Dune Analytics data show USDT dominates payments ($95B) while USDC leads DeFi, with both controlling 83% of the $315B stablecoin market.
DeFi & Yields ·
Tether's stablecoin has emerged as the dominant player in real-world payment settlements, handling roughly $95 billion in commercial transactions during the first half of 2026, according to Dune Analytics data. USDC trailed significantly with $14 billion in the same period, and Tether captured 92% of the B2B payments segment. On Tron, where Tether maintains its largest presence, approximately 93% of circulating tokens reside in standard user wallets rather than contract addresses.
USD Coin has carved out a different niche in decentralized finance protocols. In June, it facilitated $2.6 trillion in movement volume across Base and $1.6 trillion on Ethereum alone, reflecting substantially higher on-chain activity than Tether in these environments. This split usage pattern reflects how the two stablecoins have polarized along payment versus DeFi lines.
Together, the two tokens represent 83% of the roughly $315 billion stablecoin market by capitalization, underscoring the concentration of liquidity among the top two players. The divergence in deployment—one optimized for traditional payment rails, the other for protocol-based transfers—has become the defining structural difference between the market leaders.