Did You Know 93% of the Stablecoin Market Share Is Controlled by Just 2 Coins?

Key Points

• Stablecoins are digital assets backed by a commodity or currency.

• Many believe stablecoins present a great opportunity to make global money transfers more efficient and less expensive.

• Less than a dozen stablecoins make up the entire U.S. dollar stablecoin market, and of those companies, two see almost all of the activity.

• 10 stocks we like better than Tether ›

After the recent passage of the Genius Act, the stablecoin movement is full steam ahead. Stablecoins are digital assets pegged to a currency or commodity that capture some of the characteristics of digital assets without the volatility typically associated with cryptocurrencies.

Many of the largest stablecoins are linked to a major currency like the U.S. dollar (USD). The concept has intrigued many because, in theory, all you need to move a stablecoin is internet access, presenting a potential alternative to people with less access to the mainstream financial system. Stablecoins can also settle payments near instantly and can remove many of the parties involved in the process -- and therefore much of the associated fees.

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But stablecoins are still relatively new and the market isn't that big just yet. In fact, did you know that most of the stablecoin market is controlled by just two stablecoins?

Image source: Getty Images.

10 large USD coins

The stablecoin market is still relatively small. As of July 10, the top 10 largest issuers of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins collectively had a circulating supply of less than $240 billion.

U.S. Secretary Treasury Scott Bessent has said he could see the market getting to over $2 trillion. If true, then many of the largest issuers of U.S. dollar stablecoins today could get a lot bigger, although remember the goal of a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin is to track the dollar at $1, so these aren't investment vehicles. Here are the top 10 issuers by circulating supply/market cap.

Data Source: CoinMarketCap. As of July 10, 2025.

Interestingly, 93% of the market is controlled by Tether and USDC, based on market cap and circulating supply. You'll also notice some other interesting members of the list like PayPal's stablecoin, which users can earn rewards on by using it on Paypal's platform. Additionally, Ripple, the company behind XRP, also issues a stablecoin that has made some progress in a relatively short period of time.

What is Tether?

Tether was the first U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, launching in 2014, very much at the beginning days of the crypto era. Now the largest stablecoin, while Tether tracks the U.S. dollar on a one-for-one basis, its reserves are not entirely backed by U.S. dollars. According to the company's website, roughly 81% of Tether's reserves are in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term deposits. The rest of the reserves largely consist of secured loans, Bitcoin, precious metals, and other investments.

Many people and investors currently use Tether as a way to conduct transactions across numerous blockchains in a less volatile manner than if they were to use various cryptocurrencies. Tether can be issued on several different blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and EOS, among several others. Tether also only issues tokens when customers, who have followed the company's know-your-customer (KYC) standards, request them.

What is USDC?

USDC is the second-largest U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin and is issued by the company Circle Internet Group, which went public this year and has seen its stock soar as a result.

The stablecoin differs from Tether in that its reserves are 100% composed of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term deposits. The company also holds all of its reserves in financial institutions. Circle sees its three main use cases as providing low-cost, near-instant global payments; access to dollars; and more efficient ways to trade. USDC can also be accessed on Ethereum's network through digital asset exchanges, and was built as an ERC-20 token.

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Bram Berkowitz has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Avalanche, Bitcoin, Ethereum, PayPal, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short September 2025 $77.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.