that Visa has partnered with Circle since 2020, prompting some critics to treat the metrics cautiously. Still, it adds that USDC first began consistently surpassing USDT in monthly adjusted volume in early 2025 and has maintained the lead for multiple quarters, with no major dataset reporting the opposite.