Stablecoin Shift: Tether’s USDt Edges Past USDC on BitPay

Circle’s USDC, once the dominant stablecoin on payment processor BitPay, has seen its transaction share significantly erode against Tether’s USDt, data shows.

Declining Dominance

After accounting for 85% of stablecoin transactions on BitPay in January 2024, USDC’s market share dropped drastically by May 2025, falling to 56%. Simultaneously, Tether’s USDt climbed to 43% share. A similar shift occurred in payment volume, where USDt surpassed 70% of total stablecoin volume processed by BitPay starting March 2025.

Fuelled by User Choice and Market Growth

BitPay attributes the swing to a combination of overall growth in stablecoin transactions and a “swing in existing merchants and customers preferring USDT over USDC.”

Despite USDC seeing its transaction count nearly double that of USDT in 2024, the trend reversed significantly in 2025.

Regulatory Differences vs. Market Reality

Despite Circle’s pioneering approval under the EU’s MiCA regulations and a subsequent public listing, Tether maintained its lead. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino explicitly stated the company has no intention to comply with MiCA and confirmed no plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), contradicting Circle’s June public trading debut.

Continued Market Capitalization Growth for Both

While losing ground on BitPay, USDC continued to grow in overall market capitalization, increasing by 88% in the past year to reach $61.7 billion. Tether’s USDt also saw substantial market value growth, rising by 40% over the same period ($112.5 billion to $158.3 billion). However, the rate of increase slowed year-to-date, with USDC surging 41% versus USDt’s 15.5% growth.