Stablecoins Hit $320B Record As Exchange Trading Sinks To 2023 Low

Stablecoins reached a record near $320 billion in supply during May, even as their trading on centralized exchanges sank to the lowest level since 2023.

Stablecoin Supply Sets $320B Record

The total stablecoin market cap climbed to about $320 billion in May, its fourth consecutive monthly record, even as broader crypto prices drifted lower, media reported. Volume on centralized exchanges moved the other way. Stablecoin turnover there fell 4.13% to $883 billion, the weakest reading since November 2023, with Tether (USDT) at 73.7% of the flow.

Supply is rising even as fewer dollars churn through exchange order books. That split points to stablecoins increasingly held as collateral, treasury cash, and settlement rails rather than pure trading fuel.

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Why USDT, USDC Dominate

The gap traces partly to thinner derivatives trading, where average monthly volume across the top 11 centralized perpetual venues dropped 34% in early 2026, CoinGecko tracked. Those venues averaged $4.69 trillion a month, down from $7.11 trillion across 2025. Decentralized rivals gained ground, averaging $611.57 billion a month as traders drifted away from centralized books.

A DeFiLlama snapshot placed Tether near $187 billion and USD Coin (USDC) around $75 billion, leaving USDT dominance close to 59% and the pair in command of most of the market. Compliance regimes such as Europe's MiCA favor issuers with audited reserves and deep bank ties, steering exchanges, fintechs, and payment partners toward the two largest names.

Stablecoins Move Past Trading

Within the top ten, the gains ran uneven, with Ethena's USDe (USDe) climbing 18.2% to $4.50 billion. PayPal's PYUSD (PYUSD) dropped 9.31% to $3.05 billion over the same stretch. Tether's own supply slipped 0.69%, marking its first monthly decline in three months.

The shift suggests holders are parking dollars rather than churning them, with more supply sitting as collateral in lending markets, as treasury cash, and as rails for payroll and cross-border payments. Those balances tend to stay put for weeks at a time, lifting total supply without surfacing as exchange turnover.

The float has grown through the downturn regardless, expanding nearly 49% in 2025 to close the year near $311 billion. That climb held even as Bitcoin (BTC) slid from its October 2025 high and equities outran crypto for much of the stretch. May's record simply extended that streak, with token prices still sliding into June.

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