[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  Dunky [@Dunk287](/creator/twitter/Dunk287) on x XXX followers Created: 2025-06-27 03:32:48 UTC Two industry titans - but what's the difference? (USDT vs USDC) Current Landscape 🏞️ Stablecoins are gaining the recognition they deserve. They transgress the worldview of the cryptocurrency market, "its too volatile and everything's a scam". While recently this has proven mostly true, stablecoins have accelerated ahead of this backdrop. No more arguing if crypto has a use case, the banks and governments across the world are in agreement. Stablecoins are an innovation on traditional finance systems, offering speed and accessibility with the safety of fiat currency. In a market flooded with digital dollar alternatives and expanding to represent other currencies, which stablecoin do we choose? The landscape is becoming increasingly crowded as organisations and banks rush to develop their own stablecoin alternative. Each seeking control and revenue, following the success of the industry titans: USDT and USDC. But what makes these such a dominant force and how do you decide between the two? Tethers (USDT) Overview • USDT was launched in 2014, originally as Realcoin but was soon rebranded to Tether (USDT) • $XXX billion marketcap • $XXXX billion XX day increase in supply • Fiat-backed stablecoin • Reserves: Majority held in cash and cash equivalents (mostly being treasuries), the rest is in BTC, Gold, secured loans and other investments • $XX billion in profits for 2024 • Most popular chain is Tron with $XX billion USDT, Ethereum in close second with $XX billion USDT Circles (USDC) Overview • USDC was launched in 2018 • $XX billion marketcap • $XXXX billion XX day increase in supply • Fiat-backed stablecoin • Reserves: Majority held in Circles Reserve funds (made up of US treasuries and Overnight treasury repos), the rest is in cash held at regulated banks • $XXXX billion in profits for 2024 • Most popular chain is Ethereum with $XX billion USDC, Solana second with $XXX billion USDC Regulatory Compliance 👮‍♂️ This is where Tether and Circle differ significantly. They have taken two different approaches to regulation each with there own benefits: Tether (USDT): USDT’s compliance stance is deliberately light touch. The issuing entities are registered offshore (originally in the British Virgin Islands and since 2025 also licensed in El Salvador), so they avoid the bank style supervision that the US or EU would impose. Instead of a full GAAP audit, Tether releases quarterly attestations to show that reserves exceed liabilities. The benefits are manifold, to sum it up: speed, reach, and profit. With fewer licences to obtain and no rolling audit cycle, Tether can mint new tokens quickly, plug into low fee networks like TRON (Soon Plasma), and service markets that lack robust banking rails. From Argentine freelancers to Nigerian merchants. That accessibility channels most of the world’s crypto to crypto liquidity through USDT, which in turn attracts more exchanges and payment apps. Lower compliance overhead also frees up cash: Tether can park a larger share of its reserves in high yield treasuries or Bitcoin, generating billions in interest that it reinvests in new products and ecosystem incentives. Circle (USDC): USDC follows a regulation first playbook. Circle operates as a US Money Services Business registered with FinCEN and holds money transmitter licences in dozens of states, alongside comparable approvals in Canada, the UK and Singapore. It publishes independent, reserve attestations every month and keeps the backing almost entirely in cash and short term US Treasuries that sit at regulated custodial banks. In 2024 Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer formally authorised under the EU’s MiCA regime and in June 2025 they had their now notorious IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. This IPO would have been difficult without the regulatory compliance they have in place. The benefits are mainly trust and transparency. This approach is also why their growth is slower than USDT's. However, this heavy compliance stance gives Circle premium market access. Banks, card networks and large fintechs can plug USDC into their rails without worrying, the coin powers payments for firms such as Stripe, Robinhood and most recently Fiserv. USDC trades growth for tight audits and regulation, giving institutions a 'safe' stablecoin option. They can move large amounts with low compliance friction making it the go to for fully regulated channels. Adoption 👶 Per @stablewatchHQ's data the overall marketcap of stablecoins as a whole grew from $XXX billion to $XXX billion during the year 2024. (Check out Stable Watches website, they have great data for stablecoins and they've visualised it well. Also partnered with @PlasmaFDN) The majority of this growth can be attributed to Tethers USDT. This grew from $XX Billion to $XXX Billion. USDC grew from $XX Billion to $XX Billion. Which is a larger percentage growth. USDT's largest impact is on emerging markets and those with a destabilised, hyper inflatory native currencies. There's $XX billion of USDT living on the TRON network powering millions of micropayments a day across Africa, Asia and Latin America. USDT can help stabilise these economies and has already made massive impacts in countries like Nigeria. Here's an extract from @CryptoHayes's latest stablecoin substack article: "I was speaking with a board member of a large bank recently about stablecoins and they said “we are fucked”. They believed that stablecoins are unstoppable and offered the situation in Nigeria as proof of that. I was not aware of the degree to which USDT penetrated that country, but they told me that ⅓ of Nigerian GDP is conducted in USDT even after very serious attempts by the central bank to ban crypto." @paoloardoino posted this image displaying products for sale denominated in USDT in Bolivia 🤯 This is real world adoption and this is just the beginning. @PlasmaFDN network would allow customers to buy products within this store with X fee. This could make it a real option for other stores in the same situation. Their customers would no longer have to pay the excessive fees on the Tron network or any fees with a credit card for that matter. Visa has processed more than $XXX million in USDC settlements and in June 2025, expanded the programme to new banks and to Solana. Stripe and Shopify will let millions of merchants in XX countries accept USDC at checkout, turning the coin into a retail online payment option. Robinhood’s XX million EU users gained native USDC support in late 2024, expanding stablecoin access to normie investors. These comparatively show the worldwide effects of USDT vs the institutional adoption of USDC. The GENIUS act and what's Next? 🤔 The GENIUS act bill was passed recently and has established some clear guidelines for stablecoin issuers going forward. Tether’s flagship USDT is issued from the British Virgin Islands and El Salvador. Under the GENIUS act that makes it a foreign token. It's possible to get around this but drastic changes would need to be made. Instead Paolo Ardoino says Tether will launch a separate, fully cash backed USDT-G token, specifically for the US market while leaving legacy USDT to serve emerging markets. Circle is already doing much of what the bill demands. There are few steps required for Circle to meet the requirements of the new bill. So it will be an easy transition for them. Tether is branching out into other market sectors such as bitcoin mining. They also have been increasing their investments using the large profits they accrue. As for their stablecoin business they will continue to onboard emerging markets using legacy USDT. They've recently launched an omnichain USDT0, this will increase on chain adoption and make for an easier UX. They will also develop their GENIUS compliant stablecoin in order for them to reach all available markets. Tether is covering all areas and continuously expanding. The June 2025 CRCL IPO raised about $X billion. Though it is unclear what they will invest into. It is clear they will continue to push for being the regulatory compliant stablecoin and try to capture more institutional flows. The GENIUS act has positioned them well for the future. In conclusion We used to argue about which layer X would win. 'The next Eth killer', turns out multiple chains can co-exist. It's the same with stablecoins. USDT and USDC both serve a unique purpose and will continue to capture the value in their respective areas. They will both continue to increase in marketcap and the overall stablecoin marketcap will reach the trillions. I'll explain USDT vs USDC in UFC terms. USDT is the peoples champ (Tom Aspinal) and USDC is the company man (Jon Jones). Though the institutions and regulators like to call USDC the king, the people know who's the real king, USDT. In this case it has the marketcap to show for it. Trillions  XXXXX engagements  **Related Topics** [cryptocurrency](/topic/cryptocurrency) [stablecoins](/topic/stablecoins) [usdt](/topic/usdt) [usdc](/topic/usdc) [coins made in usa](/topic/coins-made-in-usa) [coins bsc](/topic/coins-bsc) [coins stablecoin](/topic/coins-stablecoin) [coins solana ecosystem](/topic/coins-solana-ecosystem) [Post Link](https://x.com/Dunk287/status/1938440349812175284)
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Dunky @Dunk287 on x XXX followers
Created: 2025-06-27 03:32:48 UTC
Two industry titans - but what's the difference? (USDT vs USDC)
Current Landscape 🏞️
Stablecoins are gaining the recognition they deserve. They transgress the worldview of the cryptocurrency market, "its too volatile and everything's a scam". While recently this has proven mostly true, stablecoins have accelerated ahead of this backdrop. No more arguing if crypto has a use case, the banks and governments across the world are in agreement. Stablecoins are an innovation on traditional finance systems, offering speed and accessibility with the safety of fiat currency.
In a market flooded with digital dollar alternatives and expanding to represent other currencies, which stablecoin do we choose? The landscape is becoming increasingly crowded as organisations and banks rush to develop their own stablecoin alternative. Each seeking control and revenue, following the success of the industry titans: USDT and USDC. But what makes these such a dominant force and how do you decide between the two?
Tethers (USDT) Overview
• USDT was launched in 2014, originally as Realcoin but was soon rebranded to Tether (USDT)
• $XXX billion marketcap
• $XXXX billion XX day increase in supply
• Fiat-backed stablecoin
• Reserves: Majority held in cash and cash equivalents (mostly being treasuries), the rest is in BTC, Gold, secured loans and other investments
• $XX billion in profits for 2024
• Most popular chain is Tron with $XX billion USDT, Ethereum in close second with $XX billion USDT
Circles (USDC) Overview
• USDC was launched in 2018
• $XX billion marketcap
• $XXXX billion XX day increase in supply
• Fiat-backed stablecoin
• Reserves: Majority held in Circles Reserve funds (made up of US treasuries and Overnight treasury repos), the rest is in cash held at regulated banks
• $XXXX billion in profits for 2024
• Most popular chain is Ethereum with $XX billion USDC, Solana second with $XXX billion USDC
Regulatory Compliance 👮‍♂️
This is where Tether and Circle differ significantly. They have taken two different approaches to regulation each with there own benefits:
Tether (USDT):
USDT’s compliance stance is deliberately light touch. The issuing entities are registered offshore (originally in the British Virgin Islands and since 2025 also licensed in El Salvador), so they avoid the bank style supervision that the US or EU would impose.
Instead of a full GAAP audit, Tether releases quarterly attestations to show that reserves exceed liabilities.
The benefits are manifold, to sum it up: speed, reach, and profit. With fewer licences to obtain and no rolling audit cycle, Tether can mint new tokens quickly, plug into low fee networks like TRON (Soon Plasma), and service markets that lack robust banking rails. From Argentine freelancers to Nigerian merchants. That accessibility channels most of the world’s crypto to crypto liquidity through USDT, which in turn attracts more exchanges and payment apps.
Lower compliance overhead also frees up cash: Tether can park a larger share of its reserves in high yield treasuries or Bitcoin, generating billions in interest that it reinvests in new products and ecosystem incentives.
Circle (USDC):
USDC follows a regulation first playbook. Circle operates as a US Money Services Business registered with FinCEN and holds money transmitter licences in dozens of states, alongside comparable approvals in Canada, the UK and Singapore.
It publishes independent, reserve attestations every month and keeps the backing almost entirely in cash and short term US Treasuries that sit at regulated custodial banks.
In 2024 Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer formally authorised under the EU’s MiCA regime and in June 2025 they had their now notorious IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. This IPO would have been difficult without the regulatory compliance they have in place.
The benefits are mainly trust and transparency. This approach is also why their growth is slower than USDT's. However, this heavy compliance stance gives Circle premium market access. Banks, card networks and large fintechs can plug USDC into their rails without worrying, the coin powers payments for firms such as Stripe, Robinhood and most recently Fiserv.
USDC trades growth for tight audits and regulation, giving institutions a 'safe' stablecoin option. They can move large amounts with low compliance friction making it the go to for fully regulated channels.
Adoption 👶
Per @stablewatchHQ's data the overall marketcap of stablecoins as a whole grew from $XXX billion to $XXX billion during the year 2024.
(Check out Stable Watches website, they have great data for stablecoins and they've visualised it well. Also partnered with @PlasmaFDN)
The majority of this growth can be attributed to Tethers USDT. This grew from $XX Billion to $XXX Billion.
USDC grew from $XX Billion to $XX Billion. Which is a larger percentage growth.
USDT's largest impact is on emerging markets and those with a destabilised, hyper inflatory native currencies. There's $XX billion of USDT living on the TRON network powering millions of micropayments a day across Africa, Asia and Latin America. USDT can help stabilise these economies and has already made massive impacts in countries like Nigeria. Here's an extract from @CryptoHayes's latest stablecoin substack article:
"I was speaking with a board member of a large bank recently about stablecoins and they said “we are fucked”. They believed that stablecoins are unstoppable and offered the situation in Nigeria as proof of that. I was not aware of the degree to which USDT penetrated that country, but they told me that ⅓ of Nigerian GDP is conducted in USDT even after very serious attempts by the central bank to ban crypto."
@paoloardoino posted this image displaying products for sale denominated in USDT in Bolivia 🤯
This is real world adoption and this is just the beginning. @PlasmaFDN network would allow customers to buy products within this store with X fee. This could make it a real option for other stores in the same situation. Their customers would no longer have to pay the excessive fees on the Tron network or any fees with a credit card for that matter.
Visa has processed more than $XXX million in USDC settlements and in June 2025, expanded the programme to new banks and to Solana.
Stripe and Shopify will let millions of merchants in XX countries accept USDC at checkout, turning the coin into a retail online payment option.
Robinhood’s XX million EU users gained native USDC support in late 2024, expanding stablecoin access to normie investors.
These comparatively show the worldwide effects of USDT vs the institutional adoption of USDC.
The GENIUS act and what's Next? 🤔
The GENIUS act bill was passed recently and has established some clear guidelines for stablecoin issuers going forward.
Tether’s flagship USDT is issued from the British Virgin Islands and El Salvador. Under the GENIUS act that makes it a foreign token. It's possible to get around this but drastic changes would need to be made. Instead Paolo Ardoino says Tether will launch a separate, fully cash backed USDT-G token, specifically for the US market while leaving legacy USDT to serve emerging markets.
Circle is already doing much of what the bill demands. There are few steps required for Circle to meet the requirements of the new bill. So it will be an easy transition for them.
Tether is branching out into other market sectors such as bitcoin mining. They also have been increasing their investments using the large profits they accrue. As for their stablecoin business they will continue to onboard emerging markets using legacy USDT. They've recently launched an omnichain USDT0, this will increase on chain adoption and make for an easier UX. They will also develop their GENIUS compliant stablecoin in order for them to reach all available markets. Tether is covering all areas and continuously expanding.
The June 2025 CRCL IPO raised about $X billion. Though it is unclear what they will invest into. It is clear they will continue to push for being the regulatory compliant stablecoin and try to capture more institutional flows. The GENIUS act has positioned them well for the future.
In conclusion
We used to argue about which layer X would win. 'The next Eth killer', turns out multiple chains can co-exist. It's the same with stablecoins. USDT and USDC both serve a unique purpose and will continue to capture the value in their respective areas. They will both continue to increase in marketcap and the overall stablecoin marketcap will reach the trillions.
I'll explain USDT vs USDC in UFC terms. USDT is the peoples champ (Tom Aspinal) and USDC is the company man (Jon Jones). Though the institutions and regulators like to call USDC the king, the people know who's the real king, USDT. In this case it has the marketcap to show for it.
Trillions
XXXXX engagements
Related Topics cryptocurrency stablecoins usdt usdc coins made in usa coins bsc coins stablecoin coins solana ecosystem