From Tether to Trump’s USD1: The 7 Fastest-Moving Stablecoins of 2025
Stablecoins quietly became the backbone of crypto in 2025. While meme coins grabbed headlines and Bitcoin set new all-time highs, dollar-pegged tokens were doing the heavy lifting in trading, DeFi, payments, and cross-border transfers.
By mid-December 2025, the total supply of U.S. dollar–denominated stablecoins had swelled by more than $100 billion since January, reaching roughly $314 billion. Yet looking only at market capitalization hides a crucial detail: not every stablecoin is equally used. Some sit idle in wallets; others spin through exchanges and protocols multiple times a day.
To understand which tokens actually powered the market, a different metric matters: velocity.
How “velocity” reveals the real winners
Instead of just comparing supply, velocity looks at how often a stablecoin actually changes hands.
Using historical data from January 1 through December 15, 2025, the metric is defined as:
> Velocity = Total traded volume ÷ Average circulating supply
In plain terms, if a coin has a velocity of 10, it means that, on average, every unit of that stablecoin was used in a transaction about ten times over the period analyzed.
This approach highlights which stablecoins function as real economic infrastructure—supporting trades, DeFi strategies, remittances, and payments—rather than simply sitting in cold storage or on exchange balance sheets.
Against the backdrop of two pivotal events—the passage of the GENIUS Act, the first comprehensive U.S. framework for stablecoins, and Circle’s blockbuster IPO—seven stablecoins clearly separated themselves from the pack.
Below are the seven fastest-moving dollar-pegged tokens of 2025, and why they mattered.
—
1. Tether (USDT): Still the undisputed workhorse
Tether’s USDT remained the dominant force in stablecoins by both supply and activity. It was already the market’s liquidity engine going into 2025, and that status only solidified as global demand for dollar exposure grew.
Why USDT moved so fast in 2025:
– Deep liquidity on centralized exchanges: USDT remained the quote asset of choice on many spot and derivatives markets, especially outside the United States, keeping its trading volume consistently elevated.
– Massive presence on multiple chains: From Tron and Ethereum to emerging high-throughput L2s, USDT followed the liquidity wherever it formed, reinforcing its role as the default bridge asset.
– Adoption in emerging markets: In countries facing high inflation or capital controls, USDT continued to function as a de facto digital dollar, used for savings, commerce, and informal remittances.
High turnover across exchanges and DeFi protocols translated into one of the most impressive velocity scores in the sector—proof that, controversies aside, USDT remained the primary transactional currency of crypto.
—
2. Ripple USD (RLUSD): The cross-border contender
Ripple’s push to turn its network into a settlement layer for tokenized dollars began paying off in 2025. Ripple USD (RLUSD) leveraged Ripple’s existing infrastructure and institutional relationships to carve out a unique niche.
What powered RLUSD’s velocity:
– Integration with enterprise payment rails: Banks and payment firms testing tokenized settlement started using RLUSD as their preferred stablecoin within Ripple-connected systems.
– Focus on remittances and B2B payments: RLUSD found traction in corridors where instant cross-border payments and FX savings truly matter, driving repetitive, high-frequency use.
– Smooth on-ramps for institutions: For regulated entities already familiar with Ripple’s tech stack, RLUSD was a natural extension rather than a speculative bet.
While RLUSD’s total supply still lagged behind the largest players, its usage intensity—especially within closed institutional ecosystems—gave it a high velocity relative to its size.
—
3. Circle (USDC): Regulation-friendly and DeFi-native
USDC, issued by Circle, spent 2025 straddling two worlds: the regulated financial system and the bleeding edge of DeFi. Circle’s successful initial public offering further bolstered its legitimacy and visibility among mainstream investors and policymakers.
Why USDC remained a high-velocity coin:
– Preferred in regulated environments: Exchanges and platforms catering to institutions often defaulted to USDC due to its transparency, audited reserves, and regulatory posture.
– Deep DeFi integration: Lending protocols, DEXs, yield vaults, and derivatives platforms continued to treat USDC as “pristine collateral,” generating enormous recurring volume as users borrowed, swapped, and rehypothecated it.
– Stable corporate and fintech partnerships: Merchants, fintech apps, and treasury solutions increasingly chose USDC for payroll, invoicing, and on-chain treasuries.
Velocity data captured USDC’s role not just as a store of value, but as a transaction and credit asset fueling both decentralized finance and more regulated payment use cases.
—
4. USD1 (USD1): The Trump-backed lightning rod
One of the most politically charged launches of the year, USD1—branded as a Trump-backed stablecoin—instantly became a flashpoint in both crypto and mainstream discourse.
Why USD1 sprinted out of the gate:
– Massive media exposure: Political branding generated outsized attention, pulling in both supporters and critics and creating intense speculative trading around the token.
– Rapid exchange listings: High demand and controversy prompted exchanges to list USD1 quickly, concentrating a large share of trading into a short time frame.
– Experiment in politicized money: Traders, donors, and politically aligned entities experimented with USD1 as a symbol as much as a financial instrument.
Even with a relatively smaller circulating supply compared to USDT or USDC, USD1’s hyperactive turnover—especially in the months following launch—produced one of the highest velocity scores of 2025. It illustrated how narrative and politics can drive transactional intensity just as effectively as technical features.
—
5. PayPal USD (PYUSD): The payments-native stablecoin
PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD, continued its steady climb from novelty to utility token in 2025. It leveraged something few crypto-native issuers possess: a massive, pre-existing user base and established merchant network.
What pushed PYUSD’s velocity higher:
– Native integration into consumer apps: PYUSD could move seamlessly between PayPal and Venmo-style interfaces and public blockchains, encouraging everyday microtransactions and peer-to-peer transfers.
– Merchant acceptance: Integration with online checkout flows turned PYUSD into a practical settlement medium for e-commerce.
– Bridge between TradFi and DeFi: As more users learned to move PYUSD onto public chains, it began to appear in yield products, DEXs, and lending protocols, cycling between consumer and DeFi usage.
PYUSD’s transactions tended to be smaller on average than those of institutional stablecoins, but the sheer frequency of movement—repeated spending, topping up balances, and on-chain transfers—translated into robust velocity.
—
6. USDe (USDe): High-yield experiment with real traction
USDe emerged as one of the more experimental stablecoins to gain meaningful adoption in 2025. Designed with an emphasis on return-generating strategies, it attracted yield-seeking users who were comfortable with more complex risk profiles.
Drivers behind USDe’s fast circulation:
– Yield-enhanced design: Some USDe models channeled backing assets into on-chain or off-chain strategies, funneling a portion of the yield back to holders, making it a popular asset for active DeFi users.
– Heavy use in leveraged strategies: Traders repeatedly cycled USDe through lending markets, perpetuals platforms, and basis trades, reinforcing high turnover.
– Cross-chain deployment: Availability across multiple L1s and L2s increased the number of venues where USDe could be actively deployed.
The high velocity score reflected both enthusiasm and risk: USDe became a favorite among sophisticated traders, but also raised ongoing questions about the sustainability and transparency of its yield mechanisms.
—
7. USDS (USDS): The compliance-first dark horse
In a world reshaped by the GENIUS Act, USDS stood out as a compliance-centric stablecoin designed to align tightly with emerging regulatory expectations.
Why USDS punched above its weight in activity:
– On-chain identity and KYC features: USDS issuers leaned into permissioning and identity-aware infrastructure, making the token attractive for institutions needing clear audit trails.
– Adoption in tokenized real-world asset (RWA) platforms: As more real estate, private credit, and treasury products moved on-chain, USDS became a favored settlement and collateral currency for these regulated markets.
– Support from regulated venues: Platforms designed from the ground up to comply with securities and payments rules often integrated USDS ahead of more loosely governed alternatives.
USDS’s velocity underscored that even “boring,” regulated rails can be intensely active when they sit at the center of serious capital flows.
—
The impact of the GENIUS Act on stablecoin behavior
The GENIUS Act—the landmark U.S. law formalizing how dollar stablecoins can be issued, backed, and supervised—was a turning point. It did not simply bless the sector; it split it into clearly defined lanes:
– Fully regulated issuers (like Circle and some USDS-style models) became more attractive to institutional capital, increasing transaction volume from large, recurring flows.
– Offshore and lightly regulated issuers (including USDT) continued dominating regions and use cases where speed, censorship resistance, and access trumped strict regulatory alignment.
– New entrants optimized for specific compliance niches or political audiences (like USD1) raced to capture freshly opened segments of the market.
Velocity metrics after the GENIUS Act’s passage indicated not just who grew, but how they grew—whether through institutional settlement, high-frequency retail usage, or speculative trading.
—
What stablecoin velocity actually tells traders and builders
For traders, protocols, and institutions, velocity is more than an academic statistic. It offers actionable signals:
– Liquidity quality: High-velocity coins usually have tighter spreads, deeper order books, and lower slippage, which matters for large orders and algorithmic strategies.
– Integration depth: A coin with strong velocity is likely integrated across a wide array of exchanges, wallets, and DeFi protocols.
– Resilience indicator: While not a guarantee of safety, tokens that are heavily used in real economic activity are often more resilient than those with high supply but low actual usage.
On the flip side, extremely high velocity in a relatively small supply token—as seen in the early days of USD1—can also signal speculative froth or short-term narrative-driven trading that may not be sustainable.
—
Risks behind the fastest-moving coins
Fast movement is not always a sign of stability. The very characteristics that push a token’s velocity higher can also introduce vulnerabilities:
– Concentration risk: If trading is clustered on a handful of venues or chains, outages or regulatory actions can abruptly drain velocity.
– Regulatory pivots: Issuers that grew quickly in loosely regulated environments might face abrupt slowdowns if enforcement priorities shift.
– Design complexity: Yield-oriented models like some USDe structures can amplify risk if underlying strategies face stress, potentially triggering redemptions and volatility in peg stability.
Investors and builders increasingly look at velocity alongside audits, reserve transparency, and legal structure to assess which stablecoins are suitable for long-term integration.
—
What 2025’s leaders signal about the future of stablecoins
The rise of these seven high-velocity stablecoins suggests several trends that are likely to shape the next phase of the sector:
– Segmentation by use case: No single stablecoin dominates every niche. USDT and USDC still rule trading and DeFi, PYUSD leans into consumer payments, RLUSD into cross-border settlement, USDS into compliant RWAs, while USD1 shows the power—and risk—of political branding.
– Embedding into real-world finance: As tokenized treasuries, credit, and equities grow, regulated stablecoins with strong velocity will become indispensable infrastructure.
– Convergence of fintech and crypto: PYUSD and similar tokens illustrate that the gap between traditional fintech apps and public blockchains is narrowing quickly.
Stablecoin supply may grab the headlines, but 2025 made one thing clear: the tokens that truly matter are the ones that move. Tether, USDC, RLUSD, USD1, PYUSD, USDe, and USDS each dominated in different arenas, but all shared one defining trait—capital did not just sit in them; it flowed through them, again and again, shaping the broader crypto economy in the process.