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    3. Under the Trillion-Dollar Transfer Scale: Who is Driving On-Chain Transactions of USDC and USDT?

    Under the Trillion-Dollar Transfer Scale: Who is Driving On-Chain Transactions of USDC and USDT?

    By: rootdata|2026/08/12 06:00:26
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    Despite USDT's market capitalization exceeding USDC by $100 billion, USDC's annualized turnover rate is ten times that of USDT.


    Written by: Tanay Ved, Coin Metrics

    Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News


    Stablecoins have evolved from trading tools into the cornerstone of on-chain liquidity, providing around-the-clock, global value storage, transfer, and settlement channels. Since 2025, the on-chain settlement scale of stablecoins has decoupled from the spot trading volume of cryptocurrencies. This year, the adjusted on-chain transfer volume of stablecoins once exceeded $250 billion daily, while exchange trading volumes have dropped to about $18 billion per day.


    From 2026 to the present, stablecoins have achieved a cumulative adjusted transfer total of $41.7 trillion. Although the total issuance of stablecoins has recently declined, the on-chain turnover frequency of unit funds has continued to rise compared to previous years. The application scenarios are also continuously expanding, covering exchange liquidity management, DeFi collateral scheduling, as well as emerging personal payments and corporate cross-border capital flows.


    This article penetrates the trillion-dollar stablecoin transfer phenomenon, analyzing the turnover rates of USDC and USDT, and dissecting the driving factors behind the massive transaction volumes on major public chains. The research builds on previous articles such as "The Peculiar Phenomenon of USDC on the Base Chain," which found that about 50% of USDC transfers on the Base Layer 2 network come from DeFi infrastructure (DEX market making, flash loans). We conducted a bottom-up analysis of the transfer composition of USDC and USDT on Ethereum, Base, and TRON chains.


    Issuance and Turnover Rate


    Issuance represents the monetary base scale of stablecoins, while turnover rate measures the frequency of existing funds being transferred on-chain. By combining these two indicators, we can determine whether stablecoins are in a state of frequent circulation or simply idling as value storage tools. This distinction is also at the core of the "CLARITY Act," which encourages incentives based on real trading activities and does not promote merely holding tokens for profit.


    From this perspective, USDC has a significant advantage. Data from 2026 shows that USDC's annualized (adjusted supply) turnover rate is 741 times, reaching ten times that of USDT (74 times), even though USDT's market capitalization exceeds $100 billion. This means that, relative to the total circulation, the on-chain turnover frequency of USDC is much higher than that of USDT.


    Issuance and turnover rate of stablecoins, data source: Talos Network Data Pro


    The implementation of the "GENIUS Act" in 2025 brought regulatory benefits to USDC, continuously consolidating its network effects in the compliant market in the U.S., DeFi, and institutional settlement fields. In contrast, USDT's advantages stem from its first-mover advantage, demand in emerging overseas markets, and deep integration with the TRON chain, where there is strong demand for dollar assets and cross-border remittances.


    USDC, issued by Circle, surpassed USDT in adjusted transfer totals as early as 2024, and the lead has continued to expand this year. As of August 2026, USDC's cumulative settlement transfer scale reached $32 trillion, accounting for 77% of the stablecoin market share; USDT's transfer scale was $8 trillion, accounting for 19%. Although USDC still leads, the gap between the two is narrowing, with USDC's daily transfer volume falling below $100 billion.


    Adjusted transfer volumes of USDC and USDT, data source: Talos Network Data Pro


    According to Circle's Q2 2026 financial report, USDC's on-chain transaction scale in Q2 grew by 151% year-on-year, reaching $14.8 trillion, but the growth rate of circulating supply was far below that of transactions. Currently, about 95% of Circle's revenue still comes from reserve interest rather than transaction fees. Circle's self-developed Layer 1 blockchain, Arc, is an important layout for creating sources of transaction fee revenue. Therefore, clarifying the underlying driving factors of USDC's transaction volume is of great significance.


    The following will dissect the transaction composition of USDC on Ethereum and Base networks, as well as USDT on Ethereum and TRON chains, which carry the vast majority of stablecoin transfer activities.


    Composition of USDC and USDT Transfers


    To explore the reasons behind the massive transaction volumes, we continue the research framework of USDC on the Base chain, employing a bottom-up analysis method. For each public chain and each stablecoin, we mark the core contracts that generate high-frequency mechanical transfers: leading protocols in the flash loan lending market, major liquidity pools of mainstream DEXs on each chain, and known exchange wallet addresses. All transactions are categorized into three types: flash loans, DEX liquidity provision, and centralized exchange fund transfers.


    The research is based on Talos's original transfer data, calculating the proportion of each type of transaction in the total transfer scale of the public chain. The marked classification is only a lower limit estimate, and the remaining portion includes unidentified behaviors: payments, cross-chain bridge transfers, treasury fund scheduling, and other various settlement activities.


    USDC on the Base Chain


    The Layer 2 network Base, launched by Coinbase, is the primary arena for USDC transfers in 2026. Transactions are highly concentrated, with over 90% of USDC transfers on the Base chain completed through three contracts. Throughout the year, the Aerodrome decentralized exchange contributed the largest transaction volume for liquidity market making; in the second half of the year, flash loan arbitrage activities relying on the Morpho protocol rapidly rose. In June, the daily flash loan transfer volume once exceeded $500 billion. Base's low fees and ample USDC liquidity make it suitable for large-scale high-frequency automated strategy operations.


    • Flash loans, 23%: Bots complete uncollateralized borrowing and repayment within a single transaction, executing cross-market arbitrage using Morpho's unified contract.
    • DEX liquidity provision, 69%: Automated strategies continuously adjust the liquidity of Aerodrome's two major funds pools in response to price fluctuations, creating massive notional transaction volumes, but net funds and positions remain virtually unchanged.
    • Others, about 8%: Activities outside the marked flash loan and liquidity pool contracts.

    Monthly transaction volume of USDC on the Base chain, data source: Talos CM ATLAS


    USDC on Ethereum


    USDC transactions on the Ethereum chain are more concentrated in flash loans, accounting for 65% of the total transfer volume, nearly three times that of the Base chain. Ethereum's USDC liquidity is deep, and the lending ecosystem is well-developed, making it suitable for large-scale flash loan arbitrage; however, the high gas fees make it difficult to support the continuous liquidity rebalancing behavior seen on the Base network.


    • Flash loans: 65%
    • DEX liquidity provision: 0.3%
    • Centralized exchange fund transfers: 2%
    • Other unclassified activities: about 33%

    Monthly transaction volume of USDC on Ethereum, data source: Talos CM ATLAS


    USDT on Ethereum


    Flash loans also occupy an important share of USDT transaction volume on Ethereum, but the proportion is lower than that of USDC on the same chain. Centralized exchange fund transfers account for a higher proportion, aligning with USDT's long-term role in serving exchange settlements and liquidity allocation. The statistical scope includes known deposit and withdrawal wallets of centralized exchanges such as Binance and OKX, covering user deposits and withdrawals, as well as internal transfers between exchange hot and cold wallets.


    • Flash loans, 46%
    • DEX liquidity provision, 0.3%: Mainly for Uniswap V3 USDT/WETH trading pool.
    • Centralized exchange fund transfers, 9%: Covering deposit and withdrawal flows from over 30 centralized exchange wallets.
    • Other unclassified activities, about 45%

    Monthly transaction volume of USDT on Ethereum, data source: Talos CM ATLAS


    USDT on TRON


    The usage pattern of USDT on the TRON chain is entirely different. The flash loans and DEX market-making activities that drive large transaction volumes on Base and Ethereum are almost negligible. Among the identified flows, centralized exchange fund transfers account for the highest proportion, reflecting TRON's role as a low-cost channel for handling a large volume of exchange deposit and withdrawal business. The proportion of unclassified flows is as high as 80%, the highest among all statistical chains, likely including cross-border remittances and various payment scenarios.


    • Flash loans, almost none: Lending protocols like JustLend have not generated significant related transaction volumes.
    • DEX liquidity provision, 0.2%: Distributed across four Sunswap trading pools.
    • Centralized exchange fund transfers, 19%: Covering deposit and withdrawal flows from 33 overseas exchanges such as Binance, OKX, and Bybit.
    • Other unclassified activities, about 80%

    Monthly transaction volume of USDT on TRON, data source: Talos CM ATLAS


    The analysis results clearly show the structural differences in stablecoin ecosystems across different public chains. The transaction volume of USDC on Base and Ethereum is primarily driven by flash loans and liquidity rebalancing; Ethereum's USDT balances flash loans with exchange fund transfers; TRON's USDT has almost no large-scale DeFi transactions while having the largest volume of unmarked transactions.


    Data source: Talos CM ATLAS, Talos Network Data Pro


    Conclusion


    The scale of on-chain transfers of stablecoins has reached a considerable level, often compared to global mainstream payment networks. However, the vast majority of current transaction volumes essentially represent liquidity management within the cryptocurrency market: liquidity provisioning and rebalancing, arbitrage execution, and cross-platform fund settlements. These applications are real and effective, enhancing liquidity, trading efficiency, and global accessibility in the cryptocurrency asset market.


    At the same time, one cannot simply equate the surface-level massive transfer volumes with personal payments or activities in the real economy. At this stage, stablecoins primarily serve as the settlement layer for the cryptocurrency asset market, while payments, cross-border remittances, and corporate B2B scenarios are still being cultivated. Looking ahead, the importance of transaction quality for stablecoins will be no less than that of transaction scale. The differences in issuance and turnover rates can intuitively reflect how stablecoin funds circulate and allocate within the cryptocurrency market.

    -- Price

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    This content is provided for general informational purposes only and doesn't constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Any events, rewards, online promotions, or related information mentioned herein should not be considered a recommendation, solicitation, or invitation to purchase, sell, trade, or otherwise deal in any crypto assets. Crypto assets are highly volatile and may result in loss. The availability of WEEX services, products, and related events may vary by region. You are responsible for ensuring that your participation is in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations.

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    Contents

    Issuance and Turnover Rate
    Composition of USDC and USDT Transfers
    Conclusion
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