Tether reports USDT user boom as onchain metrics hit highs

The report framed the quarter as a divergence trade: crypto market capitalization fell by more than a third between October 10, 2025 and February 1, 2026, while USDT expanded by 3.5% over that window. Tether also said the second- and third-largest stablecoins by market cap declined by 2.6% and 57% respectively during the same period, pointing to relative stickiness in USDT demand as traders deleveraged and risk appetite reset.

On-chain metrics were the centerpiece. Tether said the number of on-chain holders rose by 14.7 million in Q4 to 139.1 million, the largest quarterly increase recorded, and that wallets holding USDT represented 70.7% of all wallets holding stablecoins. Average monthly active on-chain users – defined as wallets receiving USDT at least once in a 30-day rolling window – reached 24.8 million during the quarter, which Tether said was 68.4% of all stablecoin monthly active users.

Transfer throughput also moved higher. Tether reported $4.4 trillion of USDT value transferred on-chain in Q4, up $248.6 billion from the prior quarter, and 2.2 billion on-chain transfers, up 313.1 million, with the bulk of transfers under $1,000. It also broke down the flow shape: 63.6% of Q4 value moved in “single-asset” USDT transfers, a split Tether used to argue USDT is disproportionately used for straight value transfer rather than multi-asset DeFi routing.

The balance-sheet snapshot was designed to reinforce the peg narrative. Tether said total reserves increased by $11.7 billion in Q4 to $192.9 billion, with net equity of $6.3 billion. It reported U.S. Treasury exposure of $141.6 billion, up $6.5 billion in the quarter, and said it held 96,184 bitcoin and 127.5 metric tons of gold at quarter end.

The backdrop is a stablecoin market that kept expanding through 2025 even as activity shifted between venues and chains. Visa’s stablecoin strategy note said stablecoin supply grew over 50% in 2025 to about $274 billion by December 2025, while adjusted transaction volume was on track to exceed $10 trillion. Tether’s Q4 breakdown suggests a meaningful share of USDT liquidity sat inside centralized exchanges at quarter end, while DeFi and DEX balances fell after the October liquidation cascade – another hint that, in stress, stablecoin demand can persist even when risk is being pulled back from longer-duration crypto exposures.