Stablecoin market cap hits record $294.7B as USDT nears $173B

On-chain data shows that the total stablecoin market cap hit a new all-time high of $294.76 billion. DefiLlama also revealed that stablecoins saw a 1.46% increase in volume in the last seven days, worth $.256 billion.

Tether’s USDT continues to dominate the market, having around $173 billion in market capitalization and accounting for roughly 59% of the entire sector. Circle’s USDC followed with a roughly $73.6 billion market cap, and USDe has around $14.432 billion market capitalization.

Tether leads in stablecoin dominance

Tether is evaluating a raise from a selected group of high-profile key investors, to maximize the scale of the Company's strategy across all existing and new business lines (stablecoins, distribution ubiquity, AI, commodity trading, energy, communications, media) by several…

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) September 24, 2025

On Tuesday, Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino said that the company plans to raise funds to maximize its scale by several orders of magnitude. The initiative comes as a flurry of countries are looking to launch stablecoins based on their local currencies, not U.S. dollars.

Bloomberg reported that the USDT issuer was in talks with investors about the possibility of raising between $15-$20 billion in a private placement. The report also revealed that Tether seeks to offer up to 3% of the company to investors. Despite the final raised amount potentially becoming lower, the initiative would value Tether at ~$500 billion.

Tether sought new equity instead of existing investors selling any of their shares. According to the report, Wall Street financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald will advise the company on the transaction. The USDT issuer also granted potential investors access to a data room to kick Tether’s financial tires beyond the limited information they provide to the public.

Ardoino tweeted that the firm is evaluating a raise from investors to maximize the scale of the company’s strategy across all existing business lines. The initiative shows the rising significance of stablecoins, which stems from the friendlier political and regulatory environment in the U.S. under the Trump administration.

Stable announced on September 22 that PayPal’s venture capital arm, PayPal Ventures, had made an investment in the Layer-1 network to advance its role in stablecoin payments. The firm, which is backed by the Bitfinex digital asset exchange, said PYUSD will be available on the Stablechain as part of the initiative.

Stable revealed that it launched the investment, aiming to increase the reach of USDT. The company uses a version of USDT called USDT0 based on LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OTF) standard. LayerZero also introduced a new version of PYUSD called PYUSD0 that aims to expand PYUSD’s reach.

U.S. establishes stablecoin legislation

The White House established the GENIUS Act into law in July, which allowed the issuance and trading of stablecoins in the U.S. The initiative reassured traditional financial institutions and encouraged deeper participation in the stablecoin market.

President Donald Trump pledged to bring back American liberty and leadership and make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world. Companies were waiting to move forward with stablecoin-related projects until the sector received the blessings of the U.S. government. However, stablecoin adoption is still expected to surge once the U.S. finishes its rules on how to implement the legislation.

“Stablecoins are a turning point. The passage of the GENIUS Act by the U.S. Congress signals a new era of regulatory clarity and confidence in digital assets.”

–Jesse McWaters, Head of Global Policy at Mastercard.

Europe has also pushed its regulatory agenda with the adoption of the MiCA framework. The regulation is designed to standardize crypto asset rules across the 27-nation bloc. Last week, the Bank of Italy acknowledged the need for clarity on cross-border stablecoins. The financial institution maintained that international oversight in the sector is becoming increasingly urgent.

Trump’s family has also contributed to the stablecoin momentum through the World Liberty Financial (WLFI). The Trump family-backed firm introduced the USD1 stablecoin in March, which is backed by the U.S. Treasuries, cash reserves, and audited financials. The stablecoin has also raised concerns over political conflicts of interest, including the Trump family’s ownership stake and the administration’s crypto-friendly stance.

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