Stablecoin Market to Hit $300B in 2025 as USDT, USDC Retain Dominance: Cointelegraph Survey

Crypto stablecoins have seen massive successes in 2024, reaching an all-time high circulating supply of over $200 billion in December.

Crypto stablecoins had a banner year in 2024, with the total circulating supply of stablecoins reaching an all-time high of over $200 billion in December. Stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies designed to mimic the value of a currency, most popularly the US dollar, are an integral part of the crypto ecosystem and now account for 5% of the crypto market capitalization.

With 2025 fast approaching, Cointelegraph has rounded up the industry’s forecasts and predictions on the key stablecoin trends to expect next year.

Next stop is $300 billion: USDT and USDC to retain dominance

Multiple industry executives and founders told Cointelegraph that Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) — the two largest stablecoins by market capitalization — will likely retain their dominance in 2025,

Guy Young, founder of decentralized stablecoin protocol Ethena, predicted that USDT will continue to be the largest stablecoin next year and that the total stablecoin market cap will rise to $300 billion.

“I expect we cross $300 billion in outstanding, Tether continues to dominate with their existing moat, and the rest of the market is challenged by new fintech and Web2 entrants with their own offerings,” Young told Cointelegraph.

Alchemy Pay’s chief marketing officer, Ailona Tsik, said stablecoins like USDT and USDC “have already established themselves as critical tools for global transactions, and their adoption across emerging markets and decentralized applications will likely accelerate.”

Coinbase, the co-operator of USDC, said in its 2025 outlook that stablecoins are “just getting started” as some analysts project the tokens could grow into a $3 trillion market over the next five years.

Stablecoin payments: Visa expects stablecoin card demand to spike

Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, told Cointelegraph that stablecoin adoption can modernize and streamline global payments, but that existing stablecoin spending opportunities are still limited.

“If 2024 was the year stablecoin demand picked back up, 2025 will introduce the next pivotal opportunity: the rise of stablecoin-linked cards,” Sheffield said.

He said Visa will expand its capabilities to enable issuers to settle stablecoin-linked cards directly with the payments giant using stablecoins.

Crypto platform Uphold’s CEO, Simon McLoughlin, is also optimistic about growing payment adoption in the coming year.

“2025 will be the year that stablecoins go mainstream as the vehicle for international payments,” McLoughlin said. He highlighted new stablecoins targeting cross-border settlement, such as Ripple Labs’ Ripple USD (RLUSD), which started trading on Dec. 17.

BitPay’s chief market officer, Bill Zielke, told Cointelegraph that stablecoins accounted for at least a quarter of the volume in 2024 on the crypto payments platform despite making up just 5% of all transactions.

“While the average BTC transaction value at BitPay is just over $1,000, USDC transactions average more than $5,000,” he said.

“We anticipate this trajectory will continue into 2025 as stablecoins further solidify their role in global commerce and business-to-business payments,” Zielke added.

Regulatory divergence and need for consistent regimes will persist

Despite many expressing optimism about stablecoins’ growth in 2025, regulations around the tokens remain inconsistent globally.

“One of the key challenges we foresee for stablecoins in 2025 is navigating the evolving regulatory landscape,” Alchemy Pay’s Tsik said.

BitGo’s head of stablecoins, Ben Reynolds, said regulatory uncertainty and the need for greater transparency will remain significant challenges in 2025 until lawmakers provide clear guidance.

True Markets founder Vishal Gupta told Cointelegraph that the stablecoin legal landscape will “still face inefficiencies and fragmentation due to inconsistent regulatory regimes.”

He referred to a global regulatory divergence triggered by the introduction of stablecoin rules specific to the European Union, particularly the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

“Regulatory divergence could open opportunities in regions with clear, balanced rules but create challenges where regulations are overly complex or restrictive,” Gupta said.

With US President-elect Donald Trump preparing to take office in January, companies like BitPay expect greater clarity and consistency on how stablecoins and crypto markets are regulated.

2025 stablecoin trends: L2s, yields and interoperability

Many industry execs predicted further stablecoin developments next year in areas such as layer 2s (L2), yields and interoperability.

BitPay’s Zielke said L2 stablecoin adoption on networks like Arbitrum, Optimism and Base will be among the biggest development areas for the tokens in 2