A report by Bloomberg News indicates that a decline in cryptocurrency trading has reduced demand for stablecoins, impacting their role as a source of demand for government debt. In the first half of the year, the market capitalization of Tether’s USDT fell by nearly $3 billion to approximately $184 billion. Similarly, Circle’s USDC saw a decline of about $3 billion, reaching roughly $72 billion.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously projected that the stablecoin market could reach $3 trillion by the end of the decade, potentially supporting $7 trillion in outstanding short-term Treasury bills. Currently, Tether and Circle hold $134 billion and $63 billion in Treasurys and reverse repurchase agreements, respectively.
Tether is focusing on increasing stablecoin adoption for payments and cross-border remittances to mitigate the market downturn. Meanwhile, a group of 21 global banks plans to launch a dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of next year, with plans to include other G7 currencies later.
Despite these developments, institutional adoption remains limited. According to the March 2026 Certainty Project report, only 13% of surveyed middle-market companies use stablecoins, while 5% use other cryptocurrencies. CFOs remain hesitant, citing concerns over managing multiple digital assets across various blockchains and liquidity pools.
