Stablecoin market cap drops $10B since May

The combined market capitalization of major stablecoins fell by about $10 billion from a May peak, with $7.7 billion of that decline occurring in June. The total market reached a record $322 billion in June before the retreat, a roughly 3% drop from that high. The June decline is the largest single-month dollar decrease since May 2022.

The fall was concentrated in the two largest issuers. Tether’s USDT supply declined from about $190 billion in May to roughly $184 billion, a decrease near $6 billion. Circle’s USDC fell from a March peak near $80 billion to about $73 billion, a drop close to $7 billion. Those changes account for the majority of the market reduction.

Regulatory changes and on-chain activity affected supply flows. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets rules took effect July 1 and led some exchanges to remove USDT. U.S. legislation known as the GENIUS Act established a federal stablecoin framework that Tether has not joined. At the same time, USDC exceeded USDT in adjusted on-chain transaction volume for the first time.

Smaller regulated stablecoins expanded supply during the pullback. Paxos-issued USDG rose above $3.2 billion. Anchorage Digital’s USDGO almost doubled to around $900 million. Open USD launched on June 30; its initial backers include Visa, Stripe, Mastercard and BlackRock. Several bank-chartered and consortium-backed stablecoins also entered the market in 2026.

Between December 2025 and February 2026 stablecoin supply fell by about $9 billion before recovering to a new record; that earlier contraction coincided with bitcoin moving from roughly $95,000 to $60,000. No comparable market shock has been identified as the driver of the June decrease.

Major banks have published longer-term estimates for stablecoin growth. Citi’s base projection is $1.9 trillion by 2030 and a $4 trillion bull case. Standard Chartered projects about $2 trillion by 2028.

Paul Howard, senior director at trading firm Wincent, called the June decline “a relatively small pullback in what we believe is a long-term growth market” and noted that short-term liquidity swings do not change expectations for continued stablecoin adoption.