Tether Q4 2025 Report: USDT Market Cap Nears 190 Billion, Multiple Metrics Reach New Highs

Original Title: USDT Q4 2025 Market Report

Original Source: Philip Gradwell, Vice President of Economics at Tether

Original Compilation: Saoirse, Foresight News

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

· Market capitalization reached $187.3 billion;

· Achieved over 30 million user growth for the eighth consecutive quarter;

· The number of on-chain wallets holding USDT saw the largest quarterly increase;

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

· Both the number of on-chain transfers and the transfer value hit historical records.

At the same time, the cryptocurrency liquidation chain reaction that occurred on October 10, 2025, has caused the growth rate of the stablecoin ecosystem to lag behind previous levels. From October 10, 2025, to February 1, 2026, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell by more than one-third, while during this period, the market capitalization of USDT grew by 3.5%; in contrast, the market capitalizations of the second and third largest stablecoins fell by 2.6% and 57%, respectively.

The continued growth of USDT relies not only on the cryptocurrency market but also on various application scenarios outside the market. Data clearly shows that users tend to use USDT as a stablecoin for both wealth storage and transactions.

These conclusions are primarily based on Tether's analysis of blockchain data (also known as on-chain data). The on-chain data of 75 stablecoins across 15 blockchains comes from two institutions, Chainalysis and Artemis.

Market Capitalization

In the fourth quarter of 2025, USDT's market capitalization increased by $12.4 billion, reaching $187.3 billion. The month-on-month growth rate in October was 4.9%, but its growth rate slowed after the cryptocurrency liquidation wave on October 10.

Reserves

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Tether's total reserves increased by $11.7 billion, reaching $192.9 billion, with net assets (the portion where assets exceed liabilities) amounting to $6.3 billion. Total reserves include 96,184 bitcoins (with an addition of 9,850 bitcoins in the fourth quarter) and 127.5 metric tons of gold (with an addition of 21.9 metric tons in the fourth quarter).

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

Throughout 2025, Tether increased its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds by a total of $28.2 billion. In the past 12 months, compared to the increases by other countries, Tether has become the seventh largest buyer of U.S. Treasury bonds, with purchases exceeding those of Taiwan and South Korea.

Total Users

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

On-Chain Holders

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of on-chain wallet users holding USDT increased by 14.7 million, totaling 139.1 million, setting a record for single-quarter growth. The number of wallets holding USDT accounted for 70.7% of all wallets holding stablecoins. In addition to on-chain wallet users, it is estimated that over 100 million users hold USDT on centralized service platforms such as exchanges.

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

· "Fully Savings" holders (wallet users who retain all USDT received) account for 30.8%;

· "Savings" holders (wallet users who retain an average of less than 100% but more than 2/3 of USDT received) account for 6.7%;

· "Transfer" holders (wallet users who retain an average of less than 2/3 of USDT received) account for 62.6%.

Compared to all other stablecoins, USDT has a higher proportion of "Savings" and "Fully Savings" holders (USDT at 37.5%, other stablecoins overall at 30%). Among all stablecoin savings wallets, 75.1% choose to hold USDT, indicating that USDT remains the preferred stablecoin for wealth storage among users.

On-Chain Active Users

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the monthly active on-chain users of USDT (wallet users who received USDT at least once within a 30-day rolling period) averaged 24.8 million, reaching an all-time high, indicating a continuous increase in user activity. This number accounts for 68.4% of the total monthly active users of all stablecoins.

Distribution of Holdings by Different User Types

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

The second highest holding proportion is from savings-type users, accounting for 33%, with "Fully Savings" users holding 17.4% and other "Savings" users holding 15.6%. In the fourth quarter, savings-type users' 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 savings-type users but also has the highest stored dollar value: among all stablecoins' savings values, USDT accounts for 59.9%; if wallets holding more than $10 million are excluded (these wallets are mostly cold wallets of exchanges), USDT's share rises to 77.3%.

"Transfer" users rank third in holding proportion, accounting for 26.5% at the end of the fourth quarter. This proportion remained relatively stable from the third to the fourth quarter, with "Transfer" users' holdings increasing by $2.2 billion, reflecting the continuous improvement of USDT's liquidity in transaction-related application scenarios.

It should be noted that the total holding scale reported here is slightly higher than USDT's market capitalization, as the total holdings include USDT that has not yet been issued from the Tether treasury, while the market capitalization only accounts for USDT in net circulation.

On-Chain Transfer Dollar Value

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the quarterly on-chain transfer dollar value of USDT increased by $248.6 billion, reaching $4.4 trillion, setting a historical high. Of this $4.4 trillion total transfer amount for the quarter, $2.8 trillion (63.6%) consisted of transfers involving only USDT, while $1.6 trillion (36.4%) involved transfers of multiple assets (these transfers typically occur in DeFi exchange scenarios).

In single-asset transfers involving stablecoins, USDT's value share is 65.9%; in multi-asset transfers involving stablecoins, USDT's value share is 34.6%. This data indicates that USDT remains the preferred stablecoin for value transfer among users, while other stablecoins are more often used for value exchange scenarios, with USDT frequently being the exchange target.

On-Chain Transfer Count

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the quarterly on-chain transfer count of USDT increased by 313.1 million, reaching 2.2 billion, setting a historical high. Of these 2.2 billion total transfers for the quarter:

· Transfers with amounts below $1,000 accounted for 1.94 billion, or 88.2%;

· Transfers with amounts between $1,000 and $100,000 accounted for 256 million, or 11.6%;

· Transfers with amounts exceeding $100,000 accounted for 4.6 million, or 0.2%.

Circulation Velocity

As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, the circulation velocity of USDT (the percentage of daily transfer amount to total holdings) calculated on a 7-day moving average was 18.2%. This value is lower than the peak of 51.8% on November 5 (driven by a surge in DeFi activity) and is similar to levels before the second quarter of 2025 (when Bitcoin prices were comparable to those in this quarter).

In the fourth quarter, USDT's average circulation velocity was 28%, significantly lower than the circulation velocity of the second largest stablecoin at 151%. USDT's relatively low circulation velocity indicates a stronger user base stickiness and higher stability, and as mentioned later, its application scenarios are also more diverse.

The circulation velocity of USDT naturally varies by application scenario: users holding USDT for savings purposes tend to have a lower circulation velocity (as they typically choose to hold rather than transfer). The circulation velocity for "Fully Savings" users is naturally 0, while the daily average circulation velocity for "Savings" users in 2025 was 4%.

The on-chain circulation velocity of centralized exchanges is also relatively low, with an average daily circulation velocity of 11% in 2025. This is because users holding USDT on exchanges may use it for both savings and trading—however, the next section will mention that trading volumes on exchanges are recorded on centralized order books rather than on the blockchain, so the amount of USDT transferred out of centralized exchanges via the blockchain is relatively low compared to the USDT holdings within the exchanges.

High circulation velocity application scenarios for USDT include:

· "Transfer" wallets: with a daily average circulation velocity of 51% in 2025, these wallets transfer USDT for various purposes, including payments, remittances, and transferring funds between different exchanges;

· DEX and DeFi platforms: with a daily average circulation velocity of 111% in 2025, these scenarios typically have very high circulation velocities, as DEX transactions are recorded on the blockchain, and users may conduct multiple transactions in a single day, ultimately leading to circulation velocities exceeding 100%.

Of USDT's market capitalization, 67% is distributed in low circulation velocity scenarios, while 33% is distributed in high circulation velocity scenarios. This distribution ensures stability through low circulation velocity scenarios while providing liquidity through high circulation velocity scenarios.

Spot Market

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the USDT spot trading volume on centralized exchanges was $3.2 trillion, with 96.5% quoted in USDT and the remainder quoted in other assets against USDT. Due to the impact of the cryptocurrency liquidation wave on October 10, trading volume decreased by 5.9% compared to the third quarter. However, since the trading volume of all other assets decreased by 11.5% compared to the third quarter, USDT's share of the total trading volume in the spot market actually increased by 1.5 percentage points, reaching 61.5%.

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

Conclusion

In the fourth quarter of 2025, USDT set multiple historical highs, although growth slowed after the cryptocurrency liquidation wave on October 10. However, data indicates that the cryptocurrency market is not the only driving force behind USDT's growth.

Compared to other stablecoins, users show a significantly higher preference for saving with USDT (among all stablecoin savings wallets, USDT accounts for 75%; among savings values in wallets holding less than $10 million, USDT accounts for 77%), providing a stable, low circulation velocity demand source for USDT.

In high circulation velocity transaction medium application scenarios, USDT also maintains a leading position: in single-asset transfer values involving stablecoins, USDT accounts for 65.9%; while in multi-asset transfer values involving stablecoins, USDT accounts for 34.6%. This phenomenon indicates that USDT remains the preferred stablecoin for value transfer among users, while other stablecoins are more often used for value exchange (with USDT frequently being the exchange target). These high circulation velocity application scenarios provide ample liquidity for USDT, ensuring its widespread availability and acceptance.