In recent days, the landscape surrounding stablecoin has changed notably, with USDT (Tether) and USDC (USD Coin) moving quite dramatically across various blockchain networks.
Stablecoin activity on Ethereum, for instance, has seen a marked uptick. Tether and USD Coin have combined to add a staggering $1.1 billion to the network just in the last week. On Solana, however, these same stablecoins have experienced something of a “run,” with a combined $772 million exiting the network in what seems to have been a weeklong panic accompanied by a fair number of raised eyebrows. We here at Altcoin Daily have our own eyebrows up, and for good reason. Is something afoot with the Solana stablecoin ecosystem?
Resumption of USDC Minting on Solana
The recent decision by Circle to restart minting USDC on Solana—after a one-week suspension—has gathered significant focus from the crypto community. The pause in minting, which lasted for a complete week, marked the longest duration the company had not been minting in recent months. Prior to this, Circle had been minting USDC at what seemed to be a consistent and reliable pace, with minting events occurring in no more than four-day gaps.
Just five hours ago, Circle issued another 250 million USDC on Solana, signaling a return to its earlier minting path after a recent pause. This minting session is part of Circle’s ongoing efforts to boost the overall liquidity of USDC, and it’s particularly focused on Solana, a DeFi-friendly blockchain that has ballooned in popularity over the past couple of years. USDC, minted on Solana, at this point is worth just as much to a dollar as USDC, minted on Ethereum. Since the start of 2025, Circle has minted 7.5 billion USDC on Solana alone, and 6 billion of that was done in January. That seems to be an enormous amount of USDC being used by projects on this blockchain.
The decision to begin minting again may come as a result of recent changes in the stablecoin market. While the supplies of USDT and USDC on Ethereum have grown by over $1.1 billion just in the past week, Solana has actually seen a contraction in its stablecoin supply—of about $772 million in USDT and USDC. These trend indicators show that some stablecoin liquidity is leaving Solana. Circle’s response to this concerning trend, which might even be characterized as an “outflow” of stablecoin liquidity, is to mint more USDC on Solana.
Shifts in Stablecoin Activity: Ethereum vs. Solana
In the past week, the flow of stablecoins across blockchains has changed quite dramatically. On the Ethereum blockchain, the combined supply of USDT and USDC has increased by a remarkable $1.1 billion, indicating that something stablecoin-related is afoot. That “something” appears to be a surge in the overall demand for DeFi protocols, decentralized exchanges, and Ethereum as a whole. Ethereum has clearly emerged as the leading blockchain for stablecoin usage. And in terms of what stablecoin is being used, USDT and USDC have taken the lion’s share of the total stablecoin supply on the Ethereum network.
In contrast, Solana’s supply of USDT and USDC has diminished, with a combined $772 million decrease. This drop might signal several things, such as moving investor interest, Demand for Solana DeFi has dropped, or market uncertainty. Following the fast transactions of Solana and the scalability of this network, the competition has become serious—mainly from Ethereum as it rolls out Ethereum 2.0 and Layer 2 solutions. But it also seems possible that reduced minting from Circle may be related to a declining demand for Solana as a DeFi platform and thus a declining interest in Solana in general.
Even though stablecoin liquidity on Solana has diminished, Circle’s decision to mint new USDC tokens suggests a steadfast belief in Solana’s future. Solana has had its share of setbacks over the past year, including network outages and slowdowns, but its development team has worked hard to get things back on track. With ongoing support, Solana may yet be a good bet in the blockchain world, and Circle’s recent moves to increase the supply of USDC on Solana signal that potential development.
The Future of Stablecoins on Solana
USDC staking on the Solana network is back. Circle has resumed minting USDC on that specific blockchain, which allows for the use of the stablecoin on Solana. USDC remains a key stablecoin for use throughout the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Thus, having it available and in use on the Solana network is indeed a good thing. For those using Solana and those providing services on the Solana network, having USDC available on that network is essential.
The competition is fierce and growing between Ethereum and Solana to become home to the most stablecoins, as they work to bring in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, institutional investors, and individual users. Stablecoins are used on both networks for a rising number of virtual financial services, and, with Ethereum having a clear lead in the smart contract space and Solana making a name for itself in the offering of speedy virtual transactions, the path they take could determine the future of stablecoins as the quickly burgeoning virtual currency market evolves.
As mintng USDC on Solana resumes, it is clear that Circle is prepared to navigate the fluctuations in the stablecoin’s supply and demand. The success or failure of USDC’s expansion on Solana will probably rely on how well the blockchain can keep up its performance and, more importantly, stabile in the face of Solana’s two biggest problems: The increasing amount of supply and demand for USDC assets that might pull the blockchain in the opposite direction from remaining performant and stable.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any Metaverse crypto coins.