USDC On-Chain Trading Volume Claims Exceed $10 Trillion, But Actual Payment Context Differs

Claims have surfaced that USDC's cumulative on-chain trading volume has exceeded $100 trillion, but interpreting this figure as representing actual payment volumes or new capital inflows is challenging. Repeated movements of the same funds within decentralized finance (DeFi) can contribute to such high numbers.

Crypto Briefing reported on September 14 that USDC's cumulative on-chain trading volume surpassed $100 trillion. However, Circle ($CRCL) did not officially confirm this figure in its August 5 second-quarter results, which instead cited a quarterly on-chain trading volume of $148 billion (approximately ¥198.76 trillion). The company reported that USDC's circulating supply reached $73.3 billion (about ¥9.8472 trillion) by the end of Q2, up 19% year-on-year.

Circle revealed total revenue for the quarter, combining sales and reserve income, amounted to $71 million (approximately ¥9.419 billion), a 7% increase from the prior year. The reserve income alone was reported at $668 million (about ¥89.71 billion). CoinMetrics analysis from August noted that USDC's adjusted transaction volume for 2026 would reach $32 trillion (approximately ¥429.76 trillion), with each dollar of USDC circulating an average of 741 times annually. In comparison, USDT circulated 74 times per dollar.

The high circulation frequency suggests that USDC's trading volume reflects repeated fund movements during transactions rather than solely payment demand. CoinMetrics and Talos analysis found that 69% of Base network USDC transactions were related to liquidity provision on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), while 23% involved flash loans. On Ethereum, flash loans accounted for 65% of such activity.

While the $100 trillion figure indicates USDC's role as a liquidity infrastructure in DeFi, it does not directly reflect actual payment volumes or new economic activity. The same distinction applies to how on-chain volume should be viewed compared to final consumer payments. Circle's revenue is predominantly driven by reserve income (about 95%), with only $5.3 million (approximately ¥710 million) coming from transaction-based activities.

Thus, while USDC trading volume growth may indicate high usage frequency and DeFi liquidity roles, it should not be equated directly with actual payment scale or economic activity.