USDC Surpasses $100 Trillion in On-Chain Volume

USDC, Circle's stablecoin, has hit a major milestone in its growth trajectory. The cumulative on-chain transaction volume of USDC has surpassed $100 trillion, outpacing the US GDP of $28 trillion. This significant achievement reflects the rapid expansion of DeFi activity on Base and Ethereum, with USDC accounting for 77% of stablecoin market volume in 2026.

One key factor contributing to USDC's success is its high transaction velocity, which stands at 741 times per dollar annually. In contrast, USDT's transaction velocity is a relatively slow 74 times per dollar. This disparity highlights the crucial role that USDC plays in automated DeFi operations such as flash loans and liquidity rebalancing.

Interestingly, despite its massive on-chain volume, Circle earns most of its revenue from interest on reserves rather than transaction fees. As a result, its income is sensitive to changes in interest rates, rather than the sheer volume of transactions.