[Research] Total Stablecoin Market Contracts for First Time in 2 Years

November marked a turning point for the stablecoin sector, with total market capitalization contracting 1.48% to $303B — on trend to end a twenty-six-month growth streak. Amidst weakening digital asset prices and liquidity outflows. This $4.54B contraction marks the steepest monthly drop since the collapse of FTX in November 2022.

Stablecoin Market Contracts for First Time in 2 Years: The total stablecoin market fell by $4.54B (-1.48%) to $303B, ending a 26-month growth streak. This marks the sharpest monthly decline since the FTX collapse in November 2022, driven by a broader withdrawal of capital as Bitcoin and other assets sank to new range lows.
Tether Consolidates Dominance Amidst Competitor Outflows: While the broader sector shrank, USDT grew 0.56% to $184B (its 27th consecutive month of growth), pushing its market dominance to a multi-month high of 60.9%. This contrasts sharply with USDC and USDe, which suffered outflows of $2.05B (-2.71%) and $2.15B (-22.5%) respectively.
RLUSD Defies Downtrend to Hit $1B Milestone: Ripple's RLUSD surged 27.3% to reach a record $1.16B market cap, becoming the 22nd stablecoin to cross the $1 billion threshold. Supply is currently split between Ethereum (80%) and the XRP Ledger (20%) as Ripple expands partnerships for fiat settlement.
Euro-Pegged Market Hits 3-Year High: Driven by Circle's EURC rising 14.0% to a record $312M, the total euro stablecoin market climbed to $638M—its highest level since March 2022. EURC now commands nearly half (48.9%) of this segment, supported by record trading volumes on centralized exchanges.

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Stablecoin Market Contracts for First Time in 2 Years

In November, the total stablecoin market capitalization fell 1.48% to $303B (as of Nov 24), putting the sector on track for its first monthly decline in 26 months. The $4.54B contraction marks the steepest monthly drop since November 2022, when the market was hit by the collapse of FTX

Despite Tether extending its impressive twenty-seven-month streak of market cap growth, significant outflows from USDC and USDe - down $2.05B and $2.15B, respectively - more than offset USDT's gains. The combination of stablecoin outflows and weakening digital asset prices suggests a broader withdrawal of liquidity and capital from the crypto markets.

Tether Continues to Dominate Stablecoin Trading

As of November 24, trading volumes for stablecoin pairs on centralized exchanges reached $1.48T. Activity this month is on trend to register a lower monthly trading volume compared to the previous month with digital assets continuing to sell-off amidst uncertainty in the market.

Tether (USDT) maintained its dominance, accounting for 75.8% of total stablecoin trading volume on centralized exchanges. USD Coin (USDC) and First Digital USD (FDUSD) followed, capturing market shares of 15.2% and 7.88%, respectively.

Peg Deviation: xUSD, deUSD and USDX

On Nov 4, Stream Finance (xUSD), which used high-leverage "Delta-Neutral" strategies, disclosed a $93 Million operational loss and froze withdrawals. The resulting loss of collateral broke the peg for its synthetic stablecoin (xUSD) to <$0.30. The contagion immediately spread, causing Elixir (deUSD) to collapse to near-zero (<$0.02) because 65% of its backing was debt owed by Stream.

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