Stablecoin Rivals Diverge as USDT Dominates Payments and USDC Leads DeFi

The two largest stablecoins have diverged in their use cases, according to a recent study by Dune. Tether's USDT has become the dominant instrument for on-chain payments, while Circle's USDC has taken the lead in decentralized finance (DeFi). Together, they account for about 83% of the $315 billion stablecoin market.

USDT processed about $95 billion in commercial payments in the first half of 2026, with a significant share coming from the Tron network. The key factor behind USDT's dominance is its use as a tool for fast and cheap cross-border transfers, especially in regions with unstable national currencies.

On the other hand, USDC has become the backbone of DeFi, with transfer volume on Base reaching about $2.6 trillion in June 2026. It serves as trading collateral on Base and collateral for perpetual contracts on HyperEVM, making it a primary tool for interacting with decentralized exchanges and lending protocols.