“There is no major negative fundamental catalyst that we can see,” Dorman said. “These kinds of big movements are common after SPACs because the entire investor base turns over from fixed-income-oriented SPAC buyers to new, fundamentally driven long-term equity owners.”

SPAC merger tickers are often volatile in their early days of trading. These vehicles raise money first and seek an acquisition later, allowing a private company to reach the public market by merging with the shell. But once the deal closes, the investor base often turns over, with SPAC arbitrage investors and redemption-focused holders giving way to public-equity investors weighing the company’s fundamentals. That transition can create sharp price swings, particularly when the float is limited or the stock had traded up before the merger.

Crypto IPO hangover

Dorman added that poor performance of recent crypto-related stock listings have conditioned investors to be cautious.

“Given how horrible recent crypto IPOs have been — Coinbase (COIN), Bullish (BLSH), Gemini (GEMI), BitGo (BTGO) and Circle (CRCL) — it’s not that surprising,” Dorman said.

Since its February IPO, digital asset service provider and custodian BitGo tumbled 70%. Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss brothers, is down 85% from its September debut. Bullish, CoinDesk’s owner, has fallen over 70% from its $90 debut price in August 2025, and sits below its $37 IPO price.

Stablecoin competition is increasingly giving way to specialization. Data from Dune’s Digital Asset Brief suggests Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC are fulfilling different jobs across the crypto economy—less “winner-takes-all,” more complementary roles feeding payments on one side and DeFi and trading infrastructure on the other.

In the first half of 2026, Dune estimates the biggest stablecoin by activity settled about $95 billion in identified commerce payments. The same dataset points to roughly $14 billion for USDC in those commerce payments and puts USDT at about 92% of the $48 billion business-to-business (B2B) payment volume. On Tron, Dune also reports that approximately 93% of USDT’s supply sits in ordinary wallets rather than exchanges, reinforcing its use as a payment and remittance asset.

Key takeaways

• USDT is leading on real-world-style payments: Dune data shows about $95B in identified commerce payments in H1 2026 versus about $14B for USDC.
• USDC is more central to on-chain finance: USDC transfer volume on Base reached roughly $2.6T in June, with about $1.6T on Ethereum.
• Token distribution hints at use cases: On Tron, Dune estimates ~93% of USDT supply is held in non-exchange wallets, consistent with payments rather than trading.
• Regulatory momentum may change how stablecoins scale: The US GENIUS Act created a federal framework for payment stablecoins, while the CLARITY Act could reshape broader market structure affecting issuers and platforms.

USDT’s payment dominance and what the wallet data implies

Dune’s analysis is particularly telling because it doesn’t just measure token transfers—it focuses on “identified commerce payments.” That framing matters: it aims to map stablecoin flows that resemble merchant and transactional activity rather than purely speculative movement.

According to Dune’s Digital Asset Brief, USDT’s share in B2B commerce is especially large. With roughly 92% of the approximately $48 billion B2B payment volume going to the leading stablecoin, USDT appears positioned as the default settlement rail for corporate and cross-party transfers—at least in the portion of commerce activity Dune can identify.

On Tron, Dune’s “where the supply lives” view adds another layer. With about 93% of USDT supply held in ordinary wallets rather than exchange custody, the stablecoin’s on-chain footprint looks less like an instrument primarily circulating between trading venues and more like an asset staying in the hands of payers, merchants, and intermediaries that use it to settle obligations.

USDC’s DeFi and transfer velocity on Base and Ethereum

While USDT’s dataset emphasizes payments, USDC’s role looks more tied to crypto market plumbing—especially decentralized finance and exchange-like activity. Dune reports that USDC on Base processed roughly $2.6 trillion in transfer volume in June, the highest transfer volume of any token-chain pair. On Ethereum, USDC handled another approximately $1.6 trillion.

Velocity also points to broader usage intensity. Dune notes that USDC on Base recorded daily velocity of about 20 times its circulating supply in June. In practical terms, velocity rising far above one suggests frequent movement of the same supply across trading, lending, or routing activities—patterns often associated with on-chain markets rather than simple payment holding.

Put together, these metrics shift the conversation. Instead of asking which stablecoin “wins,” the more useful question may be where each stablecoin fits in the on-chain stack: USDT appearing to concentrate around payments and remittances, while USDC is more deeply embedded in transfer-heavy trading and DeFi ecosystems.

Why the USDT-versus-USDC narrative is losing clarity

Dune’s findings effectively argue that the traditional framing—USDT competing directly with USDC as the default stablecoin—does not capture how stablecoins actually behave across chains and use cases.

One way to see this is through concentration patterns. Dune reports USDT’s supply is split almost evenly between Tron and Ethereum, whereas USDC remains heavily concentrated on Ethereum despite expanding to newer blockchains. That distribution aligns with the performance profile the dataset shows: USDC’s most prominent volume and velocity signals appear tied to Ethereum and Base activity, while USDT’s stronger commerce-payments footprint aligns with Tron’s large role in everyday transfers.

Meanwhile, the stablecoin market remains dominated by both issuers’ assets. Dune tracked more than 200 stablecoin tokens across multiple blockchains and estimates USDT and USDC together account for roughly 83% of the sector’s approximately $315 billion market capitalization. In other words, even if the “competition” is shifting toward specialization, the center of gravity is still concentrated in these two tokens.

US policy moves: GENIUS passed, CLARITY could broaden the ruleset

These data-driven role distinctions are emerging alongside renewed US regulatory momentum. Earlier this year, the US stablecoin sector gained traction following the passage of the GENIUS Act. Signed into law in 2025, GENIUS created the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, with the stated goal of enabling banks and other companies to issue US dollar-pegged digital assets. (For background, Cointelegraph previously covered the legislation here: https://cointelegraph.com/news/treasury-genius-act-rule-illicit-finance.)

Lawmakers are now debating the CLARITY Act, which would establish a broader market structure for digital assets by clarifying when crypto assets fall under either the US Securities and Exchange Commission or the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. While the bill does not target stablecoins directly, it could still influence the operating environment for stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and DeFi platforms through how regulators classify and supervise related activity.

CLARITY cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May and may be brought to a full Senate vote before the August recess, although the odds have been changing as lawmakers face time constraints. Cointelegraph reported that Galaxy trimmed its odds of passage to 50% before the break: https://cointelegraph.com/news/galaxy-cuts-2026-clarity-act-odds-50.

Going forward, investors and builders may want to track more than headline stablecoin market share. Dune’s results suggest that chain distribution, wallet versus exchange custody, and transfer velocity are increasingly important signals of real utility. The next question is how regulation—starting with GENIUS and potentially shaped by CLARITY—will affect which stablecoin roles can scale most easily across payments, lending, and trading.

Tether has taken a $20 million stake in Brazil’s Mercado Bitcoin as it pushes further into tokenized financial products and stablecoin-powered payments across Latin America. The investment is intended to back the company’s expansion into tokenized assets, lending and other blockchain-based services throughout the region.

Mercado Bitcoin, originally launched in 2013 as a crypto trading venue, has since broadened into regulated financial offerings. The platform says it now serves more than 4.5 million users and has issued over 2 billion Brazilian reais (about $370 million) in tokenized assets, while operating under nearly a dozen licenses in Brazil and Europe, including a payment institution authorization from Brazil’s central bank.

Key takeaways

• Tether’s $20 million investment targets Mercado Bitcoin’s expansion into tokenized assets, lending and stablecoin payments in Latin America.
• Mercado Bitcoin positions its business model as “onchain” financial infrastructure supported by multiple licenses, including Brazil’s payment institution framework.
• Tether says it is using profits from its stablecoin business (including USDT) to fund strategic investments in blockchain financial services.
• The deal builds on Mercado Bitcoin’s earlier tokenization deployments, including a $20 million private credit rollout on Bitcoin’s Rootstock sidechain.

Tether backs Mercado Bitcoin’s regulated onchain push

The partnership highlights how stablecoin issuers are increasingly funding regulated platforms rather than focusing solely on token supply. Tether Investments’ stated approach is to support companies building blockchain-based financial infrastructure, and Mercado Bitcoin is positioned as one of Latin America’s most developed “regulated onchain” ecosystems—according to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.

Ardoino said Mercado Bitcoin has established a comprehensive platform by combining licensing, tokenization capabilities, and integrated financial services. For investors and users, the practical takeaway is that the project is aiming to connect tokenization and payments to mainstream financial rails under oversight, rather than treating blockchain services as purely standalone experiments.

While the statement emphasizes regulatory breadth, the investment also implicitly addresses a core challenge facing tokenized finance: making tokenized products easier to deploy within existing legal and payment frameworks. Mercado Bitcoin’s cited license footprint—spanning Brazil and Europe, and including a Brazilian central bank payment institution license—suggests the company intends to keep expanding within compliance constraints as it adds more stablecoin and tokenized offerings.

Tokenization momentum: from private credit to wider asset services

Mercado Bitcoin’s broader tokenization strategy appears to be accelerating. In February, the platform announced it had deployed more than $20 million in tokenized private credit, describing this as part of its expanding real-world asset (RWA) activity. That deployment was carried out on Bitcoin’s sidechain Rootstock, according to earlier reporting from Cointelegraph: Mercado Bitcoin expands LatAm RWA push.

Against that backdrop, Tether’s new investment can be read as reinforcement of a direction already underway: scaling tokenization use cases beyond early pilots. The company’s most recent plan explicitly includes stablecoin payments and lending—two segments that typically require not only token issuance and custody capabilities, but also reliable payment processing and settlement infrastructure.

Still, the specific operational details of how the $20 million will be allocated within Mercado Bitcoin’s product stack weren’t provided in the information available here. Readers should watch for updates on whether the funding is earmarked for token issuance infrastructure, credit origination/servicing, or specific stablecoin settlement integrations.

Where Tether’s money is coming from

For Tether, the Mercado Bitcoin investment fits a broader pattern of deploying capital through its investment arm. The company issues USDT, which it describes as the largest stablecoin by circulation, with about $184 billion in circulation cited in the underlying material.

In its Q1 2026 results, Tether reported approximately $1.04 billion in net profit and said it is using those earnings for strategic investments. The underlying report also notes ongoing emphasis on reserves; the investment announcement ties directly to this broader capital deployment thesis via Tether’s finance strategy.

Beyond Mercado Bitcoin, Tether’s participation in other initiatives—such as a $134 million funding round for the Stablecoin Development Corporation—has also been framed as part of expanding the “stablecoin economy” and the infrastructure around it. In April, Tether backed that financing round, and later invested in remittance platform LemFi with the aim of supporting USDT settlement for cross-border payments across Africa and Asia.

Tether also outlined plans to work with the Government of Georgia to launch a stablecoin pegged to the Georgian lari under the country’s digital asset framework. Separately, Tether has said it invests in sectors including artificial intelligence, energy, biotechnology and digital media through its investment arm.

Signals for stablecoin adoption and regulated finance in LatAm

The Mercado Bitcoin deal matters because it sits at the intersection of three trends: tokenization of real-world assets, stablecoin payments, and regulatory-driven rollout. Stablecoins can reduce settlement friction, while tokenized credit and other RWAs aim to bring traditional financial products onto blockchain rails. Mercado Bitcoin’s licensing and reported track record are positioned as the bridge between those worlds.

For users in Brazil and across Latin America, the most meaningful question is whether stablecoin payments and lending will become integrated into Mercado Bitcoin’s regulated financial stack in a way that supports scale—especially for remittances, merchant payments, and other high-frequency use cases. For builders and institutional participants, the investment suggests continued demand for compliant infrastructure that can connect tokenized assets to payment systems.

There’s also an important context point: Tether leadership has previously addressed speculation about going public. Paolo Ardoino said the company has no plans to go public, according to a social post linked in the underlying material.

That clarification doesn’t change the Mercado Bitcoin story directly, but it underscores that the investment strategy is being presented as an ongoing part of Tether’s operating approach rather than a short-term funding maneuver tied to corporate restructuring.

Next, the market will likely look for concrete milestones from Mercado Bitcoin: how quickly stablecoin payments and lending roll out under its licensing framework, and whether additional tokenized credit or other RWAs expand beyond the earlier Rootstock-based deployment. The $20 million investment is a clear signal of intent, but execution details will determine how much of Latin America’s tokenized-finance promise turns into sustained, usable products.

The world’s biggest stablecoins are increasingly becoming chain-specific financial products, with Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) serving distinct roles across the crypto ecosystem rather than competing head-on.

Dune’s Digital Asset Brief found that USDT overwhelmingly dominates onchain payments. During the first half of 2026, the biggest stablecoin settled about $95 billion in identified commerce payments, compared with $14 billion for second-biggest USDC. It also accounted for roughly 92% of the $48 billion in business-to-business payment volume. On Tron, USDT’s largest network, around 93% of the token’s supply is held in ordinary wallets rather than on exchanges, underscoring its role as a payment and remittance asset.

USDC, meanwhile, has established itself as the dominant stablecoin in decentralized finance. USDC on Base processed roughly $2.6 trillion in transfer volume in June, the highest of any token-chain pair, while on Ethereum, that stablecoin handled another $1.6 trillion. 

USDC on Base recorded daily velocity of about 20 times its circulating supply in June, reflecting its extensive use in trading and DeFi. Source: Dune

The findings suggest the traditional USDT-versus-USDC narrative is becoming less useful. Instead, each stablecoin is carving out its own niche, with USDT dominating payments and USDC underpinning much of crypto’s trading and DeFi activity.

USDT’s supply is split almost evenly between Tron and Ethereum, while USDC remains heavily concentrated on Ethereum despite expanding to newer blockchains. Source: Dune

The findings come as the two digital assets continue to dominate the stablecoin market. Together, they account for roughly 83% of the sector’s approximately $315 billion market capitalization, according to Dune, which tracked more than 200 stablecoin tokens across multiple blockchains.

Related: UN agency moves Stellar blockchain payment initiative beyond pilot stage

US lawmakers reshape stablecoin rules

The stablecoin sector has gained momentum in the United States following the passage of the GENIUS Act. Signed into law in 2025, GENIUS established the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, paving the way for banks and other companies to issue US dollar-pegged digital assets.

Lawmakers are now debating the CLARITY Act, which would establish a broader market structure for digital assets by defining when crypto assets fall under the jurisdiction of the US Securities and Exchange Commission or the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. While the bill does not regulate stablecoins directly, it would shape the broader regulatory environment in which stablecoin issuers, exchanges and DeFi platforms operate.

CLARITY cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May and could receive a full Senate vote before the August recess, although Galaxy recently trimmed its odds of passage before the break to 50% as lawmakers run short on time.

Magazine: Kraken’s $600M stablecoin firm, Huione scandal deepens: Asia Express

Key Highlights

• STLA experiences decline as FIAT announces Topolino pre-orders launching July 2026.
• Compact Topolino model targets city-based transportation and brief neighborhood commutes.
• Stellantis broadens portfolio beyond conventional automobiles into micromobility sector.
• Urban convenience drives FIAT’s strategy with small-format vehicle design.
• Topolino represents fresh U.S. micromobility alternative in Stellantis brand family.

Shares of Stellantis declined 1.29% to $5.73 as FIAT announced its plan to begin accepting U.S. pre-orders for the Topolino starting July 2026. This move represents the automaker’s strategic shift toward micromobility solutions. The initiative positions FIAT within the emerging compact neighborhood transportation market.

Stellantis N.V., STLA

FIAT Launches Topolino for American Consumers

The Italian brand plans to offer the Topolino as a micro-vehicle solution tailored for American buyers. This model emphasizes brief journeys, crowded urban environments, and customers prioritizing straightforward transportation. It incorporates FIAT’s signature Italian styling within a miniature vehicle format.

While the Topolino projects a whimsical aesthetic, FIAT markets it as functional urban infrastructure. Its compact dimensions facilitate simplified parking and reduced operational complexity. Consequently, the vehicle addresses increasing consumer interest in localized mobility solutions.

According to company announcements, U.S. customers can begin placing orders in July 2026. FIAT enters a market segment defined by accessibility and metropolitan functionality. This introduction provides Stellantis with an additional pathway into the compact transportation arena.

Stellantis Broadens Mobility Portfolio

Stellantis leverages the Topolino introduction to diversify beyond conventional passenger automobiles. The conglomerate currently oversees numerous brands spanning diverse international territories. Accordingly, the Topolino addresses a niche for abbreviated daily transportation requirements.

Micromobility solutions have attracted significant interest as metropolitan areas reconsider congestion, affordability, and accessibility. Compact vehicles serve localized travel without substituting full-sized automobiles. FIAT’s market entry acknowledges this transformation and enhances overall product adaptability.

The Topolino reinforces FIAT’s distinctive character within the Stellantis brand ecosystem. Its aesthetic honors the marque’s historical legacy while fulfilling contemporary mobility demands. Nevertheless, consumer acceptance hinges on affordability, availability, and regulatory frameworks.

FIAT Introduces Specialized Metropolitan Solution

STLA experienced weakness during morning sessions before recovering modestly at midday. This movement coincided with Stellantis announcing its fresh U.S. product initiative. Individual product debuts seldom influence immediate market perception significantly.

The Topolino establishes FIAT within the specialized compact urban transportation category. It facilitates daily mobility across residential areas, educational facilities, and brief metropolitan routes. Thus, the vehicle may attract consumers beyond conventional automotive segments.

Stellantis now incorporates the Topolino into its American mobility strategy. The model provides FIAT with a unique position within an expanding transportation sector. Meanwhile, the corporation’s overall success depends on comprehensive portfolio execution.