The report says stablecoin roles are becoming more segmented, with USDT handling most business payments and USDC posting record transfer volume on Base in June.
USDT and USDC are increasingly serving different parts of the crypto market rather than competing directly, according to Dune’s latest DigitalAssetBrief. In the first half of 2026, USDT settled about $95 billion in identified commerce payments versus $14 billion for USDC, and accounted for roughly 92% of $48 billion in business-to-business payment volume. On Tron, USDT’s largest network, around 93% of supply is held in ordinary wallets rather than on exchanges, reinforcing its use for payments and remittances. USDC, by contrast, has become the leading stablecoin for DeFi (decentralized finance) and trading activity. USDC on Base recorded a record $2.6 trillion in transaction volume in June, the highest of any token-chain pair tracked by Dune, while USDC on Ethereum handled another $1.6 trillion. Dune said USDC on Base recorded daily velocity of about 20 times its circulating supply in June, a sign of intensive use in trading and DeFi. The report argues the usual USDT-versus-USDC framing is losing relevance as each token develops a clearer niche: USDT in payments, USDC in crypto market infrastructure. Together, the two account for roughly 83% of the stablecoin sector’s approximately $315 billion market capitalization, with Dune tracking more than 200 stablecoin tokens across multiple blockchains. The findings arrive as U.S. lawmakers debate digital asset rules after the 2025 GENIUS Act created the first federal framework for payment stablecoins, while the CLARITY Act would define whether crypto assets fall under the SEC (U.S. securities regulator) or CFTC (U.S. derivatives regulator).