{"id":11542,"date":"2025-04-29T00:29:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T22:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=11542"},"modified":"2025-04-29T00:29:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T22:29:23","slug":"tether-retains-its-lead-in-the-stablecoin-arena-amidst-rising-rivals-nansen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/tether-retains-its-lead-in-the-stablecoin-arena-amidst-rising-rivals-nansen\/","title":{"rendered":"Tether Retains Its Lead in the Stablecoin Arena Amidst Rising Rivals \u2014 Nansen"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In spite of the increasing rivalry from new issuers, the stablecoin sector continues to be primarily controlled by a handful of major entities. As per insights from Web3 analytics company Nansen, Tether\u2019s USDt still holds the top position among US dollar-linked stablecoins, even as the competition strengthens.<\/p>\n

As of April 25, Tether (USDT<\/a>) commands roughly 66% of the stablecoin market, compared to approximately 28% for USDC (USDC<\/a>), as reported by Nansen on April 25. Ethena\u2019s USDe stablecoin stands in a distant third place, boasting just over 2% market share.<\/p>\n

Nansen anticipates that Tether\u2019s dominance will persist even as contenders like USDC experience quicker growth rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith almost three times as many users as Uniswap and over 50% more transactions than the next application, Tether is far and away the largest driver of on-chain activity,\u201d Nansen stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven with potential diversification in stablecoins, we firmly believe this represents a \u2018winner-takes-most\u2019 market situation,\u201d the Web3 analyst added.<\/p>\n

Tether commands 66% of the stablecoin market share. Source: Nansen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tether is also the highest-earning stablecoin issuer<\/a>, achieving nearly $14 billion in profits for 2024. The firm generates revenue by accepting US dollars to produce USDT and then investing those funds into highly liquid, yield-generating assets such as US Treasury bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsidering the rise of both USDT and USDC, the users are clearly signaling that they do not necessarily prioritize yield as they choose to forgo it in favor of Tether and Circle – they merely seek access to the most liquid and \u2018stable\u2019\/ least-likely-to-depeg stablecoin available,\u201d Nansen commented.<\/p>\n

\"Cryptocurrencies,
USDC has experienced swifter growth than USDT since November. Source: Nansen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Competitive landscape<\/h2>\n

The uptake of USDC has surged since November, when the election victory of US President Donald Trump brought about a more favorable regulatory atmosphere for cryptocurrency in the US, according to Nansen.<\/p>\n

Circle\u2019s US-regulated stablecoin has been \u201cespecially appealing to institutions that demand regulatory transparency,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n

However, USDC now contends with \u201cheightened competition as significant traditional financial entities (like Fidelity, PayPal, and banks) enter the arena,\u201d Nansen remarked, noting that stablecoins, including PayPal\u2019s PYUSD and Ripple USD, are \u201cquickly gaining momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

On April 25, payment processor Stripe revealed intentions to launch a new stablecoin offering<\/a> of its own following the acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge last year.<\/p>\n

Even with its smaller market presence, Ethena’s yield-generating USDe stablecoin remains \u201ccompetitive across most aspects moving forward,\u201d partly due to its integrations across centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, the report indicated.<\/p>\n

Since its launch in 2024, Ethena\u2019s stablecoin has produced an average annualized yield of around 19%, as detailed on Ethena\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Magazine:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Bitcoin payments are being jeopardized by centralized stablecoins<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n