USDC Dominates Institutional Settlement as Stablecoin Volumes Hit Record $1.79 Trillion

The institutional pivot toward regulated digital dollars reached a new milestone in June, with stablecoin transaction volume surging to a record $1.79 trillion. Data from Visa’s onchain dashboard indicates a 63% increase from May, signaling a rapid acceleration in the use of fiat-pegged assets for global settlement.

Circle’s USDC has emerged as the primary beneficiary of this growth, capturing approximately 70% of adjusted transaction volume during the first half of 2026. This dominance comes at the expense of its largest competitor, Tether (USDT), which accounted for roughly 25% of the volume during the same period.

The disparity highlights a shift in how value moves across blockchains. Unlike raw transaction data, which is often inflated by automated bot activity and internal exchange transfers, the Visa data filters for real economic activity. This methodology aligns with broader efforts by the Federal Reserve Board and other central banks to monitor the integration of private stablecoins into the traditional financial plumbing.

Major financial institutions are increasingly bypassing the development of proprietary infrastructure in favor of established networks. Standard Chartered and BNY have recently integrated USDC into their payment and treasury operations, treating the stablecoin as a utility layer rather than a speculative asset.

The scale of activity in the first six months of 2026—totaling $8.82 trillion—already exceeds the $5.8 trillion recorded throughout the entirety of 2024. If current trends persist, the market is on track to surpass the $10.8 trillion record set in 2025.

The migration of volume toward USDC reflects a growing preference for transparency and regulatory alignment in the stablecoin sector. While USDT remains a staple of the offshore trading ecosystem, USDC’s 70% share of adjusted volume suggests that the regulated economy is now the primary driver of growth.