Circle Leads the Stablecoin Wave: Shifting from Niche Market to Major Competitor
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Amid ongoing global regulatory challenges facing crypto assets, Circle has emerged as the first publicly listed stablecoin company on the U.S. stock market, marking a significant milestone in legitimizing the sector. This achievement highlights the growing dominance and differentiation between USDC and USDT in the stablecoin market. USDC emphasizes compliance, subsidies, and interest-bearing features, with notable activity within the Solana ecosystem. In contrast, USDT focuses on decentralization, diversified deployment, and practical payment use cases, playing a crucial role in cross-border trade and global currency applications.
1. Circle: Trailblazer as the First Publicly Listed Stablecoin Firm
Founded in 2013, Circle is a digital payments and blockchain finance firm that quickly established a strong presence in the stablecoin market following the launch of USDC.
USDC is a centralized stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, backed entirely by reserves held in regulated U.S. banks and short-term government securities. These reserves are audited monthly by third-party accounting firms to ensure transparency and security. This high level of regulatory compliance and transparency has distinguished USDC in the stablecoin space. As of July 2025, USDC’s market capitalization stands at approximately $61.5 billion, ranking it the world’s second-largest stablecoin. Its extensive ecosystem spans multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Base, and Polygon, supporting exchanges, DeFi protocols, high-speed payments, and cross-chain asset transfers.
Circle’s recent performance in the U.S. stock market has been remarkable. Since its IPO, Circle (ticker: CRCL) has surged dramatically, rising 167% on its first day and reaching a peak of $284.35 before consolidating—representing an extraordinary increase of 817.26% from its initial offering price of $31. This success not only validates Circle’s strength but also sets a benchmark for the stablecoin industry’s growth within mainstream financial markets.
2. USDT: The Dominant Stablecoin
In the stablecoin market, USDT undoubtedly holds a dominant position. Issued by Tether Limited since its launch in 2014, USDT quickly rose to prominence through its decentralized intermediary service model. Currently, USDT is natively issued on more than 13 major public blockchains, with approximately 54.1% issued on the Tron network and 44.2% on Ethereum. Additionally, USDT is issued in smaller amounts on Solana, Avalanche, Omni, Algorand, EOS, and other blockchains, each accounting for less than 1%, further expanding USDT’s application scenarios and market coverage.
As the stablecoin market continues to expand, data from DefiLlama on June 25 shows the total stablecoin market capitalization reaching $252.9 billion. Among these, Tether’s USDT has long held the top position, with its market cap surpassing $150 billion for the first time, reaching $157.3 billion and accounting for 62.23% of the market share. USDC follows closely with a market cap of $61.5 billion, ranking second in market share behind USDT. Together, these two major stablecoins occupy over 86% of the market share, while all other stablecoins combined account for less than 15%, underscoring their market dominance.
However, despite USDT’s continued growth, other stablecoins are actively expanding their market presence, causing USDT’s market dominance to decline from 70% to 62% over the past year. To maintain its growth momentum, USDT has adopted bold strategies to enhance its cross-chain capabilities, including launching the LayerZero OFT-supported multi-chain token USDT 0 and building a hub centered on Legacy Hub and Plasma, aiming to solidify its position amid fierce market competition.
3. Stablecoins: A Transformative Force in the Global Financial System
The rise of stablecoins has not only reshaped the cryptocurrency market landscape but also had a profound impact on the global financial system. With the U.S. Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin market has entered a clearer regulatory framework and operational rules. The Act establishes a dual federal and state regulatory system, mandates a 1:1 reserve ratio for stablecoins, and strengthens disclosure and auditing requirements, providing strong support for the healthy development of the stablecoin market.
3.1 Debt Reduction and Reinforcement of U.S. Dollar Hegemony
The GENIUS Act not only sets clear operational rules for the stablecoin market but also plays a key role in debt reduction and reinforcing U.S. dollar dominance. According to Standard Chartered Bank’s estimates, the global stablecoin market could surge to $2 trillion by 2028, providing significant support to the U.S. Treasury market. Furthermore, the widespread adoption of stablecoins will further cement the dollar’s status as a reserve currency by channeling funds into U.S. Treasuries.
3.2 Innovation Opportunities in Niche Use Cases
The broad adoption of stablecoins is driving transformative changes in traditional finance and creating opportunities for innovation in niche areas. From small cross-border remittances to DeFi lending protocols and enterprises on-chaining U.S. Treasuries, stablecoin use cases are continuously expanding. In particular, stablecoins offer faster settlement times and negligible transfer costs for small-value cross-border remittances, providing a more convenient and efficient solution for remote small transfers. Channel providers who can tap into these niche demands may become the PayPal of the stablecoin era.
3.3 Entry of Traditional Financial Giants
As the stablecoin market grows and regulatory frameworks mature, traditional financial giants are increasingly entering the space. Banks and payment leaders such as Visa and PayPal are directly issuing stablecoins (e.g., PYUSD, USDC Bank version), while early market leaders like Circle, Paxos, Fidelity, and BlackRock are accelerating their on-chain dollar business expansion. This trend will not only drive rapid growth in the stablecoin market but also bring profound transformation to the global financial system.
4. Conclusion
Circle’s meteoric rise is just a microcosm of the financial revolution ushered in by the stablecoin era. With the dual dominance of USDT and USDC, continuous growth of the stablecoin market, and the gradual refinement of regulatory frameworks, stablecoins are becoming a vital component of the global financial system. Looking ahead, stablecoins will play key roles not only in cross-border payments and DeFi lending protocols but also in supporting the flattening and decentralization of the global financial landscape. This financial revolution may herald the birth of a more open, transparent, and efficient global financial system.
Amid this transformation, investors worldwide face unprecedented opportunities and challenges. For those seeking to participate in this historic shift, choosing a secure and reliable trading platform is essential. MEXC, with its advanced technological infrastructure, robust risk management system, and diverse range of trading products, has become the preferred choice for many investors. The platform offers stablecoin trading services along with a wide variety of cryptocurrencies, catering to the diversified investment needs of its users.
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