Stablecoin activity reached a new peak in February as monthly transfer volume climbed to $1.8 trillion, with Circle’s USDC accounting for the lion’s share and exceeding Tether’s USDT in transfer activity, according to market data.
February snapshot
– Total stablecoin transfers: $1.8 trillion.
– USDC transfer volume: about $1.26 trillion (roughly 70% of the total).
– USDT transfer volume: roughly $514 billion.
Despite being smaller by market capitalization, USDC has recently seen heavier on-chain movement than USDT. Moonrock Capital founder Simon Dedic noted that USDC has “consistently flipped” USDT in transfer volume over recent months. That higher throughput is notable given current market caps: USDC is around $77.4 billion versus USDT’s roughly $184 billion.
Supply dynamics and minting activity
Data from market intelligence firms shows USDC supply rising faster than USDT’s in recent weeks. Arkham Intelligence flagged more than $3 billion in new USDC minted in early March, including a $250 million mint on Solana. If that pace continues, Arkham estimates minting could exceed $12 billion for the month. By contrast, USDT’s supply has remained relatively flat over the same period.
Circle, the issuer of USDC, pointed to rapid growth in USDC-related business and expanding payments operations as drivers of strong Q4 2025 results.
What this means for crypto markets
Analysts say growing stablecoin liquidity strengthens market buying power. The Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR)—Bitcoin’s market cap divided by stablecoin market cap—has been recovering after a February dip, which CryptoQuant analyst Sunny Mom interprets as a sign of returning buying power.
Exchange inventories of stablecoins have risen as well: stablecoins on exchanges reached a three-week high of $66.5 billion. Inflows accelerated in early March, with roughly $5.14 billion transferred to exchanges on March 5 versus about $1.14 billion on March 1. Higher stablecoin balances on exchanges historically correlate with increased capacity to buy assets and have often preceded Bitcoin bull runs.
Takeaway
February’s record transfer volume and the shift in on-chain activity toward USDC underscore changing usage patterns in the stablecoin market and growing liquidity that could support broader crypto market rallies.
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