Stablecoins came back to life this week, with $823.09 million leaving the sector over the past seven days, pushing the total down by 0.27%. The hardest hit was BlackRock’s BUIDL, which fell 6.22% and fell from the top 10 stablecoins by market capitalization to 12th place.
A small number of stablecoins play musical chairs
At the time of writing on Saturday, December 20, 2025, the stablecoin sector remains just short of the $310 billion threshold, reaching $309.294 billion, according to statistics from defillama.com. Tether (USDT) continues to hold the top spot in terms of market capitalization, with $186.288 billion, accounting for 60.23% of the total. USDT barely rose 0.01% for the week, adding another $14.68 million.
Circle USDC took a step back this week, shedding $1.311 billion in valuation, resulting in a 1.67% market cap decline. As of December 20, USDC’s market capitalization was $77.109 billion. Sky (formerly MakerDAO) and its stablecoin USDS rose 1.11% this week, adding $71.47 million to its coffers. Etena’s USDe, which had been struggling with weekly declines, took another hit with a 1.41% decline as $91.91 million fell off its market capitalization.
Total stablecoin market valuation for Saturday, December 20, 2025 (via defillama.com).
Currently, the market capitalization of USDS is $6.53 billion, while USDe is $6.433 billion, and Ethena’s token has fallen to fourth place. Sky’s legacy DAI token fell 1.28% this week, losing $59.35 million, leaving the DAI market worth $4.576 billion in fifth place. Paypal’s PYUSD moved in the opposite direction, rising 0.22% to add $8.66 million, lifting its market cap to $3.872 billion and securing sixth place.
7th place belongs to World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin, a DeFi project backed by the Trump family. Approximately $4.4 million has flowed into USD1 this week, pushing it up 0.16% to a market capitalization of $2.788 billion. Falcon Finance’s USDf checked in at $2.108 billion after a modest 0.09% rise over the past seven days, while Circle’s USDY rose 5.09% this week to move into ninth place. Similar to Blackrock’s BUIDL, USDY is a Treasury-backed stablecoin.
USDY’s market capitalization increased to $1.415 billion following an inflow of $68.53 million in new capital. Holding the 10th slot in the third week of December was Ripple’s RLUSD, which rose 3.21% to $42.2 million, bringing its total valuation to $1.359 billion. Global Dollar (USDG) managed to maintain its 11th place after gaining 5.79% this week, adding $69.76 million to its assets, rising to $1.274 billion as of December 20th.
Also read: Bitcoin consolidates near $88,000 as traders take on technical calculations
Then there is BUIDL, a BlackRock Treasury-backed stablecoin issued by Securitize. BUIDL, like Ethena’s USDe, has endured a long period of capital outflows. Over the past week, BUIDL has fallen 6.22%, cutting $82.16 million from its current market cap of $1.239 billion. About 56 days ago, on October 25th, BUIDL was valued at $2.688 billion, and since then, $1.449 billion has quietly come out.
Overall, the week has been more of a lull than a panic, with funds moving between issuers rather than heading for exits. The top of the table held its position firmly and the middle continued to swap seats, with Treasury-backed tokens yielding varying results depending on who was at the helm. As December draws to a close, the stablecoin market appears content to stand still, quietly separating momentum plays from the rest of the pack.
Frequently asked questions 🪑
- Why did the stablecoin market fall this week?The sector saw $829.09 million outflows in seven days as funds were rotated among major issuers rather than exiting crypto completely.
- What is the current size of the stablecoin market?As of December 20, the global stablecoin market was worth $309.294 billion, just under $310 billion.
- Which stablecoin lost the most ground this week?BlackRock’s BUIDL and Circle’s USDC posted the week’s biggest declines in market capitalization.
- Which stablecoins have profited this week?USDS, PYUSD, USDY, RLUSD, USDG, and USD1 all recorded small weekly increases in market value.
