logo
    • Buy Crypto
    • Markets
    • Futures
    • Spot
    • Earn
    • Affiliates & AI
    • More
    1. WEEX
    2. Crypto News
    3. Under the Trillion-Dollar Transfer Scale: Who is Driving On-Chain Transactions of USDC and USDT?

    Under the Trillion-Dollar Transfer Scale: Who is Driving On-Chain Transactions of USDC and USDT?

    By: rootdata|2026/08/12 06:00:26
    0
    Share
    copy
    Prefer us on GooglePrefer us on Google
    SPOTSPOT
    00.00%--
    COINCOIN
    00.00%--
    COINCOIN
    CoinCoin
     

    Despite USDT's market capitalization exceeding USDC by $100 billion, USDC's annualized turnover rate is ten times that of USDT.


    Written by: Tanay Ved, Coin Metrics

    Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News


    Stablecoins have evolved from trading tools into the cornerstone of on-chain liquidity, providing around-the-clock, global value storage, transfer, and settlement channels. Since 2025, the on-chain settlement scale of stablecoins has decoupled from the spot trading volume of cryptocurrencies. This year, the adjusted on-chain transfer volume of stablecoins once exceeded $250 billion daily, while exchange trading volumes have dropped to about $18 billion per day.


    From 2026 to the present, stablecoins have achieved a cumulative adjusted transfer total of $41.7 trillion. Although the total issuance of stablecoins has recently declined, the on-chain turnover frequency of unit funds has continued to rise compared to previous years. The application scenarios are also continuously expanding, covering exchange liquidity management, DeFi collateral scheduling, as well as emerging personal payments and corporate cross-border capital flows.


    This article penetrates the trillion-dollar stablecoin transfer phenomenon, analyzing the turnover rates of USDC and USDT, and dissecting the driving factors behind the massive transaction volumes on major public chains. The research builds on previous articles such as "The Peculiar Phenomenon of USDC on the Base Chain," which found that about 50% of USDC transfers on the Base Layer 2 network come from DeFi infrastructure (DEX market making, flash loans). We conducted a bottom-up analysis of the transfer composition of USDC and USDT on Ethereum, Base, and TRON chains.


    Issuance and Turnover Rate


    Issuance represents the monetary base scale of stablecoins, while turnover rate measures the frequency of existing funds being transferred on-chain. By combining these two indicators, we can determine whether stablecoins are in a state of frequent circulation or simply idling as value storage tools. This distinction is also at the core of the "CLARITY Act," which encourages incentives based on real trading activities and does not promote merely holding tokens for profit.


    From this perspective, USDC has a significant advantage. Data from 2026 shows that USDC's annualized (adjusted supply) turnover rate is 741 times, reaching ten times that of USDT (74 times), even though USDT's market capitalization exceeds $100 billion. This means that, relative to the total circulation, the on-chain turnover frequency of USDC is much higher than that of USDT.


    Issuance and turnover rate of stablecoins, data source: Talos Network Data Pro


    The implementation of the "GENIUS Act" in 2025 brought regulatory benefits to USDC, continuously consolidating its network effects in the compliant market in the U.S., DeFi, and institutional settlement fields. In contrast, USDT's advantages stem from its first-mover advantage, demand in emerging overseas markets, and deep integration with the TRON chain, where there is strong demand for dollar assets and cross-border remittances.


    USDC, issued by Circle, surpassed USDT in adjusted transfer totals as early as 2024, and the lead has continued to expand this year. As of August 2026, USDC's cumulative settlement transfer scale reached $32 trillion, accounting for 77% of the stablecoin market share; USDT's transfer scale was $8 trillion, accounting for 19%. Although USDC still leads, the gap between the two is narrowing, with USDC's daily transfer volume falling below $100 billion.


    Adjusted transfer volumes of USDC and USDT, data source: Talos Network Data Pro


    According to Circle's Q2 2026 financial report, USDC's on-chain transaction scale in Q2 grew by 151% year-on-year, reaching $14.8 trillion, but the growth rate of circulating supply was far below that of transactions. Currently, about 95% of Circle's revenue still comes from reserve interest rather than transaction fees. Circle's self-developed Layer 1 blockchain, Arc, is an important layout for creating sources of transaction fee revenue. Therefore, clarifying the underlying driving factors of USDC's transaction volume is of great significance.


    The following will dissect the transaction composition of USDC on Ethereum and Base networks, as well as USDT on Ethereum and TRON chains, which carry the vast majority of stablecoin transfer activities.


    Composition of USDC and USDT Transfers


    To explore the reasons behind the massive transaction volumes, we continue the research framework of USDC on the Base chain, employing a bottom-up analysis method. For each public chain and each stablecoin, we mark the core contracts that generate high-frequency mechanical transfers: leading protocols in the flash loan lending market, major liquidity pools of mainstream DEXs on each chain, and known exchange wallet addresses. All transactions are categorized into three types: flash loans, DEX liquidity provision, and centralized exchange fund transfers.


    The research is based on Talos's original transfer data, calculating the proportion of each type of transaction in the total transfer scale of the public chain. The marked classification is only a lower limit estimate, and the remaining portion includes unidentified behaviors: payments, cross-chain bridge transfers, treasury fund scheduling, and other various settlement activities.


    USDC on the Base Chain


    The Layer 2 network Base, launched by Coinbase, is the primary arena for USDC transfers in 2026. Transactions are highly concentrated, with over 90% of USDC transfers on the Base chain completed through three contracts. Throughout the year, the Aerodrome decentralized exchange contributed the largest transaction volume for liquidity market making; in the second half of the year, flash loan arbitrage activities relying on the Morpho protocol rapidly rose. In June, the daily flash loan transfer volume once exceeded $500 billion. Base's low fees and ample USDC liquidity make it suitable for large-scale high-frequency automated strategy operations.


    • Flash loans, 23%: Bots complete uncollateralized borrowing and repayment within a single transaction, executing cross-market arbitrage using Morpho's unified contract.
    • DEX liquidity provision, 69%: Automated strategies continuously adjust the liquidity of Aerodrome's two major funds pools in response to price fluctuations, creating massive notional transaction volumes, but net funds and positions remain virtually unchanged.
    • Others, about 8%: Activities outside the marked flash loan and liquidity pool contracts.

    Monthly transaction volume of USDC on the Base chain, data source: Talos CM ATLAS


    USDC on Ethereum


    USDC transactions on the Ethereum chain are more concentrated in flash loans, accounting for 65% of the total transfer volume, nearly three times that of the Base chain. Ethereum's USDC liquidity is deep, and the lending ecosystem is well-developed, making it suitable for large-scale flash loan arbitrage; however, the high gas fees make it difficult to support the continuous liquidity rebalancing behavior seen on the Base network.


    • Flash loans: 65%
    • DEX liquidity provision: 0.3%
    • Centralized exchange fund transfers: 2%
    • Other unclassified activities: about 33%

    Monthly transaction volume of USDC on Ethereum, data source: Talos CM ATLAS


    USDT on Ethereum


    Flash loans also occupy an important share of USDT transaction volume on Ethereum, but the proportion is lower than that of USDC on the same chain. Centralized exchange fund transfers account for a higher proportion, aligning with USDT's long-term role in serving exchange settlements and liquidity allocation. The statistical scope includes known deposit and withdrawal wallets of centralized exchanges such as Binance and OKX, covering user deposits and withdrawals, as well as internal transfers between exchange hot and cold wallets.


    • Flash loans, 46%
    • DEX liquidity provision, 0.3%: Mainly for Uniswap V3 USDT/WETH trading pool.
    • Centralized exchange fund transfers, 9%: Covering deposit and withdrawal flows from over 30 centralized exchange wallets.
    • Other unclassified activities, about 45%

    Monthly transaction volume of USDT on Ethereum, data source: Talos CM ATLAS


    USDT on TRON


    The usage pattern of USDT on the TRON chain is entirely different. The flash loans and DEX market-making activities that drive large transaction volumes on Base and Ethereum are almost negligible. Among the identified flows, centralized exchange fund transfers account for the highest proportion, reflecting TRON's role as a low-cost channel for handling a large volume of exchange deposit and withdrawal business. The proportion of unclassified flows is as high as 80%, the highest among all statistical chains, likely including cross-border remittances and various payment scenarios.


    • Flash loans, almost none: Lending protocols like JustLend have not generated significant related transaction volumes.
    • DEX liquidity provision, 0.2%: Distributed across four Sunswap trading pools.
    • Centralized exchange fund transfers, 19%: Covering deposit and withdrawal flows from 33 overseas exchanges such as Binance, OKX, and Bybit.
    • Other unclassified activities, about 80%

    Monthly transaction volume of USDT on TRON, data source: Talos CM ATLAS


    The analysis results clearly show the structural differences in stablecoin ecosystems across different public chains. The transaction volume of USDC on Base and Ethereum is primarily driven by flash loans and liquidity rebalancing; Ethereum's USDT balances flash loans with exchange fund transfers; TRON's USDT has almost no large-scale DeFi transactions while having the largest volume of unmarked transactions.


    Data source: Talos CM ATLAS, Talos Network Data Pro


    Conclusion


    The scale of on-chain transfers of stablecoins has reached a considerable level, often compared to global mainstream payment networks. However, the vast majority of current transaction volumes essentially represent liquidity management within the cryptocurrency market: liquidity provisioning and rebalancing, arbitrage execution, and cross-platform fund settlements. These applications are real and effective, enhancing liquidity, trading efficiency, and global accessibility in the cryptocurrency asset market.


    At the same time, one cannot simply equate the surface-level massive transfer volumes with personal payments or activities in the real economy. At this stage, stablecoins primarily serve as the settlement layer for the cryptocurrency asset market, while payments, cross-border remittances, and corporate B2B scenarios are still being cultivated. Looking ahead, the importance of transaction quality for stablecoins will be no less than that of transaction scale. The differences in issuance and turnover rates can intuitively reflect how stablecoin funds circulate and allocate within the cryptocurrency market.

    -- Price

    --

    This content is provided for general informational purposes only and doesn't constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Any events, rewards, online promotions, or related information mentioned herein should not be considered a recommendation, solicitation, or invitation to purchase, sell, trade, or otherwise deal in any crypto assets. Crypto assets are highly volatile and may result in loss. The availability of WEEX services, products, and related events may vary by region. You are responsible for ensuring that your participation is in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations.

    You may also like

    MUFG to Demonstrate On-Chain Government Bond Repo Using Canton Infrastructure in Collaboration with Progmat and Digital Asset

    MUFG to Demonstrate On-Chain Government Bond Repo Using Canton Infrastructure in Collaboration with Progmat and Digital Asset

    Hyperliquid Market in the USA: Why DeFi Services Struggle to Exit the Regulatory Gray Zone

    Hyperliquid Market in the USA: Why DeFi Services Struggle to Exit the Regulatory Gray Zone

    The Hyperliquid market in the USA has become one of the main topics for the DeFi industry: decentralized finance projects want to work with American users, but even the potential adoption of the CLARITY Act does not eliminate key legal risks for them. The consideration of the CLARITY Act in the US S...
    US Inflation Slowdown Fails to Revive Bitcoin

    US Inflation Slowdown Fails to Revive Bitcoin

    What is the Sequoia investor who first backed Yushu concerned about?

    What is the Sequoia investor who first backed Yushu concerned about?

    700 Trillion Heading Overseas: The Digital Asset Market South Korea Missed – Tiger Research

    700 Trillion Heading Overseas: The Digital Asset Market South Korea Missed – Tiger Research

    AI Will Need Blockchains: Grayscale Identifies 4 Networks to Watch

    AI Will Need Blockchains: Grayscale Identifies 4 Networks to Watch

    Payments for agents, proof of humanity, decentralized AI: Grayscale places Ethereum, Solana, Worldcoin, and Bittensor at the heart of its thesis.
    Arthur Hayes says a $60 billion Fed cap is Bitcoin’s next liquidity trigger and needed for a price surge

    Arthur Hayes says a $60 billion Fed cap is Bitcoin’s next liquidity trigger and needed for a price surge

    Arthur Hayes sees a higher FIMA cap and usage as a Bitcoin liquidity trigger; the latest H.4.1 release shows zero foreign-official repos.
    Bitwise CIO sees crypto valuations doubling on token revenue

    Bitwise CIO sees crypto valuations doubling on token revenue

    Ethereum: The Awakening of Four Old Whales Revives Selling Fears

    Ethereum: The Awakening of Four Old Whales Revives Selling Fears

    Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan's Latest Interview: After Missing Mobile, Cloud, and AI, We Cannot Miss the Next Wave

    Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan's Latest Interview: After Missing Mobile, Cloud, and AI, We Cannot Miss the Next Wave

    MEXC Survey: TradFi Users Increasingly Interested in Multi-Asset Trading on CEX

    MEXC Survey: TradFi Users Increasingly Interested in Multi-Asset Trading on CEX

    Cryptocurrencies: He Steals $500,000 in USDC and Gets Ripped Off by an MEV Bot on Base

    Cryptocurrencies: He Steals $500,000 in USDC and Gets Ripped Off by an MEV Bot on Base

    A hacker steals $500,000 in USDC on Base, then gets sandwiched by an MEV bot on Uniswap V4 and loses $370,000 on August 6, 2026.
    JPMorgan Maintains Tencent's Overweight Rating with Target Price of HKD 690, Focused on AI Investment's Revenue Conversion

    JPMorgan Maintains Tencent's Overweight Rating with Target Price of HKD 690, Focused on AI Investment's Revenue Conversion

    Ethereum Reward Burn Proposal, Issuance at 60.25 Million Reaches Zero

    Ethereum Reward Burn Proposal, Issuance at 60.25 Million Reaches Zero

    The EIP-8363 proposal to burn a portion of Ethereum (ETH) validator rewards is intensifying the debate surrounding staking yield structures. If the proposal is confirmed, as the total staking approaches 60.25 million ETH, the ratio of newly issued validator rewards that are burned will increase, eve...
    Arizona crypto ATM law refunds $171K to scam victims

    Arizona crypto ATM law refunds $171K to scam victims

    The World We Will Face in 2036

    The World We Will Face in 2036

    Nebius Reports $5.6574 Billion in Capital Expenditures for Q1: Where Does the Expansion Funding Come From?

    Nebius Reports $5.6574 Billion in Capital Expenditures for Q1: Where Does the Expansion Funding Come From?

    How to Reasonably Value Unitree, the First Stock of Humanoid Robots?

    How to Reasonably Value Unitree, the First Stock of Humanoid Robots?

    Lao Bai Analyzes the Next Round of Crypto: VCs Will Disappear, Market Predictions Are Overvalued

    Lao Bai Analyzes the Next Round of Crypto: VCs Will Disappear, Market Predictions Are Overvalued

    Coherent's $2 Billion Quarter: Revenue, Profit Margins, and Capital Expenditures

    Coherent's $2 Billion Quarter: Revenue, Profit Margins, and Capital Expenditures

    Ethereum Awakens as ETH Price Awaits Its Moment

    Ethereum Awakens as ETH Price Awaits Its Moment

    Spotify Labels AI Artists: The Platform Finally Answers 'Who Are You Listening To'

    Spotify Labels AI Artists: The Platform Finally Answers 'Who Are You Listening To'

    DeepSeek Pushes Model Competition Back to the Application Layer with 6 Yuan per Million Tokens

    DeepSeek Pushes Model Competition Back to the Application Layer with 6 Yuan per Million Tokens

    U.S. Supports Bank Entry for Cryptocurrency Firms—Regulators Announce Policy

    U.S. Supports Bank Entry for Cryptocurrency Firms—Regulators Announce Policy

    MetaPlanet CEO Explains Bitcoin Transfer Not a Sale, Moves 5,014 BTC Between Custody Addresses

    MetaPlanet CEO Explains Bitcoin Transfer Not a Sale, Moves 5,014 BTC Between Custody Addresses

    Launch of Project Pigeon Consortium Asia-Pacific Working Group

    Launch of Project Pigeon Consortium Asia-Pacific Working Group

    The Asia-Pacific financial sector is accelerating efforts to establish common standards for the use of permissionless blockchains within regulatory frameworks. On the 13th, Elliptic and the Digital Asset Association (DAA) announced that the Project Pigeon Consortium is launching the "Project Pigeon:...
    Grayscale Analyzes Three Factors Behind Bitcoin Market Stabilization

    Grayscale Analyzes Three Factors Behind Bitcoin Market Stabilization

    CPI Eases as Expected, Cooling Rate-Hike Fears; Storage and AI Infrastructure Stocks Rally Hard, Watch AMAT Earnings Today | WEEX TradFi Daily Brief (Aug. 13, 2026)

    CPI Eases as Expected, Cooling Rate-Hike Fears; Storage and AI Infrastructure Stocks Rally Hard, Watch AMAT Earnings Today | WEEX TradFi Daily Brief (Aug. 13, 2026)

    Today’s WEEX TradFi Daily Brief covers the cooler-than-feared July CPI print that reduced rate-hike expectations, the sharp rally in storage and AI infrastructure names, and the after-hours earnings focus on Applied Materials, helping you quickly capture stock-token trading opportunities.

    Recent Trends in the Cryptocurrency Market: The Interplay of Narrative Logic, Real Demand, and Macroeconomic Factors

    Recent Trends in the Cryptocurrency Market: The Interplay of Narrative Logic, Real Demand, and Macroeconomic Factors

    When AI Agents Start Having 'Wallets': Who Will Maintain Control After Economic Autonomy?

    When AI Agents Start Having 'Wallets': Who Will Maintain Control After Economic Autonomy?

    MUFG to Demonstrate On-Chain Government Bond Repo Using Canton Infrastructure in Collaboration with Progmat and Digital Asset

    Hyperliquid Market in the USA: Why DeFi Services Struggle to Exit the Regulatory Gray Zone

    The Hyperliquid market in the USA has become one of the main topics for the DeFi industry: decentralized finance projects want to work with American users, but even the potential adoption of the CLARITY Act does not eliminate key legal risks for them. The consideration of the CLARITY Act in the US S...

    US Inflation Slowdown Fails to Revive Bitcoin

    What is the Sequoia investor who first backed Yushu concerned about?

    700 Trillion Heading Overseas: The Digital Asset Market South Korea Missed – Tiger Research

    AI Will Need Blockchains: Grayscale Identifies 4 Networks to Watch

    Payments for agents, proof of humanity, decentralized AI: Grayscale places Ethereum, Solana, Worldcoin, and Bittensor at the heart of its thesis.
    ...
    Invite friends, get rewards
    Invite to get up to $160 + 40% commission
    Invite friends, get rewardsInvite

    Contents

    Issuance and Turnover Rate
    Composition of USDC and USDT Transfers
    Conclusion
    SPOT

    Latest articles

    2026/08/13

    Lao Bai Analyzes the Next Round of Crypto: VCs Will Disappear, Market Predictions Are Overvalued

    SPOTSPOT
    00.00%--
    TENCENTTENCENT
    00.00%--
    MEITUANMEITUAN
    00.00%--
    CAPCAP
    00.00%--
    2026/08/12

    Bitcoin: Individuals Hold Three Times More at Home Than Wall Street ETFs

    Non-custodial wallets hold over $800 billion in Bitcoin, nearly three times more than ETFs and treasuries.
    SPOTSPOT
    00.00%--
    NOWNOW
    00.00%--
    HOMEHOME
    00.00%--
    THETHE
    00.00%--
    2026/08/12

    London Controls 70% of Gold Trading, UK Moves to Regulate Tokenized Gold! FCA Proposes New Regulations

    SPOTSPOT
    00.00%--
    THETHE
    00.00%--
    CROSSCROSS
    00.00%--
    2026/08/12

    MEXC Leaves the Netherlands: Kraken Partnership Absorbs Customers

    SPOTSPOT
    00.00%--
    THETHE
    00.00%--
    BANKBANK
    00.00%--
    2026/08/12

    How to Buy SpaceX Stock in 2026: Price, Ticker, and Where to Buy

    Learn how to buy SpaceX stock in 2026, including the SPCX ticker, latest price, brokerage access, tokenized stock options, trading hours, and key considerations.
    SPOTSPOT
    00.00%--
    CAPCAP
    00.00%--
    More

    Latest coin listings on WEEX

    logoCommunity
    iconiconiconiconiconiconicon
    Customer Support:@weikecs
    Business Cooperation:@weikecs
    Quant Trading & MM:bd@weex.com
    VIP Program:support@weex.com
    • About Us
    • Announcement Center
    • Media Kit
    • WEEX Community
    • WXT Zone
    • Announcement
    • Legal Statement
    • Risk Disclosure
    • Terms and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Whistleblower Notice
    • AML/CTF Policy
    • Law Enforcement
    • User Guide
    • Product Launches
    • Crypto News
    • Product Launches
    • Crypto Wiki
    • Learn
    • Q&A
    • Spot
    • Futures
    • Glossary
    • VIP Program
    • Download
    • Affiliate
    • Protection Fund
    • Proof of Reserves
    • Sitemap
    • ETFs
    • Crypto Prices
    • Price Predictions
    • WXT Price
    • BTC Price
    • ETH Price
    • DOGE Price
    • How to Buy Crypto
    • How to Buy WXT
    • How to Buy BTC
    • How to Buy ETH
    • How to Buy DOGE
    • Help Center
    • Fee Schedule
    • Trading Rules
    • WEEX Academy
    • Contact Verifier
    • Submit Feedback
    • About Us
    • Announcement Center
    • Media Kit
    • WEEX Community
    • WXT Zone
    • Announcement
    • Help Center
    • Fee Schedule
    • Trading Rules
    • WEEX Academy
    • Contact Verifier
    • Submit Feedback
    • Customer Support Bot
    • VIP Services
    • Legal Statement
    • Risk Disclosure
    • Terms and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Whistleblower Notice
    • AML/CTF Policy
    • Law Enforcement
    • Proof of Reserves
    • Invite Friends
    • OTC
    • Download
    • Affiliate
    • VIP Program
    • API
    • Broker
    • Listing Application
    • Affiliate T&C
    • Sitemap
    • Futures
    • Spot
    • Copy Trade
    • Markets
    • WEEX Store
    • User Guide
    • Product Launches
    • Crypto News
    • Product Launches
    • Crypto Wiki
    • Learn
    • Q&A
    • Spot
    • Futures
    • Glossary
    • VIP Program
    • Download
    • Affiliate
    • Protection Fund
    • Proof of Reserves
    • Sitemap
    • ETFs
    • Crypto Prices
    • Price Predictions
    • WXT Price
    • BTC Price
    • ETH Price
    • DOGE Price
    • How to Buy Crypto
    • How to Buy WXT
    • How to Buy BTC
    • How to Buy ETH
    • How to Buy DOGE
    • About Us
    • Announcement Center
    • Media Kit
    • WEEX Community
    • WXT Zone
    • Announcement
    • Help Center
    • Fee Schedule
    • Trading Rules
    • WEEX Academy
    • Contact Verifier
    • Submit Feedback
    • Legal Statement
    • Risk Disclosure
    • Terms and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Whistleblower Notice
    • AML/CTF Policy
    • Law Enforcement
    • Customer Support Bot
    • VIP Services
    • Futures
    • Spot
    • Copy Trade
    • Markets
    • WEEX Store
    • Proof of Reserves
    • Invite Friends
    • OTC
    • Download
    • Affiliate
    • VIP Program
    • API
    • Broker
    • Listing Application
    • Affiliate T&C
    • Sitemap
    • User Guide
    • Product Launches
    • Crypto News
    • Product Launches
    • Crypto Wiki
    • Learn
    • Q&A
    • Spot
    • Futures
    • Glossary
    • VIP Program
    • Download
    • Affiliate
    • Protection Fund
    • Proof of Reserves
    • Sitemap
    • ETFs
    • Crypto Prices
    • Price Predictions
    • WXT Price
    • BTC Price
    • ETH Price
    • DOGE Price
    • How to Buy Crypto
    • How to Buy WXT
    • How to Buy BTC
    • How to Buy ETH
    • How to Buy DOGE

    Where new wealth is made

    Download app

    Sign Up
    h5 logo
    Download