USDC’s BitPay Dominance Fades as Tether’s USDT Captures 70% of Payment Volume
Tether’s USDT has surpassed Circle’s USDC in transaction and payment volume on BitPay, a leading cryptocurrency payment processor, in 2025, showing a major shift in stablecoin dominance.
Previously led by USDC, BitPay’s data shows growing USDT adoption, largely driven by market liquidity and user preferences.
USDT Gains Ground on BitPay
In January 2024, USDC accounted for 85% of BitPay’s stablecoin transactions, while USDT held 13%. By May 2025, USDC’s share fell to 56%, and USDT’s rose to 43%, a 29% decline for USDC and a 30% increase for USDT.
Since March 2025, USDT has accounted for over 70% of BitPay’s stablecoin payment volume, reversing USDC’s 2024 dominance.
This switch shows USDT’s growing dominance in real crypto payments, from e-commerce to services, on a platform processing millions in monthly transactions. Tether’s market liquidity and institutional support likely increased its market appeal, making USDT a preferred choice for BitPay merchants and users.
USDC’s Growth vs. USDT’s Liquidity Edge
While USDT leads on BitPay, USDC shows stronger growth in other metrics. Coingecko data reveals USDC’s market capitalization grew 88.2% over the past year, from $32.76 billion to $61.65 billion, and 40.28% year-to-date in 2025.
USDC market capitalization (Source: CoinGecko)
USDT’s market capitalization, while larger, increased 40% annually, from $112.5 billion to $158.3 billion, and 15.5% year-to-date, holding a 61.5% share of the $253 billion stablecoin market compared to USDC’s 23.37%.
USDT market capitalization (Source: CoinGecko)
USDC’s circulating supply rose 40.4% in 2025, from 43.7 billion to 61.4 billion, surpassing USDT’s 13.6% growth, from 137 billion to 155.7 billion.
Media mentions also favored USDC, up 75%, from 24,169 to 42,455 compared to USDT’s 42%, from 55,473 to 78,680, from January to June 2025, as revealed in Muckrack data.
There are notable regulatory differences between both stablecoin issuers, with Circle securing Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) approval in July 2024, while Tether declined compliance. Circle’s $1.05 billion IPO in June is the opposite of Tether’s no-IPO stance, as reported by Ecoinimist, potentially impacting user and investor trust.
