Tether Q4 2025 Report: USDT Market Cap Nears $190 Billion, Multiple Indicators Hit Record Highs

marsbitPublicado a 2026-02-05Actualizado a 2026-02-05

Resumen

Tether's Q4 2025 report highlights record-breaking performance for USDT, with its market capitalization reaching $187.3 billion. Despite a market-wide slowdown following a crypto liquidation event on October 10, USDT grew by 3.5% in market cap during the subsequent period, while other major stablecoins declined. Key achievements include an eighth consecutive quarter of over 30 million new users, bringing the total user base to 534.5 million. On-chain wallet holders saw the largest quarterly increase, reaching 139.1 million. Monthly active on-chain users hit a record 24.8 million, and both on-chain transfer volume and value reached all-time highs, with quarterly transfers totaling $4.4 trillion. USDT’s reserve assets grew to $192.9 billion, including increased holdings in U.S. Treasuries, Bitcoin, and gold. Its role extends beyond crypto trading, with strong adoption for savings and transactions. USDT dominates stablecoin usage, accounting for 65.9% of single-asset transfer value and 75% of savings-oriented wallets among all stablecoins.

USDT achieved multiple new highs in the fourth quarter of 2025, as follows:

· Market capitalization reached $187.3 billion;

· Achieved over 30 million new users for the eighth consecutive quarter;

· Recorded the largest quarterly increase in the number of on-chain wallets holding USDT;

· Monthly active on-chain users reached an all-time high;

· Both the number and value of on-chain transfers hit record levels.

Meanwhile, a chain reaction of cryptocurrency liquidations that occurred on October 10, 2025, has led to a slowdown in the growth rate of the stablecoin ecosystem. Between October 10, 2025, and February 1, 2026, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell by over one-third. During this period, the market cap of USDT grew by 3.5%; in contrast, the market caps of the second and third largest stablecoins fell by 2.6% and 57%, respectively.

The sustained growth of USDT relies not only on the cryptocurrency market but also on various use cases beyond it. Data clearly shows that users prefer USDT as a stablecoin for both storing wealth and conducting transactions.

These conclusions are primarily based on Tether's analysis of blockchain data (also known as on-chain data). On-chain data for 75 stablecoins across 15 blockchains were sourced from Chainalysis and Artemis.

Market Capitalization

In Q4 2025, the USDT market cap grew by $12.4 billion, reaching $187.3 billion. The month-over-month growth rate in October was 4.9%, but its growth pace slowed after the cryptocurrency liquidation wave on October 10.

Reserves

In Q4 2025, Tether's total reserves increased by $11.7 billion, reaching $192.9 billion, with net equity (assets exceeding liabilities) of $6.3 billion. The total reserves include 96,184 Bitcoin (9,850 added in Q4) and 127.5 metric tons of gold (21.9 metric tons added in Q4).

In Q4, Tether's total holdings of U.S. Treasury Bills increased by $6.5 billion, reaching $141.6 billion. If Tether were considered a "country," its holdings of U.S. Treasury Bills would rank 18th globally, surpassing Saudi Arabia and Germany.

Throughout 2025, Tether accumulated an additional $28.2 billion in U.S. Treasury Bills. Over the past 12 months, compared to the accumulation by countries, Tether became the seventh largest buyer of U.S. Treasury Bills, purchasing more than Taiwan and South Korea.

Total Users

In Q4 2025, the estimated total number of USDT users increased by 35.2 million, reaching 534.5 million. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter of growth exceeding 30 million users for this stablecoin. The user count here includes two parts: on-chain wallet users (those who have received USDT and held it for at least 24 hours) and the estimated number of users receiving USDT on centralized service platforms (such as cryptocurrency exchanges).

On-Chain Holders

In Q4 2025, the number of on-chain wallet users holding USDT increased by 14.7 million, reaching a total of 139.1 million, setting a new quarterly growth record. Wallets holding USDT account for 70.7% of all wallets holding any stablecoin. In addition to on-chain wallet users, it is estimated that over 100 million users hold USDT on centralized service platforms like exchanges.

The structure of USDT on-chain holders remained relatively stable, distributed as follows:

· "Pure Savers" (wallet users who retain 100% of received USDT): 30.8%;

· "Savers" (wallet users who retain on average less than 100% but more than 2/3 of received USDT): 6.7%;

· "Transactors" (wallet users who retain on average less than 2/3 of received USDT): 62.6%.

Compared to all other stablecoins, USDT has a higher proportion of "Savers" and "Pure Savers" (37.5% for USDT vs. 30% for other stablecoins collectively). Among all stablecoin savings wallets, 75.1% choose to hold USDT, indicating that USDT remains the preferred stablecoin for wealth storage.

On-Chain Active Users

In Q4 2025, the average number of monthly active on-chain users for USDT (wallet users who received USDT at least once in a 30-day rolling period) reached 24.8 million, an all-time high, indicating continuously improving user activity. This number represents 68.4% of the total monthly active users for all stablecoins.

Holdings Distribution by User Type

As of the end of Q4 2025, 36% of USDT holdings were concentrated on centralized exchanges (CEXs), an increase of 2.8 percentage points from the end of Q3. This change was partly due to a decrease in USDT holdings on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms following the October 10 cryptocurrency liquidation wave: in Q4, USDT on DEXs and DeFi platforms decreased by $3 billion (a 2 percentage point drop in share) to $7.1 billion, accounting for 3.8% of total USDT holdings.

The second largest share of holdings belongs to Savers, accounting for 33%, with "Pure Savers" holding 17.4% and other "Savers" holding 15.6%. In Q4, Savers' USDT holdings increased by $2.9 billion, reaching a total of $62.1 billion by the end of the quarter. As mentioned earlier, USDT not only attracts the most Savers but also stores the highest USD value: it accounts for 59.9% of the savings value across all stablecoins; if wallets holding over $10 million (which are mostly exchange cold wallets) are excluded, USDT's share rises to 77.3%.

"Transactors" ranked third in holdings share, at 26.5% as of the end of Q4. This share remained relatively stable from Q3 to Q4, and the holdings of "Transactors" increased by $2.2 billion, reflecting USDT's continued growth in liquidity for transactional use cases.

Note that the total holdings figure here is slightly higher than the USDT market cap because total holdings include USDT in Tether's treasury that has not yet been issued, while the market cap only calculates USDT in net circulation.

On-Chain Transfer Value

In Q4 2025, the quarterly on-chain transfer value of USDT increased by $248.6 billion, reaching $4.4 trillion, an all-time high. Of this $4.4 trillion quarterly total transfer value, $2.8 trillion (63.6%) were transfers involving only USDT, and $1.6 trillion (36.4%) were transfers involving multiple assets (these often occur in DeFi swap scenarios).

USDT's share of value in single-asset stablecoin transfers was 65.9%; its share in multi-asset stablecoin transfers was 34.6%. This data indicates that USDT remains the preferred stablecoin for value transfer, while other stablecoins are more often used for value exchange, often with USDT as the counterparty.

On-Chain Transfer Count

In Q4 2025, the quarterly count of on-chain USDT transfers increased by 313.1 million, reaching 2.2 billion, an all-time high. Of these 2.2 billion total quarterly transfers:

· 1.94 billion transfers (88.2%) were for amounts below $1,000;

· 256 million transfers (11.6%) were for amounts between $1,000 and $100,000;

· 4.6 million transfers (0.2%) were for amounts over $100,000.

Velocity

As of the end of Q4 2025, calculated on a 7-day moving average, USDT's velocity (daily transfer value as a percentage of total holdings) was 18.2%. This is lower than the peak of 51.8% on November 5 (driven by a surge in DeFi activity) and is similar to levels seen prior to Q2 2025 (when Bitcoin prices were similar to this quarter).

The average velocity for USDT in Q4 was 28%, significantly lower than the 151% velocity of the second-largest stablecoin by market cap. USDT's relatively lower velocity indicates a user base with stronger stickiness, higher stability, and, as discussed later, more diverse use cases.

USDT's velocity naturally varies by use case: users holding USDT for savings purposes have lower velocity (as they typically hold rather than transfer). The velocity for "Pure Savers" is naturally 0, while the average daily velocity for "Savers" in 2025 was 4%.

On-chain velocity for centralized exchanges is also low, with an average daily velocity of 11% in 2025. This is because users hold USDT on exchanges for both potential savings and trading—but as the next section will mention, trading volume on exchanges is recorded on centralized order books, not on the blockchain, so the amount of USDT transferred on-chain out of centralized exchanges is low relative to the USDT holdings on those exchanges.

Use cases with higher USDT velocity include:

· "Transactor" wallets: Average daily velocity in 2025 was 51%. These wallets transfer USDT for various purposes, including payments, remittances, moving funds between exchanges, etc.;

· DEX and DeFi platforms: Average daily velocity in 2025 was 111%. Velocity in these scenarios is typically very high because DEX trades are recorded on the blockchain, and users may execute multiple trades in a single day, ultimately resulting in velocity exceeding 100%.

67% of USDT's market cap is distributed in low-velocity scenarios, and 33% in high-velocity scenarios. This distribution ensures stability through low-velocity scenarios and liquidity through high-velocity scenarios.

Spot Market

In Q4 2025, the spot trading volume for USDT on centralized exchanges was $3.2 trillion, of which 96.5% had USDT as the quote asset, and the remainder had other assets quoted against USDT. Affected by the October 10 cryptocurrency liquidation wave, volume decreased by 5.9% compared to Q3. However, since the trading volume of all other assets decreased by 11.5% compared to Q3, USDT's share of the total spot market trading volume反而 increased by 1.5 percentage points, reaching 61.5%.

In Q4, the number of USDT spot trades was 14.1 billion, accounting for 80% of all spot trades in the quarter.

Conclusion

In Q4 2025, USDT achieved numerous all-time highs, although growth slowed after the October 10 cryptocurrency liquidation wave. However, the data indicates that the cryptocurrency market is not the sole driver of USDT's growth.

Compared to other stablecoins, user preference for saving in USDT is significantly higher (USDT accounts for 75% of all stablecoin savings wallets; and 77% of the savings value in wallets holding less than $10 million), providing USDT with a stable, low-velocity source of demand.

In high-velocity use cases as a medium of exchange, USDT also leads: it accounts for 65.9% of the value in single-asset stablecoin transfers and 34.6% in multi-asset stablecoin transfers. This phenomenon indicates that USDT remains the preferred stablecoin for value transfer, while other stablecoins are more often used for value exchange (often with USDT as the counterparty). These high-velocity use cases provide ample liquidity for USDT, ensuring its wide availability and acceptance.

Preguntas relacionadas

QWhat was the market capitalization of USDT in Q4 2025, and how much did it grow by during that quarter?

AThe market capitalization of USDT reached $187.3 billion in Q4 2025, growing by $12.4 billion during that quarter.

QHow did the market performance of the second and third largest stablecoins compare to USDT during the period from October 10, 2025, to February 1, 2026?

ADuring that period, while the total cryptocurrency market cap fell by over a third, USDT's market cap grew by 3.5%. In contrast, the market caps of the second and third largest stablecoins fell by 2.6% and 57%, respectively.

QWhat are the three main categories of on-chain USDT holders and their respective proportions of the total supply?

AThe three categories are: 'Pure Savings' holders (30.8%), 'Savings' holders (6.7%), and 'Transactional' holders (62.6%).

QWhat percentage of all stablecoin savings value is held in USDT, and how does this change when excluding wallets holding over $10 million?

AUSDT accounts for 59.9% of all stablecoin savings value. When excluding wallets holding over $10 million (which are often exchange wallets), this figure rises to 77.3%.

QWhat was the total on-chain transfer value for USDT in Q4 2025, and how is it broken down between single-asset and multi-asset transfers?

AThe total on-chain transfer value for USDT in Q4 2025 was $4.4 trillion. This was broken down into $2.8 trillion (63.6%) from single-asset transfers and $1.6 trillion (36.4%) from multi-asset transfers.

Lecturas Relacionadas

Key Lawmaker 'Relents', Wash's Biggest Obstacle to Assuming Fed Chair on May 15 Cleared

Key political opposition to Kevin Warsh's nomination as Federal Reserve Chair has been removed after Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) withdrew his objection, clearing the way for a committee vote on April 29. Tillis had previously blocked the nomination due to a criminal investigation into current Chair Jerome Powell, which he viewed as a threat to Fed independence. The Justice Department has since dropped the investigation. Warsh, who has broad Republican support, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate in time for Powell’s term expiration on May 15. If confirmed, Warsh has signaled significant policy changes, including abolishing the "dot plot" of interest rate projections and reevaluating the Fed’s forward guidance framework. These changes could fundamentally alter the market’s pricing mechanisms for stocks, bonds, and currencies. Although the criminal case against Powell is closed, uncertainty remains as he retains his board seat until 2028. President Trump has not fully endorsed Powell, citing an ongoing review of Fed renovation spending. Warsh’s potential reforms target the communication tools developed post-2008, which have become foundational to global asset pricing.

marsbitHace 5 min(s)

Key Lawmaker 'Relents', Wash's Biggest Obstacle to Assuming Fed Chair on May 15 Cleared

marsbitHace 5 min(s)

Lowering Expectations for BTC's Next Bull Market

The author, Alex Xu, explains his decision to significantly reduce his Bitcoin holdings (from full to ~30% of his portfolio) during the current bull cycle, citing a lowered long-term outlook for BTC's price appreciation in the next cycle. He outlines six key reasons for this reduced expectation: 1. **Diminished Growth Drivers:** The narrative of exponential user adoption has largely played out with institutional ETF adoption. The next major growth phase—adoption by sovereign national reserves or central banks—seems unlikely in the near future. 2. **Personal Opportunity Cost:** More attractive investment opportunities have emerged in other assets, such as undervalued companies. 3. **Industry-Wide Contraction:** The broader crypto industry is struggling, with most Web3 business models (SocialFi, GameFi, DePIN) failing. This overall萧条 (depression) reduces the fundamental demand and consensus for Bitcoin. 4. **Strain on Major Buyer:** MicroStrategy, a major corporate buyer of BTC, faces rising financing expenses for its debt, which could slow its purchasing rate and create significant marginal pressure on the market. 5. **Increased Competition from Gold:** The emergence of "tokenized gold" has closed the functional gap (portability, divisibility) between physical gold and Bitcoin, offering a strong competitor in the non-sovereign store-of-value space. 6. **Security Budget Concerns:** The block reward halving continues to exacerbate the long-standing issue of funding Bitcoin's network security, with new fee source explorations like Ordinals and L2s largely failing. The author's decision to hold a significant (though reduced) position reflects a cautious, not bearish, outlook. He remains open to increasing his exposure if the fundamental reasons for his skepticism change or if new positive catalysts emerge.

marsbitHace 19 min(s)

Lowering Expectations for BTC's Next Bull Market

marsbitHace 19 min(s)

Prediction Markets Cannot Exist Without Insider Trading, But Insider Trading Is Killing Them

Prediction markets face a fundamental contradiction: they rely on insider trading to generate accurate prices, yet this same activity erodes public trust and threatens their survival. Recent scandals, such as a U.S. special forces member making $400,000 on Polymarket using classified information about a raid, highlight the severity of the issue. While platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi market themselves as venues where "everyone is an expert" and encourage informed trading, they also enforce policies against illegal insider trading. The core dilemma is that these markets depend on informed insiders for price efficiency but require uninformed retail participants to provide liquidity. If insider trading is too rampant, retail traders leave, perceiving the market as unfair. If restrictions are too strict, valuable information flow dries up, reducing the market’s predictive utility. The challenge is finding a balance that maintains both accuracy and perceived fairness—a task complicated by regulatory pressures and recurring scandals.

marsbitHace 25 min(s)

Prediction Markets Cannot Exist Without Insider Trading, But Insider Trading Is Killing Them

marsbitHace 25 min(s)

Can Iran 'Control' the Strait of Hormuz?

Iran has announced a comprehensive plan to assert control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping chokepoint. The proposed measures include requiring all vessels to obtain Iranian permission for passage, imposing fees for security, environmental protection, and navigation management—preferably paid in Iranian rials—and absolutely banning Israeli ships. Vessels from countries deemed hostile by Iran’s top security bodies may also be barred. Analysts suggest Iran’s motives are multifaceted: increasing pressure on the U.S. and Israel by leveraging control over oil transit to influence global prices and inflation; creating a new revenue stream, potentially exceeding $7.7 billion annually, to counter Western sanctions and support postwar reconstruction; and using transit permissions as bargaining chips in future negotiations, notably with the U.S. However, the plan faces significant practical and diplomatic challenges. Enforcing comprehensive interception and fee collection in the busy waterway, patrolled by international military forces, would be difficult. The U.S. has already countering with a blockade of Iranian ports and threats to intercept any ship paying fees, potentially strangling Iran’s oil exports and fee revenue. Broad international opposition, led by European and Gulf states, and legal controversies further complicate implementation. The proposal may ultimately serve more as a negotiating tactic than a feasible policy, with its execution remaining highly uncertain.

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Can Iran 'Control' the Strait of Hormuz?

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Vertically Integrated Capital Aggregators: How Does Web3 Build an Impregnable Moat?

"Vertical Integration Capital Aggregators: How Web3 Builds Unbreachable Moats" explores how leading Web3 protocols create competitive advantages by vertically integrating multiple ecosystem components. Unlike Web2 aggregators that focus on user demand or supplier commoditization, successful Web3 entities like Hyperliquid aggregate capital, liquidity, users, and distribution into a unified financial ecosystem. This integration allows for efficient capital deployment—Hyperliquid generates $0.30 in fees per $1 of TVL annually, compared to Aave's $0.05—while creating a defensible moat that is difficult to replicate across six simultaneous fronts. However, this model comes with risks: DeFi loses $0.50 to hacks for every $1 earned, pushing protocols toward partial centralization and closed systems for security and scalability. The token serves as a shared incentive layer, aligning stakeholders and driving value through mechanisms like buybacks. The article concludes that vertical integration, not capital itself, is the true moat, and that the industry is evolving toward pragmatic, partially centralized models to ensure economic growth and sustainability.

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Vertically Integrated Capital Aggregators: How Does Web3 Build an Impregnable Moat?

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Trading

Spot

Futuros