On Friday, analysts at Japanese multinational banking and investment firm Mizuho increased stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group’s (NYSE: CRCL) price target from $100 to $120, as the company’s flagship USDC coin surpassed Tether’s USDT in adjusted year-to-date volume.
2026 data show that USDC now accounts for 64% of total stablecoin trading volume, reversing a long-standing trend (2019-2025), where USDT dominated the adjusted volume metric. However, Tether’s offering remains the largest stablecoin and the most traded cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $184 billion, while USDC is the second-largest by market value at about $79 billion.
Stablecoin transaction activity reached a record $1.8 trillion in February 2026, marking the highest monthly transaction volume recorded across the digital asset class. USDC accounted for about 70% of that total.
Mizuho Analysts Say USDC has beaten USDT in Everyday Usage
According to Mizuho’s research note, “adjusted volume” is a measurement of activity across wallet addresses labeled as entities related to centralized (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX), or those that have not made more than 1,000 transactions, or 10 million in volume, in any 30 days.
Essentially, they are tracking transfers that look like a real person or institution actually moving money. The analysts noted that this could include companies paying suppliers, users betting on prediction markets, or funds that are being moved between a CEX and a DeFi protocol.
According to the 2026 trading data, USDC’s adjusted trading volume currently stands at approximately $2.2 trillion, representing about 64% of the total stablecoin trading volume. Meanwhile, USDT’s adjusted volume sits at $1.3 trillion for the same period.
Mizuho said Circle’s stablecoin is now being used more for payments than Tether’s, with USDC becoming a popular option for everyday, real-world applications. Of the $1.8 trillion transferred via stablecoins in February, USDC accounted for roughly $1.26 trillion – more than double the $514 billion recorded by USDT.
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham also reported that Circle minted more than $3 billion in USDC during the first week of March, including a $250 million issuance on Solana (SOL).
“We believe that in the long term, the stablecoin winner will be the one mostly used in everyday economic activity, rather than just the highest market cap. Looking at transaction volumes, we are encouraged to see USDC taking more share of the total pie,” the analysts said.
This dynamic can be attributed to the dramatic shift in the stablecoin space since 2019. Initially, USDT dominated trading volumes across all major cryptocurrency exchanges. However, regulatory scrutiny and transparency concerns led retail and, most importantly, institutional investors to turn to USDC, as Circle’s strategic partnerships and regulatory compliance instilled confidence in the stablecoin.
Circle Settles $68 Million in Intercompany Transactions Using USDC and Circle Mint
Meanwhile, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in an X post that the company settled $68 million in intercompany transactions across eight entities using USDC and Circle Mint – a platform for institutions such as exchanges, banks, and wallet providers to convert fiat currencies into USDC and EURC stablecoins directly, bypassing third-party intermediaries for lower costs and faster settlement.
According to Allaire, the transactions were completed in under 30 minutes, with the system operating continuously and replacing traditional fiat wire transfers, which take 1-3 business days to settle, with “always-on, near-instant settlement.” He claims the framework allows treasury teams to move funds around the clock, while maintaining approval controls and audit processes used in corporate finance.
“This is what the internet financial system looks like in practise. Not theory – operations,” Allaire added.
Circle’s USYC Surpasses BlackRock’s BUIDL to Become Largest Tokenized U.S. Treasury Fund,
Meanwhile, Circle has become the largest provider of tokenized U.S. Treasuries, beating investment giant BlackRock in the fast-growing market. According to RWA.xyz data, the company’s USYC token has expanded to about $2.2 billion in supply.
That growth has pushed USYC – a tokenized, yield-bearing fund share backed by short-term U.S. government assets – past BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which currently holds around $2 billion in assets. BUIDL’s market dominance shrank from a 46% peak in May 2025 to just 18% as competition in the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector heated up with new entrants.
Much of USYC’s recent expansion is linked to activity on the Binance Chain. Crypto exchange Binance introduced the token as off-exchange collateral for institutional derivatives trading. Under this structure, USYC can be held with partner banks through Binance Banking Triparty or with Ceffu – Binance’s institutional custody platform. Since its launch in July 2025, USYC supply on BNB has swelled to $1.84 billion.
“Tokenized treasuries and repo as collateral is a major emerging use case, and we are proud of how quickly this has grown,” Circle’s Jeremy Allaire said Friday in an X post.
Tokenized RWAs, such as Treasury bills and money-market funds, are gaining traction among crypto traders and institutional investors as yield-generating collateral and a tool to park their cash on-chain. Unlike traditional financial infrastructure, blockchain-based tokens allow for near-instant settlement, transparent reserves, and around-the-clock access.
The broader tokenized Treasury market is also booming, hitting a new peak of over $11 billion in assets, according to data from RWA.xyz. The sector added roughly $2.5 billion in market value since January 2026.
Circle Internet Group (CRCL) closed Friday’s session at $115.38 – up 1.02% on the day.
