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Stablecoin Cap Hits $320B: Concentration Grows as CEX Volumes Dip
Stablecoin supply hit $320B in May; CEX volumes fell to $883B. The divergence points to sticky balances in collateral and treasury use. USDT ~59% share.
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Stablecoin supply crossed $320 billion in May, a new record, per CoinDesk Research. The same report showed stablecoin trading volume on centralized exchanges fell 4.13% to $883 billion, the lowest since November 2023. That divergence – rising supply and falling turnover – points to a structural change in how stablecoins are used.
The top 11 centralized perpetual exchanges averaged $4.69 trillion in monthly volume across the first four months of 2026, down from $7.11 trillion in 2025, according to CoinGecko. A 34% drop. Less derivatives churn means less stablecoin recycling through exchange order books. The supply keeps growing.
The extra supply is not idle. It is parked in collateral vaults, corporate treasury wallets, and payment settlement rails. Those uses hold balances for weeks or months, not minutes. So the float expands without registering on exchange volume dashboards.
The Collateral and Treasury Shift
The growth is concentrated in the two largest issuers. A DeFiLlama snapshot from June 12 shows USDT at about $186.6 billion and USDC near $74.9 billion, out of roughly $315.75 billion total. That puts USDT dominance around 59% and USDC in the mid-20% range. Smaller stablecoins – DAI, BUSD remnants, regional competitors – hold single-digit shares.