Standard Chartered becomes first bank distributor of HKD stablecoin

Data: USDC leads USDT in stablecoin trading volume, with monthly trading volume hitting a new high.

According to Odaily from Visa's on-chain data platform, USDC has widened its lead over USDT in stablecoin trading volume in the first half of 2026. Data shows that adjusted stablecoin trading volume rose to $1.79 trillion in June, a 63% increase from May and a 125% increase from June 2025, setting a new record. Visa's statistics exclude non-real economic activities such as bot trading and internal exchange transfers. The total transaction volume of stablecoins reached $8.82 trillion in the first half of the year, exceeding the $5.8 trillion level for the whole of 2024, but still lower than the record $10.8 trillion in 2025. Structurally, USDC accounted for approximately 70% in the first half of 2026, while USDT accounted for approximately 25%, indicating a significant shift in market share towards compliant stablecoins. Analysis indicates that as banks and institutions increasingly use stablecoins for settlement and fund management, including institutions like Standard Chartered and BNY Mellon accelerating their integration into the USDC ecosystem, the stablecoin infrastructure is entering a phase of institutional expansion. (CoinDesk)