The total market capitalization of global stablecoins has exceeded $320 billion: a new competitive landscape with USDT and USDC dominance

The global market capitalization of stablecoins officially surpassed the $320 billion mark in May 2026. This figure reflects not only the accumulation of funds in the crypto market but also the evolution of stablecoins—from a "trading tool" to "digital infrastructure." The continuous growth in market capitalization indicates that their fundamental role in on-chain settlements, cross-border payments, decentralized finance (DeFi), and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is becoming even stronger. Unlike the previous cycle, the current growth is not driven by demand for a specific trading function: it is simultaneously supported by structural factors such as deployment across multiple networks, the entry of institutional players, and yield-bearing stablecoins. After surpassing the $320 billion mark, the market focus has shifted from "can growth continue" to "how healthy is the growth structure and how will the competitive environment change."