A surge of stablecoin transactions marked May as a standout month for the crypto sector. It moved beyond mere token swaps, with many people and services turning to dollar-pegged coins for moving value. Activity hit fresh highs, hinting that stablecoins are now the main channel for on-chain payments.
According to Artemis data, more than 33 million wallets sent or received stablecoins during May, a significant jump compared to earlier months. This indicates that more individuals are leaning on these digital dollars than on native tokens. Many traders, DeFi users, and everyday people utilized stablecoins to keep their funds tied to the US dollar. This wave of usage also coincided with the wider market showing signs of life, with prices slowly rising and confidence climbing.
Based on reports, BNB Smart Chain counted over 10 million active wallets for stablecoin moves early in May, with TRON coming very close at a little over 9 million wallets during that same stretch. These two networks are known for being cheap and quick, as users want to avoid higher fees on older chains. By the end of the month, both BNB Smart Chain and TRON could top those numbers again, reflecting a growing demand for fast, low-cost payments and DeFi deals. Ethereum currently cannot match these lower fees.
Stablecoins also saw an increase in the number of tokens entering circulation, with the total supply growing to $244 billion, up nearly 3% in just one month. However, not all coins were minted equally. Tether’s USDT remained the heavyweight champion, adding nearly $4 billion to its total supply in May alone, most of which landed on TRON. Today, TRON holds nearly $78 billion in USDT, while Ethereum carries $73 billion. In total, USDT’s overall supply now exceeds $153 billion, with new tokens added almost daily. Conversely, USDC’s supply dipped slightly due to outflows on Solana, but it still maintains about $60 billion circulating across all its chains.
Stablecoins didn’t just grow in supply and usage; they also carried huge volumes of payments. Over the past 30 days, these coins moved over $2 trillion worth of value, surpassing what many debit and credit cards handled in the same period. For instance, Visa’s volumes were lower than those seen with stablecoins. Additionally, USDC’s cross-chain moves spiked, with the CCTP bridge seeing $7.7 billion flow through it, up 83% month-on-month. This rush of bridging indicates that more people are transferring dollars between networks for trades, lending, or simple transfers.
