Usman Salis
Tether (USDT) is literally eating the entire stablecoin market alive right now, snagging 80% of all payments while the whole sector doubles every six months - and get this, we haven't even started yet compared to what Visa and Mastercard are doing.
Look, I've been watching crypto for years, but what USDT is pulling off right now is just insane. Some smart folks at Artemis just dropped this report called "Stablecoin Payments from the Ground Up," and the numbers are wild. Tether now controls 80% of all stablecoin payments by volume. That's not just winning - that's completely destroying the competition.
Here's what's blowing my mind: in just two freaking years, monthly stablecoin usage shot up 215%. We're talking about going from $2 billion to over $6.3 billion in actual money being moved around. USDT has been the king of this hill since day one, with Circle's USDC trying to keep up but honestly not even close.
The crazy part is watching how this plays out across different blockchains. Tron (TRX) is absolutely killing it for stablecoin transfers - like, it's not even a fair fight. Then you've got Ethereum (ETH), Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Polygon (MATIC) all fighting for scraps. People are clearly voting with their wallets here, and they're choosing speed and cheap fees over everything else.
Holy Crap - USDT on Tron Just Beat Ethereum for the First Time
Okay, this one caught me totally off guard. In May 2025, something happened that nobody really saw coming - USDT on Tron actually flipped USDT on Ethereum. Yeah, you heard that right. Tron, the network that people used to joke about, is now the biggest home for USDT transfers.
But wait, it gets even crazier. When you look at how many actual USDT coins are issued, Tron-based USDT is now bigger than every other blockchain version combined. That's not just market leadership - that's complete and total domination. Meanwhile, the newer guys like Solana (SOL) and Ton (TON) are still trying to figure out how to get in the game.
This actually makes perfect sense if you think about it. Nobody wants to pay $50 in gas fees to move $100 worth of USDT around. Tron gives you almost instant transfers for pennies, and when you're dealing with stablecoins, that's exactly what you want. Ethereum might have started the party, but Tron brought the good music and cheap drinks.
We're Still in Kindergarten Compared to Real Payment Networks
Here's the part that should make everyone sit up and pay attention - despite all this crazy growth, we're still playing in the kiddie pool compared to traditional payments. The report authors dropped this bombshell: Visa processes around $145 trillion in B2B payments every year. Meanwhile, stablecoins are doing about $3 billion in B2B payments. That's like comparing an ocean to a puddle.
Let that sink in for a minute. Even with USDT grabbing 80% of the market, even with monthly volumes hitting $6.3 billion, even with 215% growth in two years - stablecoins are still basically a rounding error compared to traditional payment systems. The potential here is absolutely massive.
What's really interesting is that stablecoins are already making serious waves in both rich and poor countries. People are using USDT to send money across borders, protect their savings from crazy inflation, and do business without dealing with traditional banking headaches. And if this is what "early adoption" looks like, imagine what happens when this thing really takes off.
USDT Supply Going Crazy Might Mean Bitcoin (BTC) Party Time
Here's something that crypto traders better pay attention to - Tether is pumping out new USDT like there's no tomorrow this cycle, and historically speaking, that usually means good things for Bitcoin (BTC) prices. When there's more USDT floating around, there's more firepower available to buy crypto.
The math is pretty simple here: most people don't just hold USDT for the fun of it. They use it as a pit stop before buying other cryptos, and Bitcoin is usually the first stop on that journey. So when Tether creates billions of new USDT tokens, that money typically flows into the broader crypto market pretty quickly.
This is happening right when USDT is cementing its position as the absolute king of stablecoins across multiple blockchains. More supply plus stronger network effects could create the perfect recipe for crypto market fireworks. The smart money is definitely keeping one eye on USDT metrics and the other on Bitcoin price charts.
The whole stablecoin thing is clearly just getting warmed up, and USDT has basically locked down the throne. With 80% market share in the bag and massive room to grow, Tether has built something that's becoming as important to crypto as cash is to regular life. Pretty wild to think we're still in the stone age of this whole transformation.
Usman Salis
