Issuer and reserves
USDT
is issued by Tether, the older and larger of the two. Supply stood at roughly 189,5 billion dollars in May 2026 by DeFiLlama’s count, with Tether’s own figure at 187,2 billion for the second quarter.
USDC
is issued by Circle, a US company. Supply was around 78,1 billion over the same period, less than half of USDT.
Both publish reserve information. Circle does so monthly with an accounting firm’s attestation, and that regularity is the clearest practical difference between them. Tether has faced sustained questions about disclosure over the years, including a 41 million dollar settlement with the US CFTC in 2021 over statements about backing.
Regulation, which is where they now diverge most
MiCA set reserve, transparency and licensing requirements for stablecoin issuers operating in the European Union. Circle met them. Tether did not.
European exchanges and payment providers responded by delisting USDT or narrowing its availability, and USDC became the stablecoin European customers see at checkout. For a business operating in the EU, this is the deciding fact rather than an interesting one.
Outside Europe nothing changed. USDT remains dominant across Asia, Latin America and the CIS, where it functions as a practical dollar substitute in economies with unstable local currency.
Volume and reach
Supply and volume tell different stories. Of the 33 trillion dollars that moved in stablecoins during 2025, USDC accounted for 18,3 trillion, per Artemis Analytics data reported by Bloomberg. USDC turns over faster relative to its size, reflecting heavier institutional and settlement use.
USDT reaches further at retail. It is on more networks, listed on more exchanges, and held by more people in more countries.
Peg history
USDC broke its peg briefly in March 2023 when part of its reserve sat at a bank that failed, recovering within days once deposits were guaranteed. USDT has held its peg through several stress periods with short deviations.
Neither record is disqualifying. Both illustrate the same thing: a stablecoin’s peg depends on the issuer, and issuer risk is the risk you are taking.
Which to accept
Selling in the EU
USDC. Accepting USDT there now carries a compliance question that USDC does not.
Selling in Asia, Latin America or the CIS
USDT. It is what customers hold, and offering only USDC will cost you payments.
Selling globally
both. Enabling a second stablecoin costs a merchant nothing and removes a reason for a customer to abandon a checkout.