The stablecoin market continues to demonstrate impressive momentum, moving beyond being a simple trading tool. In June, the adjusted transaction volume in stablecoins reached an all-time high of $1.79 trillion, showing a 63% increase compared to May's $1.1 trillion. This figure not only broke the previous record from February ($1.78 trillion) but was also 125% higher than the level from a year ago.
A key takeaway from this data is the shift in activity leadership. Contrary to the established belief that Tether's (USDT) dominance in market capitalization automatically translates to leadership in transactions, the reality turned out to be different. The bulk of the volume — about 67% ($1.21 trillion) — came from Circle's USDC. USDT's share was approximately 32% ($576 billion). Third place went to PayPal's PYUSD with $2.42 billion, indicating the gradual penetration of traditional financial giants into the crypto ecosystem.
Infrastructure Shift: Base vs Ethereum vs Tron
Analysis of the distribution across networks reveals another important trend. The most actively used network for stablecoin transactions in June was Base — a Layer 2 solution from Coinbase. It accounted for $565 billion (31.5% of the total volume). Ethereum itself ran almost neck and neck with $562 billion, while Tron rounded out the top three with $320 billion (about 18%). This clearly demonstrates that scalability and low fees are becoming critically important factors for the real-world use of stablecoins, not just for capital storage.
The calculation methodology used by Visa in collaboration with Artemis, Allium Labs, and Castle Island Ventures deserves special attention. The adjusted volume excludes distorting factors: operations of high-frequency trading bots, exchange treasury rebalancing, and repetitive smart contract transactions. This allows the assessment to be closer to the real, organic use of stablecoins for payments, remittances, and DeFi.
Against the backdrop of these records, a new player is entering the market — Open USD (OUSD) from Open Standard, supported by over 140 companies, including Visa and Mastercard. This confirms that interest in stablecoin infrastructure from the traditional financial sector is only growing.
My expert perspective: Record transaction volumes against the backdrop of a bear market is a very strong signal. Stablecoins are ceasing to be just a "safe haven" for capital and are turning into an independent layer of the Web3 economy. The fact that USDC, rather than USDT, is the leader in activity points to growing institutional use and a preference for a more regulated asset. The trend will continue, and stablecoins will become the basic payment protocol of the new financial system.