Tether’s $181B paradox: How USDT keeps growing as its market share collapses under MiCA
Despite market share decline due to MiCA, Tether's USDT supply is growing substantially, driven by non-EU demand and strategic investments in regulated entities.Summary
Tether's USDT has seen its market share drop from 70% to under 60% between late 2024 and late 2025, coinciding with the enforcement of Europe's MiCA regulation, which prompted exchanges to delist non-compliant stablecoins. However, this decline is largely a mathematical effect of faster growth in competitors like USDC and USDe, as USDT's absolute supply has surged from $89.1 billion to $180.9 billion in the same period. Tether is strategically countering European regulatory pressure by investing in MiCA-compliant entities like StablR and Quantoz to maintain an ecosystem presence in the EU without altering USDT directly. While MiCA constrains USDT in Europe, its global demand remains strong in offshore markets. The long-term competitive landscape includes planned euro-based stablecoins and launches from traditional finance players like Stripe and Visa, challenging Tether's future institutional growth despite its current absolute expansion.
(Source：CryptoSlate)