Stablecoin market loses $10 billion since May 2026

The stablecoin market is experiencing its biggest decline since the infamous Terra crash in May 2022. From the peak in May 2026, more than $10 billion in market value has disappeared, of which $7.7 billion was lost in June alone. Yet the total contraction is relatively modest in percentage terms: a drop of around 3%.

USDT and USDC lead the decline

The two largest stablecoins account for most of the downturn. Tether (USDT) falls from roughly $190 billion to $184 billion, while USD Coin (USDC) drops to around $73 billion. Both coins still dominate the market, but the simultaneous decline of the two market leaders makes the correction notably broad.

Despite this, the total market capitalisation drops relatively little because smaller stablecoins and newcomers such as World Liberty Financial USD partially compensate. Data from CoinDesk shows that the market grew from about $245 billion at the start of 2026 to a peak of around $300 billion in May, before the current correction began.

Comparison with the Terra crash of 2022

The June decline of $7.7 billion is, in absolute dollar terms, the largest monthly contraction since May 2022, when the collapse of the TerraUST ecosystem turned the entire stablecoin market upside down. It is a striking parallel, although the context is now very different: there is no algorithmic meltdown, but rather a gradual decline in demand.

Despite the negative headline figures, CoinDesk’s chart also points to a broader trend: the stablecoin market is still growing strongly on a year-on-year basis. The popularity of stablecoins for payments and transfers continues to increase, as can also be seen in applications such as the first stablecoin transfer by Hyundai on Avalanche. The current correction therefore appears more like a temporary consolidation than a structural shift.