Daily Crypto Briefs 
NEW YORK, July 6, 2026
USDC widened its lead over Tether’s USDT in Visa’s adjusted stablecoin transaction data as monthly activity hit a record $1.79 trillion in June, showing how regulated dollar-token rails are gaining share even while USDT remains the largest stablecoin by market value.
The signal is narrow but important. Visa’s data points to transaction use, not total supply, and it suggests Circle’s USDC is becoming the preferred stablecoin rail for a larger share of the bank, exchange and DeFi activity that Visa tries to classify as economic volume.
Market snapshot: CoinDesk, citing Visa’s onchain dashboard, reported that adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached $1.79 trillion in June, up 63% from May and 125% from June 2025. The first half of 2026 reached $8.82 trillion, with USDC at about 70% of adjusted volume and USDT at roughly 25%.
The supply picture still runs the other way. CoinMarketCap showed USDT with a market cap near $184.18 billion and 24-hour volume of about $78.66 billion on July 6, while USDC stood near $73.15 billion in market value and $11.53 billion in 24-hour volume.
Visa’s stablecoin transaction page says it is “separating signal from the noise” by adjusting for inorganic activity, including bots, high-frequency wallets and some internal exchange or smart-contract movements. The dashboard is built with Allium data and methodology developed with Artemis, Allium and Castle Island Ventures.
The timing gives Circle a useful answer to a supply-market critique. USDT still dominates circulation and exchange liquidity, but USDC is showing stronger adjusted usage in the specific data set Visa has built for banks, payments companies and institutions trying to interpret public-chain settlement.
That distinction matters because a stablecoin can win different markets at once. USDT can remain the deeper offshore trading and savings token while USDC becomes the cleaner institutional settlement token in dashboards, treasury products and regulated banking pilots.
USDC
USDCUSDC Takes 70% of Visa Volume
Visa’s adjusted data makes USDC look much larger than its supply share. CoinDesk reported that USDC accounted for about 70% of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume in the first half of 2026, compared with roughly 25% for USDT.
That is a sharp change from earlier cycles. The same report said USDT made up nearly 90% of adjusted transaction volume in 2020, while USDC held less than 10%. By 2022, USDC had risen to about 45%.
The June number is the headline. Adjusted volume rose to $1.79 trillion from $1.1 trillion in May, and the first six months of 2026 produced more adjusted volume than all of 2024. That creates a strong adoption signal even in a market still recovering from weak Bitcoin and Ethereum liquidity.
Daily Crypto Briefs recently covered how Open USD aimed directly at Circle and Tether through a consortium-backed stablecoin model. Visa’s latest data cuts the other way for Circle, because USDC is already showing scale in an institutional-facing measure.
The volume split does not prove end users prefer USDC in every venue. Visa’s adjusted methodology filters and labels transactions, so the result is best read as a cleaned estimate of economic activity rather than a full picture of all stablecoin transfers.
Tether Still Leads Stablecoin Supply
Tether remains the bigger issuer by circulation. CoinMarketCap showed USDT ranked third among all crypto assets by market cap, while USDC ranked fifth.
That supply gap is central to the story. USDT remains deeply embedded in offshore exchanges, emerging-market dollar access, Tron transfers and crypto-native liquidity pairs. A volume-share loss in Visa’s adjusted data does not erase those network effects.
Tether’s transparency page says its tokens are pegged one-to-one and backed by reserves. Circle’s transparency page says USDC reserve holdings are disclosed weekly and supported by monthly third-party assurance that reserve value exceeds USDC in circulation.
The difference is less about which token holds its peg on July 6 and more about which disclosure model banks can underwrite. Visa’s own stablecoin explainer says its dashboard tracks stablecoin movements across major blockchains because cross-chain data and noise have historically made activity hard for banks and regulators to interpret.
That helps explain why USDC’s transaction share can outrun its market cap. Institutions may prefer the reserve disclosure, U.S. regulatory posture and integrations around Circle even if traders still rely on USDT for liquidity.
The contrast also lands as banks try to protect deposit franchises. Daily Crypto Briefs has tracked the fight over stablecoin yields and bank pressure, where the policy debate is less about crypto price speculation and more about who controls digital-dollar balances.
Banks Watch the Stablecoin Rail Shift
The stablecoin market is no longer only a crypto exchange story. Visa, Standard Chartered, BNY and other large financial institutions are now part of the adoption narrative because stablecoins can move dollars around the clock on public networks.
Daily Crypto Briefs previously covered Standard Chartered’s USDC mint and redemption service, a sign that large banks are testing service layers around existing stablecoins instead of waiting for every institution to issue its own token.
That is the sharper implication of the Visa data. If banks need a dollar token that looks legible to compliance teams and settlement partners, USDC’s adjusted activity lead gives Circle a stronger claim than its market cap alone would suggest.
The risk is that the data can be overread. Adjusted volume is not revenue, it is not profit and it is not the same as payment volume at a card network. It is a filtered view of onchain transfers that Visa believes better reflects real economic activity than raw blockchain data.
Market mood is no longer in outright panic. AltIndex put its Crypto Fear and Greed Index at 53, or Neutral, on July 6, even as its underlying traffic and Reddit attention measures pointed lower.
Fear & Greed Index
July 6, 2026The next test is whether July confirms June’s record or shows a one-month spike. Watch Visa’s dashboard, Circle and Tether supply, bank stablecoin launches, MiCA-driven USDT restrictions in Europe and whether USDC can keep leading adjusted transaction volume while Tether keeps the larger supply base.
Stay up to date
Get the latest crypto insights delivered to your inbox
Primary sources and further reading
| Source | Title |
|---|---|
| | Visa Onchain Analytics Dashboard |
| | Visa Onchain Analytics: Stablecoin transactions |
| | Visa: Stablecoins and the future of onchain finance |
| | CoinDesk: USDC leads Tether in Visa stablecoin volume data |
| | Circle transparency page |
| | Tether transparency page |
| | CoinMarketCap: USDC price and market cap |
| | CoinMarketCap: Tether price and market cap |
| | AltIndex: Crypto Fear and Greed Index |
Fact-checked by: Daily Crypto Briefs Fact-Check Desk
Related Articles
Frequently Asked Questions
Did USDC pass Tether in market cap?
No. The Visa data shows USDC leading adjusted transaction volume, not supply. CoinMarketCap still showed Tether's USDT market cap far above USDC on July 6, 2026.
How much stablecoin volume did Visa report for June 2026?
CoinDesk, citing Visa's onchain dashboard, reported a record $1.79 trillion in adjusted stablecoin transaction volume for June 2026.
What share of stablecoin volume did USDC have in the first half of 2026?
USDC accounted for about 70% of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume in the first half of 2026, while USDT represented roughly 25%, according to CoinDesk's summary of Visa data.
Why does Visa adjust stablecoin transaction volume?
Visa says it adjusts the data to reduce distortions from bots, high-frequency activity, internal smart contract transactions and some exchange reshuffling.
What should stablecoin users watch next?
Watch July adjusted volume, bank integrations, USDC and USDT supply changes, reserve disclosures and whether Tether regains share in Visa's adjusted transaction data.