USDC Dominated $10 Trillion Stablecoin Surge in January, Yet Circle’s Stock Keeps Sliding

January 2026 marked a watershed moment for stablecoins, with total on-chain transaction volume surpassing $10 trillion in a single month. $USDC dominated that surge, processing more than $8.4 trillion in payments, far outpacing rivals and exceeding the combined monthly payment volumes of Visa and Mastercard.

Yet despite this explosive growth, Circle, the issuer of $USDC, continues to face a sharp disconnect between on-chain reality and market valuation.

$USDC Hits $8.4 Trillion in January Transactions as Circle Stock Slides 80%

According to Artemis data, January’s stablecoin activity represented one of the strongest signals yet that digital dollars are moving beyond niche crypto use cases and into mainstream financial infrastructure.

Circle’s marketer, Peter Schroeder, noted that stablecoin transaction volume crossed $10 trillion in January alone, with $USDC accounting for the vast majority of flows ($8.4 trillion).

By comparison, Visa and Mastercard together typically process around $2 trillion in monthly payments. Investors, however, appear unconvinced. Circle’s stock is down roughly 80% from its peak just seven months ago, a divergence that has sparked intense debate among analysts and market participants.

Circle (CRCL) Stock Performance. Source: TradingView

Equity fund executive Dan Tapiero pointed out that while stablecoins saw $33 trillion in total volume in 2025 and $10 trillion in January alone, Circle’s equity continues to price in failure rather than scale.

“$USDC was $8T of that… in one month,” Tapiero said, arguing that the total addressable market (TAM) for stablecoins could exceed $1,000 trillion over time.

Others echo the view that the market is misclassifying Circle’s role, arguing that investors still treat it as a fintech company rather than as core financial infrastructure.

If this framing is true, then it understates the strategic importance of regulated digital dollars in payments, treasury operations, foreign exchange, and capital markets.

Regulatory Clarity Fuels $USDC’s Rise as Markets Miss the Signal

Circle itself has leaned into this narrative, stating that stablecoins are now operating globally at scale following the convergence of regulatory clarity, institutional adoption, and on-chain technology.

The disconnect between usage and valuation mirrors a broader crypto pattern, with analysts noting that January’s $10 trillion stablecoin volume annualizes to roughly $120 trillion—nearly 40 times the entire crypto market capitalization of around $3 trillion.

In that context, stablecoins increasingly look like the most successful real-world crypto product, even as associated assets struggle to reflect that reality.

Meanwhile, regulation remains a key differentiator for Circle’s stablecoin. $USDC’s dominance is widely attributed to Circle’s compliance-first approach, which has helped it gain traction with institutions amid global scrutiny of digital assets.

Artemis data shows stablecoin usage has expanded from roughly $1 trillion in early 2023 to record levels today, with $USDC widening its lead over $USDT in several activity metrics.

At the same time, liquidity continues to build. Total stablecoin supply is approaching an all-time high near $310 billion, leading some analysts to describe the market as sitting on more than $300 billion in deployable “dry powder.”

That represents latent demand waiting for clearer macro signals and regulatory certainty.

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