USDC’s 29-Fold Surge Drives Stablecoins to 75% of OTC Trading

* Stablecoins now 75% of institutional OTC spot deals in H1 2025, up from 46% in 2024. * USDC turnover sees 29-fold year-over-year growth, spurred by Europe’s MiCA regulation. On July 3, 2025, The Block reported that stablecoins have become the dominant asset in institutional over-the-counter (OTC) crypto markets. The report analyzed 4.1 million trades using data from trading-technology firm Finery Markets, finding that stablecoins made up 74.6% of all spot deals in the first half of 2025. This marks a significant increase from 46% in the same period of 2024 and just 23% in 2023. On July 3, The Block highlighted a 29-fold year-over-year turnover growth for Circle's USD Coin (USDC), which was partly driven by Europe's new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. This regulation prompted some venues to delist or restrict key competitors like Tether’s USDT, and the subsequent rise in USDC activity fueled a broader 112.6% surge in institutional OTC spot volumes year-over-year. As a result, stablecoin transactions alone grew by 154%. As interest in stablecoins expands, the crypto industry has seen increased activity in mergers, acquisitions, product launches, and venture capital investments. For example, payments company Stripe finalized its acquisition of stablecoin API provider Bridge for a reported $1.1 billion. Legacy financial firms are also entering the space. Fiserv plans to introduce its stablecoin, FIUSD, on the Solana blockchain by the end of 2025, using infrastructure from Paxos and Circle. Meanwhile, JPMorgan has also announced its ambitions for new stablecoin offerings. Venture capital funding is actively flowing into the stablecoin market. Galaxy Digital secured $175 million for a DeFi and stablecoin-focused venture fund, and the startup Ubyx also raised $10 million in seed funding to develop a stablecoin clearing network. U.S. policymakers have taken note of the expanding stablecoin market. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent projected the sector could surpass $2 trillion in market value by 2028. He believes that under favorable legislative conditions, such as the proposed GENIUS Act, it could reach $3.7 trillion within five years. However, rapid growth has raised concerns about systemic risks. Konstantin Shulga, CEO and co-founder of Finery Markets, warned that increasing fragmentation among stablecoin issuers could create market vulnerabilities. Shulga emphasized the need for robust secondary-market liquidity to mitigate the risk of depegging events, which he noted could trigger widespread instability among issuers. According to market data on July 3 at 16:14 UTC, Tether USDt (USDT) is trading at $1, with no change over the past 24 hours. Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) is also priced at $1, marking a 0.007% increase during the same period.