USDC transfer volume surpasses USDT, monthly trading volume of stablecoins hits record high

In February 2026, the monthly trading volume of stablecoins reached a historic high of $1.8 trillion, with USDC's transfer volume surpassing the long-time leader USDT for the first time. Analysts attribute this to institutional participants' clear preference for compliant dollar infrastructure.

Adoption on the enterprise side is accelerating. Circle completed $68 million in cross-account settlements among 8 internal entities in just 30 minutes using USDC, a process that would typically take 1 to 3 days via traditional bank wire transfers. CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that this process completed about 90% of the company's internal transfer settlements in a single day.

Analysts are also optimistic about Circle's prospects. Bernstein has given Circle an outperform rating with a target price of $190, calling it a long-term winner in the space. Circle's revenue is expected to reach $2.7 billion in 2025, a 64% year-over-year increase.

Competitive pressure is also mounting, with institutions like Tether, PayPal, and Stripe launching their own stablecoin initiatives.