Stablecoin Supply Falls $6.7 Billion in a Week, the Steepest Drop of 2026, as Tether and Circle Shrink

The total supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins fell by about $6.66 billion in the seven days to 7 November, to $292.31 billion, the steepest weekly contraction of 2026, according to DefiLlama figures reported by BlockchainReporter. Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC accounted for $4.40 billion, or about 66%, of the decline, and neither token lost its peg.

The drop landed in a week when bitcoin swung from above $80,000 to below $76,000 and US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds shed money. ## What the data show

BlockchainReporter's analysis of DefiLlama's daily series says supply has declined for ten consecutive days since 29 October, when it stood at $300.11 billion. The seven-day change has been negative for 29 straight days. Over 30 days, supply is down $15.03 billion from $307.33 billion on 8 October, and it is $23.23 billion below its 17 May peak of $315.54 billion. The 7 November reading is the lowest since 24 September 2025.

By issuer, USDT fell $3.10 billion to $177.00 billion between 31 October and 7 November, while USDC fell $1.31 billion to $70.60 billion. Sky's USDS lost about $0.86 billion and World Liberty's USD1 about $0.36 billion. Two of the ten largest tokens grew: Ethena's USDe added roughly $0.40 billion and Ripple's RLUSD about $0.27 billion. Together they offset about 10% of the total contraction, which the same analysis says is too small to call a rotation.

A second data cut points the same way over a slightly earlier window. CryptoSlate and The Currency Analytics both reported, using DefiLlama's circulating-unit counts, that tracked dollar-pegged supply fell from 301.991 billion to 296.223 billion units between 28 October and 4 November, a 1.91% decline. USDT made up 63.37% of that drop. The two series use different methods, so the percentages are not interchangeable, but both show Tether as the main source of the shrinkage.

How it compares with 2022

The decline is large against 2026 but small against history. BlockchainReporter notes that supply fell $27.4 billion, or 17.36% of a $158.01 billion base, in the week to 15 May 2022, when the TerraUSD stablecoin collapsed. The latest drop is about 2.28% of the current base, roughly one-eighth of that proportion. The earlier sharp weeks of 2026 were the week to 1 February, when supply fell $4.08 billion, and the week to 7 June, when it fell $3.81 billion.

The distinction matters because the 2022 episode was a run on issuers whose collateral was in doubt. Here, USDT traded at $0.99892 and USDC at $0.99945 on CoinGecko early on 8 November, according to BlockchainReporter. Dollars left through redemptions at par rather than through discounted sales, the usual signature of holders choosing to cash out rather than being unable to.

What Tether and Circle have disclosed

Tether's third-quarter attestation, prepared by BDO and dated 30 September, described USDT issuance as broadly steady at $184 billion, per BlockchainReporter. It reported total reserves of $191.5 billion, including $132.4 billion in direct and indirect Treasury bill holdings, and an excess-reserve buffer of $7.95 billion, up from $4.1 billion at the end of the second quarter. USDT has since fallen about $6.84 billion, or 3.87%, so the buffer would cover that drawdown roughly 1.16 times. Chief executive Paolo Ardoino has described the buffer as a tool for keeping USDT dependable under redemption pressure.

Circle's USDC fell from $74.58 billion on 30 September to $70.60 billion on 7 November, a 5.35% decline in five weeks. Circle's third-quarter results showed revenue up 17% to $865 million while reserve income fell 8%. Chief executive Jeremy Allaire attributed the quarter to institutional adoption rather than balances, saying it was "continued proof that institutions are building and expanding on USDC." Neither issuer's report signals distress, and neither has said why holders are redeeming.

Why the timing matters

The slide began on 29 October, the day Binance suffered a hack that CryptoTicker's weekly recap says drained about $6.3 billion according to TRM Labs, with the FBI blaming North Korea's TraderTraitor group. Binance reopened withdrawals on 1 November. BlockchainReporter says the timing should be noted but not overread: a theft reduces supply only if the stolen tokens are redeemed or burned, and neither issuer has linked the two events.

Market conditions offer a more conventional explanation. According to CryptoTicker, bitcoin rose to $81,004 on 4 November after the US midterm elections, then fell to $75,573 on 5 November as chip and AI stocks sold off, and touched a weekly low of $74,921 on 6 November. Crypto.news reported, citing Farside Investors, that US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $1.2817 billion for 2 to 6 November, with Wednesday's $74.6 million inflow the only positive session. Bitcoin was at $75,780 on 7 November, down 2.2% on the week, and the Fear and Greed Index read 28.

When traders close positions, the cash leg of those positions often leaves the system. BlockchainReporter's reading is that the record supports a demand-driven story rather than an issuer-solvency story. CryptoSlate and The Currency Analytics are more cautious: both state that the data do not establish why USDT fell, listing issuer redemptions, bridge accounting, reclassification and coverage revisions as unmeasured possibilities.

Why it matters for onchain markets

Because USDT and USDC are the default quote assets on most spot and derivatives venues, a contraction in them thins the shared base of dollar liquidity rather than draining a single platform. BlockchainReporter notes that dollar-denominated total value locked falls at the same rate as supply, so a protocol holding $1 billion in USDC would show about $977 million after a 2.28% contraction. Lendable balances shrink, utilisation rises for a given level of borrowing, and variable borrow rates tend to follow.

What we don't know yet

The DefiLlama series may be revised, and BlockchainReporter describes 7 November as a Friday although it fell on a Saturday, so the article's date handling deserves caution. The causes of redemptions are unconfirmed. The next signals are whether supply closes back above $300 billion, which would suggest the run has stalled, or prints below $291.68 billion, the September 2025 level, which would be a new 2026 low. A weekly decline under $1 billion would indicate that new issuance is absorbing redemptions.

Upcoming dates may test sentiment. US October consumer price data is due on 10 November, ahead of the 8 to 9 December Federal Reserve meeting, where futures markets put the odds of a quarter-point rate rise at 76.8%, according to CryptoTicker's citation of CME FedWatch.