A CoinDesk Research report, commissioned by Ripple, indicates that the market share of USDT in Asia-Pacific stablecoin payments declined from 98% in early 2025 to 91% by July 2026. While USDT remains the dominant asset, the share of other stablecoins in the region rose from 2% to 9% during the same period.
The Asia-Pacific region represents 51.2% of the global identified stablecoin payment volume, amounting to $30.9 billion. In the first half of 2026, business-to-business transactions accounted for 37.1% of the total stablecoin payment volume within the region.
The report suggests a shift toward stablecoins that prioritize regulatory compliance and transparency. As an example, Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin has received regulatory approval in Japan as an electronic payment instrument and is currently distributed via SBI VC Trade.
The researchers noted that the study was commissioned by Ripple, which should be considered when evaluating the focus on compliance-oriented assets. The data does not explicitly detail how much of the lost USDT market share was captured specifically by RLUSD versus other competitors.
