Global stablecoin market capitalization hits a new all-time high of over $212 billion

Data from DefiLlama revealed that the stablecoin market capitalization hit a new high of $212.99 billion, growing by 3.02% in the past week. 

Stablecoins have triumphed in the global market, representing over two-thirds of the trillions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency transactions recorded in recent months.

USDT dominated the stablecoin market with a 65.18% market share ($138.83B). USDC also saw an 11.23% rise in the past week to reach a $50.86B market capitalization.

Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America embraced stablecoins as a hedge

Stablecoin Market Cap Hits $212.99B 🚀

According to @DefiLlama, the stablecoin market has reached a new high:
– Weekly growth: +3.02%
– $USDT dominance: 65.18% (declining 📉)
– $USDC market cap: $50.86B (+11.23% in 7 days 🔼)

The rise of stablecoins continues! 💸#Crypto… pic.twitter.com/J1H62GqA55

— DIMU – Games and Web3 Insights (@dimu_io) January 22, 2025

As the stablecoin market peaked at $212.99B, Chainalysis also reported that stablecoins have overtaken BTC as the preferred asset for everyday transactions.

Regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America embraced stablecoins as a hedge against local monetary instability. The report also revealed that stablecoins offered such countries a more reliable means of transacting and preserving value. Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa were the fastest-growing regions for retail and professional-sized stablecoin transfers, with year-over-year (YoY) stats exceeding 40%.

Arthur Azizov, CEO of B2BINPAY, said stablecoin growth in 2025 will be tied to other local currencies. He believes that local stablecoins will be integrated into local banking systems as they gain traction as countries increasingly look to digitize their economies. In October 2024, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates approved the launch of the dirham-backed stablecoin AE Coin. 

Castle Island Ventures also reported that stablecoins were increasingly used for everyday finances such as savings, currency conversion, and cross-border payments in emerging markets. The firm based the survey on more than 2,500 cryptocurrency users in Brazil, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, and India. Sampled users revealed they preferred to use stablecoins on blockchains instead of U.S. dollar banking because of greater efficiency and lower chances of government interference. 

Standard Chartered (STAN) and Zodia Markets said in a report that stablecoins could grow to 10% of the U.S. money supply and foreign exchange transactions once the sector became more legitimized. Authors Geoff Kendrick and Nick Philpott said that the catalyst for the surge in adoption will be the U.S. regulation of stablecoins. The report also indicated that more success on the regulatory front is expected this year as President Donald Trump’s administration resumes office.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller also highlighted stablecoins as an important innovation that can reduce reliance on payment intermediaries. Waller acknowledged that stablecoins can lower costs on a global scale and improve overall efficiency.

Fidelity predicts stablecoins will evolve with tokenization

Fidelity Digital Assets released a report titled “2025 Look Ahead: Digital Assets and Trends to Watch.” Research analyst, Martha Reyes said in the report that stablecoins could potentially continue to evolve as a major use case that complements the tokenization of real-world assets. The firm expects additional measures will be implemented to address counterparty and compliance risks and facilitate integration with traditional payment and lending rails.

As of December 2024, stablecoins had achieved $12 trillion in transfer value, up from $7 trillion in 2023, driven by declining fees and improved scalability. 

“Nevertheless, the endurance of stablecoins speaks to not only digital assets trading but also other use cases – primarily remittances, cross border payments and, ultimately, the desire to easily access dollars as a store of value versus other currencies.”

–Martha Reyes, Fidelity Research Analyst.

Castle Island Ventures conducted a recent survey in emerging market countries and reported that 47% of respondents used stablecoins to save in dollars. The survey also highlighted that 43% of respondents used stablecoins for better conversion rates and 39% to earn yield.

Galaxy predicts continued stablecoin issuance by major financial and tech companies, including BlackRock, Robinhood, and Meta. VanEck also forecasts daily stablecoin trading volume to expand to $300 billion in 2025.

Tiger Research also expects stablecoins to grow in the Asian market. Southeast Asia showed strong interest in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which suggested increased exploration of convergence between stablecoins and CBDCs.

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