USDT Share of Asia-Pacific Stablecoin Payments Falls to 91%

USDT’s portion of tracked stablecoin payments across Asia-Pacific declined from 98% in early 2025 to 91% in July 2026, while rival tokens expanded their combined presence.

Other stablecoins increased their share to 9% from 2% over the same period. The figures cover identified payment volume, not all stablecoin activity or global stablecoin trading.

Asia-Pacific represented 51.2% of identified global stablecoin payment volume, totaling $30.9 billion across 28 countries and 426 payment corridors. Business-to-business transfers accounted for 37.1% of regional volume in the first half of 2026, followed by consumer-to-consumer transfers at 24.6%, consumer-to-business transfers at 21.4% and business-to-consumer transfers at 16.8%.

The decline in USDT’s share coincided with wider regulatory access and institutional integration. USDT remained the leading stablecoin, supported by exchange availability, liquidity and broad on-chain distribution.

The analysis was commissioned by Ripple, which issues Ripple USD (RLUSD). It does not establish how the seven-percentage-point decline in USDT’s share was divided among RLUSD, USD Coin (USDC), local-currency stablecoins and other tokens.

RLUSD became available through SBI VC Trade in Japan on June 24, 2026, after SBI VC Trade classified it as a Type 4 electronic payment instrument under Japan’s Payment Services Act. SBI VC Trade said RLUSD was Japan’s first Type 4 electronic payment instrument as of that date.

“Japan has long been a leader in digital asset adoption, underpinned by both regulatory clarity and financial innovation,” Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, said.

The regional payment figures cover the first half of 2026 for transfer-type data and July 2026 for the stablecoin-share comparison.