USDT Market Cap & Circulating Supply: Growth and Dominance
Tether's USDT has grown from a niche instrument with $10 million in circulation in 2017 to the world's largest stablecoin with a market cap exceeding $160 billion in 2025. This growth trajectory reflects both the expansion of the broader crypto market and USDT's entrenched position as the default dollar proxy for global crypto trading.
Supply Growth Timeline
USDT supply growth has been remarkable: from $10 million in early 2017, to $2.8 billion by September 2018, to $66 billion in June 2022, and surpassing $140 billion in early 2025. By July 2025, USDT's market capitalization exceeded $150 billion, and by year-end 2025 it had crossed $160 billion. This growth correlates closely with overall crypto market activity, as USDT serves as the primary liquidity vehicle across hundreds of exchanges.
Stablecoin Market Dominance
Within the stablecoin sector, USDT commands approximately 70% market share. The total stablecoin market reached $300 billion in September 2025, roughly doubling since 2024. USDT and USDC together represent the overwhelming majority of this market, with USDT alone accounting for more than half of all stablecoin market capitalization globally.
Multi-Chain Distribution
USDT is distributed across more than 14 blockchain networks. The TRON (TRC-20) version typically accounts for the largest share of supply due to its very low transaction fees, making it the preferred choice for retail users and remittance applications in emerging markets. The Ethereum (ERC-20) version is dominant in DeFi applications. This multi-chain distribution makes USDT uniquely accessible but also creates operational complexity for reserve management.
Relationship to Crypto Market Cycles
USDT supply tends to grow rapidly during bull markets as new capital enters crypto through stablecoin conversion, and shrinks during sustained bear markets as traders redeem USDT for fiat. However, each market cycle has left USDT with a higher absolute supply baseline than the previous cycle, reflecting the growing adoption of crypto as an asset class and USDT as its primary settlement layer.
Tether's Revenue from Supply Growth
USDT's massive supply has made Tether extremely profitable. By holding US Treasury bills — which yield approximately 4-5% annually — against its USDT liabilities (which pay no interest), Tether earns the spread on billions of dollars of assets. In 2024, this model generated $13 billion in profit. In 2025, the company reported profits exceeding $10 billion. This profitability is itself a source of reserve stability, as it continually builds Tether's equity cushion above its outstanding liabilities.
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