Stablecoin Market Share Hits an All-Time High of 10.19%

Just three months after their market cap surpassed $300 billion for the first time amid the crypto rebound, stablecoins have set another record. While their market share had historically hovered around 7 to 9.8%, even during strong growth, that ceiling was finally broken in early 2026.

According to data from TechGaged.com, stablecoins’ market share hit an all-time high of 10.19% last week, underscoring their growing role in the crypto space.

Stablecoins’ Market Share Almost Doubled in Less Than Six Months

Ever since the early days of crypto, stablecoins have been a safe haven for traders, protecting against price swings and unexpected market dips. However, their role expanded over the years, with stablecoins becoming a big part of trading, liquidity, and on-chain payments.

Still, their market share didn`t quite prove this trend. Even as market growth was strong, their share hovered between 7% and 9.8% because the total crypto market cap, driven by Bitcoin and other major altcoins, also grew.

However, things began to change significantly from mid-2025 onward. During Q1, when crypto prices nosedived, stablecoin`s market share jumped from 5.35% to over 8%, according to Coingecko data.  While the figure dropped to 6.32% three months later, as investors shifted to higher-risk assets to chase gains amid bullish momentum, the trend shifted and accelerated again in the second half of the year.

Growing caution and a broader risk-off mood in the crypto space, combined with clearer regulations, including the new U.S. stablecoins reserve rules, have boosted investor confidence and attracted more capital into the sector than ever. While crypto prices nosedived in late Q4, fresh capital continued to flow into the stablecoin sector, helping it remain above the $300 billion mark for three straight months.

Moreover, this inflow of fresh capital, combined with a nearly $400 billion drop in the crypto market cap in Q4, pushed stablecoins’ market share to new highs. With a combined market cap of $312 billion in late November, up 5.7% in a single month, which was unusually fast for this category, stablecoins increased their market share to 9.24%.

By late December, this figure reached 9.64%, marking a four-year high. But the growth didn`t stop there. In fact, December figures were just an intro to a short but very important historic record in early January. With a market cap of $316 billion on January 10 and a total crypto market cap of $3.1 trillion at that time, stablecoins’ market share reached 10.19%.

Not only does this mean their market share almost doubled in less than a year, but it`s also the highest level they`ve ever reached. The last time stablecoins reached similar levels was in October 2023, when their market share was just over 10%.

Even though crypto market caps can shift within hours, and stablecoins have already slipped back to their usual level of around 9.8% at the time of writing, the 10.19% record still marks a major milestone, showing stablecoins are becoming the backbone of crypto activity.

Ethena`s USDe Posted the Biggest Market Share Jump, Up 19x in Just a Year

The inflow of fresh capital into the stablecoin sector is even more striking when looking at the market caps and market shares of the top three stablecoins. According to TechGaged’s analysis based on CoinMarketCap data, Tether (USDT) alone now accounts for 5.76% of the total crypto market cap, up from 3.97% it held last January.

The world`s second-largest stablecoin, USDC, has also seen its market share rise, jumping from 1.55% a year ago to 2.31% this week. But the two can`t even compare to Ethena`s USDe. While far below Tether and USDC in terms of market cap, the market share of a synthetic, dollar-pegged stablecoin created by Ethena Labs has skyrocketed 19 times over the past year, with Ethena now making roughly 0.2% of the total crypto market cap.