The stablecoin market reaches a record $310.11 billion

The stablecoin market hits a historic milestone. For the first time, these fiat-backed cryptos surpass $310 billion in capitalization. A performance that cements their role as an essential pillar in the crypto ecosystem.

A meteoric rise driven by industry giants

On Saturday, December 13, the stablecoin market crossed a symbolic milestone by reaching $310.117 billion in capitalization. 

Currently stabilized around $309.9 billion according to DeFiLlama, this new record illustrates investors’ persistent confidence in these digital assets backed by traditional currencies.

Tether’s USDT maintains its position as the undisputed leader with $186.2 billion in capitalization, representing 60.10% of the total market. 

Its rival Circle, with USDC, solidly holds second place with $78.3 billion and 25% market share. This two-headed dominance forms the backbone of a rapidly evolving ecosystem.

The sector’s growth impresses with its vigor. In twelve months, valuation jumped 52.1%, adding over $106 billion to overall capitalization. This expansion continued despite October’s turbulence, during which the market briefly retreated to $302.8 billion before rebounding strongly.

The issuance of new tokens fuels this momentum. Over the last seven days, Tether injected $593.3 million of USDT across several blockchains such as Tron, Solana, and Arbitrum. Circle followed with $555.5 million of USDC deployed on Ethereum, Solana, and Base. In total, the sector gained $1.79 billion in a week.

Yield stablecoins suffer a worrying setback

While traditional stablecoins thrive, their yield cousins face troubling turbulence. 

Ethena’s USDe fell by 2.98% this week, while USDtb plunged 18.99%. These figures reveal growing disillusionment among investors toward these more complex products.

This disenchantment stems from October events when USDe temporarily lost its peg to the US dollar. This incident shook confidence and triggered massive sell-offs. Over thirty days, yield stablecoins’ capitalization shrank by 1.9%, with investors preferring the safety of non-yield products.

Weekly losses illustrate this flight to quality. alUSD collapsed 80.5%, smsUSD 68.1%, and sBOLD 13.6%. BlackRock’s BUIDL, despite being backed by a prestigious institution, dropped 13.24%. These setbacks contrast with the stability of market leaders.

Meanwhile, institutional adoption progresses quietly but surely. YouTube started paying its American creators in PayPal’s PYUSD, confirmed by May Zabaneh, crypto lead at PayPal. 

This integration into Google’s ecosystem marks a significant step toward stablecoins’ normalization in the digital economy. PYUSD has also risen 13.33% in thirty days, reaching $3.86 billion in capitalization.

Crossing the $310 billion mark confirms the growing maturity of the stablecoin market, now established as an essential infrastructure of the crypto ecosystem. While yield products struggle to convince after October’s shocks, traditional stablecoins stand as preferred refuges, attracting institutions and individuals alike.