Stablecoin Industry Report: Market Performance, Risk Landscape, and Development Trends

Recently, a comprehensive report on the stablecoin industry was released, providing an in-depth analysis of the performance, risk status, regulatory progress, and future development trends of the stablecoin market in the first half of 2025.

The report points out that stablecoins are rapidly integrating into the mainstream financial system. In the first half of 2025, the global total supply of stablecoins exceeded $250 billion, with a monthly settlement volume growth of 43%, reaching $1.4 trillion. As traditional financial institutions and large enterprises increase their acceptance of stablecoins, their strategic position continues to rise. At the same time, as regulatory policies gradually take effect, compliance and security risks are increasingly being highlighted, and the market landscape is showing a trend of accelerated differentiation.

The market is growing strongly, with various stablecoins performing outstandingly.

In the first half of 2025, the stablecoin market continues to expand, with a total supply reaching $252 billion and a monthly settlement volume growth of 43%. User activity significantly increases, with the total number of holding addresses exceeding 120 million (as of the third quarter of 2024). A well-known stablecoin remains the most widely held stablecoin, with the number of addresses exceeding 5.8 million, approximately 2.6 times that of another major competitor.

The report is based on a professional stablecoin rating framework and systematically evaluates various mainstream stablecoins from six dimensions: "operational resilience", "governance capability", "code security", and more. Among them, several major stablecoins have demonstrated outstanding performance in security, market dynamics, and compliance adaptation, ranking high on the scoring list. Notably, a certain stablecoin has seen its market value surge to $61 billion thanks to its EU MiCA license and successful listing, making it the fastest-growing mainstream stablecoin. Another stablecoin issued by a payment giant has doubled its market value in a short period by integrating with a certain public blockchain network and launching a token reward program. Additionally, an emerging stablecoin has maintained zero security incidents since its launch, establishing its market positioning due to its security and reliability in institutional-level application scenarios.

High incidence of operational errors, new stablecoins introduce new risks

In the first half of 2025, the risk patterns faced by the stablecoin industry are undergoing significant changes. A total of 344 security incidents occurred in the overall cryptocurrency market, with cumulative losses reaching as high as $2.47 billion, setting a new historical record. Among these, operational errors represented by the private key leak of a certain trading platform have become the primary source of losses, with a single incident causing a loss of as much as $1.5 billion. Compared to traditional smart contract vulnerabilities, attackers are gradually shifting their focus to the operational infrastructure of centralized platforms.

The report also warns that stablecoins are becoming the primary tool for some hackers to launder money, with certain public chain networks being the preferred choice due to their low transaction fees and high liquidity. Although the proportion of such transactions has decreased in the overall trading volume, the absolute amount still reaches hundreds of billions of dollars, posing significant compliance risks. In March 2025, a certain exchange was shut down, marking a significant event in the strengthened regulatory scrutiny of such compliance.

Regulatory Implementation Reshapes Market Landscape, Stablecoins Accelerate Integration into Mainstream Financial System

With the progress of relevant bills in the U.S. Congress and the full implementation of the EU MiCA regulations, regulation has become a key force in reshaping the stablecoin landscape. Compliance pressures are leading to increased market differentiation: institutional projects with licenses and transparent reserves are gaining higher market trust, while issuers that have not yet completed compliance are gradually being marginalized by mainstream trading platforms.

In addition, traditional financial institutions and large enterprises actively piloted stablecoin services in the first half of the year. A certain French bank launched a dollar stablecoin based on Ethereum and Solana, becoming the first large bank to introduce a compliant dollar stablecoin; American Bank, a certain Spanish bank, and other institutions are also promoting related project development, some of which have entered the regulatory approval stage.

Outlook: A New Wave of Innovation in Stablecoins

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the report predicts that RWA-backed and yield-bearing stablecoins will become the main line of innovation, expected to account for 8% to 10% of the over $300 billion market by the end of the year. RWA-backed stablecoins, by anchoring off-chain assets such as government bonds, align closely with the regulatory trend of stabilizing stablecoins in major global economies; meanwhile, yield-bearing stablecoins, with their "on-chain version of money market funds" attributes, are attracting investors seeking stable returns, particularly gaining attention from institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.

However, while such models bring new application value, they also introduce more complex counterparty risks and strategic risks. In this regard, the report emphasizes that rigorous risk management, transparent operational mechanisms, and a proactive compliance stance will be key to the long-term sustainable development of stablecoin projects.