On Wednesday, stablecoin giant Tether released its Q4 2025 USDT Market Report, highlighting continued growth despite the broader crypto market entering a sharp contraction.
The attestation report states that the company added more than 35 million new users for its flagship product, USDT, in the quarter, marking an eight-consecutive quarter exceeding 30 million users, while total users hit 534 million. CEO Paulo Ardoino highlighted that the stablecoin grew primarily because the dollar is increasingly moving outside traditional banking rails.
USDT Grows in 2025 as Tether User Base Hits 534M
According to the report, USDT’s market capitalization rose by 15% to $187.3 billion in Q4. On-chain USDT holders increased by 14.7 million, hitting 139.1 million wallets – accounting for 70.7% of all global stablecoin wallets. Active monthly on-chain USDT users averaged a record 24.8 million, while global crypto users have approached 590 million, with Tether accounting for the majority.
This performance comes amid a market-wide drawdown in a year marked by tightening financial conditions, fading risk appetite, and persistent selling pressure across major digital assets. The report notes that the total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell by roughly one-third in Q4 2025 – slipping from around $3.9 trillion at the end of September to about $2.6 trillion by December.
Against this backdrop, USDT’s circulating supply climbed steadily, ending the last quarter of the year at approximately $109 billion. This represents one of the strongest quarterly expansions for the stablecoin and is in sharp contrast to the contraction seen across the crypto market.
Tether Ends 2025 With $6.3B in Excess Reserves, $10B+ Profit
Tether closed the financial year with $192.87 billion in total assets and $186.53 billion in total liabilities, resulting in $6.3 billion in excess reserves. Over 90% of the liabilities reported are related to the issuance of USDT and XAUT stablecoins.
The company reported that net profits exceeded $10 billion for the full year 2025, primarily driven by interest income from U.S. Treasuries and returns from strategic investments in gold and bitcoin. At the end of the year, Tether held $141.6 billion in direct U.S. Treasuries, which contributed significantly to its profits, making it the largest buyer of T-bills, ahead of Taiwan and South Korea.
Net issuance of USDT exceeded $10 billion in Q4 2025, indicating sustained demand for dollar-denominated liquidity. The company issued $50 billion in new USDT throughout 2025, with more than 30 billion tokens minted in the second half of the year, with the majority occurring on the Tron (TRX) blockchain.
$4.4 trillion in value was transferred on-chain using USDT, while the stablecoin’s share of spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges climbed to 61.5% – cementing its role as a dominant settlement layer across the crypto market.
Growing Stablecoin Holdings Suggest Investors Are De-Risking
The report suggests that rather than signalling fresh speculative inflows, USDT’s growth reflected a shift in capital allocation across the market. Instead of exiting the crypto market altogether, traders appeared to rotate funds into stablecoins. This aligns with previous market downturns, when stablecoins tend to absorb capital as traders reduce exposure to volatile digital assets while remaining on-chain to capitalize on a potential trend reversal.
The divergence between the crypto market cap contraction and stablecoin growth highlights a broader trend of investors de-risking instead of disengaging with the sector.
Recent issuance activity suggests demand for USDT has carried into the new year. According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain,1 billion USDT were minted this week alone, part of roughly $3 billion in stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle.
Historically, rising stablecoin balances during market downtrends have often preceded renewed trading activity once conditions improve, as the sidelined capital can be redeployed. Increased USDT accumulation suggests investors are waiting for clearer macro or market signals before entering positions.
