Stablecoin Transaction Volume Hits Record $1.79 Trillion in June, Up 63% Month-Over-Month

Stablecoin transaction volume hit a record $1.79 trillion in June 2026, a 63% monthly increase, driven by growing institutional adoption. Circle's USDC solidified its market dominance, accounting for ~70% of the $8.82 trillion in volume in the first half of the year, while Tether's USDT held ~25%. The data, adjusted by Visa to reflect organic activity, also shows a new competitor, OpenUSD, has entered the market.

Record stablecoin transaction volume

• ▪The $8.82 trillion volume in the first half of 2026 exceeds the $5.8 trillion recorded for all of 2024
• ▪The previous record for monthly stablecoin transaction volume was $1.78 trillion, set in February 2026
• ▪The June 2026 volume represents a 63% increase from May 2026 and a 125% increase from June 2025
• ▪Total adjusted stablecoin volume for the first six months of 2026 was $8.82 trillion
• ▪Adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached a record $1.79 trillion in June 2026

USDC market dominance

• ▪Tether's USDT held about 25% of the adjusted transaction volume in the first half of 2026
• ▪In June 2026, Circle's USDC processed $1.21 trillion in transaction volume, representing about 67% of the total
• ▪Circle's USDC accounted for approximately 70% of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume in the first half of 2026
• ▪In 2020, Tether's USDT controlled nearly 90% of adjusted transaction volume, while Circle's USDC had less than 10%
• ▪PayPal's PYUSD was the third-largest stablecoin by transaction volume in June 2026, with $2.42 billion
• ▪In June 2026, Tether's USDT processed $576 billion in transaction volume, representing about 32% of the total

Blockchain network usage

• ▪The Tron network was third for stablecoin volume in June 2026, processing $320 billion
• ▪Coinbase's layer-2 network Base was the most used network for stablecoin transactions in June 2026, with $565 billion in volume
• ▪The Ethereum network was the second most-used for stablecoin transactions in June 2026, with $562 billion in volume

Adjusted transaction methodology

• ▪Visa's adjusted volume metric is calculated by removing non-economic activity like bot trading and certain exchange transfers
• ▪Visa developed its adjusted transaction methodology in collaboration with Artemis, Allium Labs, and Castle Island Ventures

Stablecoin market outlook

• ▪Nick Ruck of LVRG Research predicted the growth trend will continue as stablecoins become a "foundational layer of the Web3 economy."
• ▪The Open Standard consortium announced a new stablecoin, OpenUSD (OUSD), with support from over 140 companies including Visa and Mastercard
• ▪The launch of OpenUSD has raised concerns about potential margin pressure on Circle, the issuer of USDC
• ▪Banks including Standard Chartered and BNY have recently added services using Circle's USDC instead of creating their own stablecoins