Stablecoin weekly: Big-3 adds $215.5M as Tron USDT balance gains $302.7M
The Big-3 stablecoin base rose $215.5M to $261.982B, led by USDT gains on Tron and Ethereum while USDC stayed nearly flat through a major chain rotation.
The latest seven-day snapshot shows a small Big-3 expansion after last week's $1.910B rebound. USDT + USDC + DAI rose $215.5M to $261.982B, while USDT grew and both USDC and DAI edged lower.
Snapshot cutoff: September 2, 2026, 08:00 (UTC-05:00). The DeFiLlama response was read at about 08:07 local time. Its
current and circulatingPrevWeek fields are compared below. BTC, ETH, and sentiment data were refreshed at about 08:07 local time. Rounded figures may not reconcile exactly.Bottom line
| Asset | Current supply | Previous-week supply | 7-day change | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDT | $183.343B | $183.115B | +$228.6M | +0.12% |
| USDC | $73.863B | $73.869B | -$6.1M | -0.01% |
| DAI | $4.776B | $4.783B | -$7.0M | -0.15% |
| USDT + USDC + DAI | $261.982B | $261.767B | +$215.5M | +0.08% |
DeFiLlama's asset-level response supplies the current and prior-week values. 1
The aggregate increase is only about one-ninth of last week's expansion. USDT supplies the entire Big-3 gain at the asset level, while USDC and DAI together subtract about $13.1M. The headline therefore reads as a mild USDT-led increase rather than a broad expansion across the three assets.
The chain data adds a second layer. USDT balances rose on Tron, Ethereum, Solana, and several smaller rails. USDC's Ethereum and Hyperliquid gains were offset by Solana, Base, and Arbitrum declines. The week reads as asset-level stability alongside internal rail rotation, with little evidence of synchronized liquidity expansion.
The chain map: Tron USDT gains, Ethereum and Hyperliquid hold USDC
Each table uses the same fields.
Other chains is the residual of the full DeFiLlama chain list after the nine named chains below. A chain delta records an endpoint-balance change without identifying a bridge path or a wallet-level cause. 1USDT
| Chain | Current supply | 7-day change |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | $73.697B | +$189.1M |
| Tron | $91.747B | +$302.7M |
| Arbitrum | $842.1M | +$1.9M |
| Solana | $2.904B | +$70.0M |
| Polygon | $759.2M | -$45.7M |
| Base | $0.0K | $0.0K |
| Avalanche | $342.1M | -$0.3M |
| BSC | $9.180B | +$10.8K |
| Hyperliquid L1 | $108.7M | +$6.0M |
| Other chains | $3.763B | -$295.1M |
Tron supplied the largest named-chain increase, and the residual group supplied the largest combined decline. Ethereum also gained $189.1M, so the asset-level USDT increase came from several rails rather than from Tron alone.
USDC
| Chain | Current supply | 7-day change |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | $47.496B | +$369.3M |
| Tron | $27.9M | -$1 |
| Arbitrum | $2.151B | -$63.4M |
| Solana | $6.708B | -$328.5M |
| Polygon | $1.811B | +$103.5M |
| Base | $4.210B | -$68.3M |
| Avalanche | $392.0M | -$44.4M |
| BSC | $1.581B | -$48.0K |
| Hyperliquid L1 | $6.701B | +$49.7M |
| Other chains | $2.784B | -$24.0M |
Ethereum and Hyperliquid together added $419.0M. Solana lost $328.5M, and Base plus Arbitrum lost another $131.7M. The large rail movements explain how USDC could remain almost flat at the asset level while its distribution changed materially.
DAI
| Chain | Current supply | 7-day change |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | $4.151B | +$9.9M |
| Tron | $0.0K | $0.0K |
| Arbitrum | $15.1M | -$3.8M |
| Solana | $510.2K | $0.0K |
| Polygon | $494.1M | -$11.9M |
| Base | $0.0K | $0.0K |
| Avalanche | $10.8M | +$25.0K |
| BSC | $31.1M | $0.0K |
| Hyperliquid L1 | $0.0K | $0.0K |
| Other chains | $73.1M | -$1.2M |
DAI's $7.0M asset-level decline is the result of a $9.9M Ethereum gain being outweighed by Polygon and Arbitrum losses. DAI remains too small in this week's move to change the Big-3 reading.
The endpoint tables report balance changes without identifying each source and destination. A pair-by-pair bridge ledger is required before labeling a balance change a bridge flow.
Issuer and large-wallet events: USDC mints continue, while Tether routes inventory
The selected Whale Alert records below fall inside the reporting window after conversion to UTC-05:00. The feed is a selected public alert set, so the table records identified large events rather than a complete issuer ledger.
| Asset | Amount and direction | Chain | Local time | Wallet category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDC | 250.000M minted at USDC Treasury 2 | Solana | Sep 2, 04:49 | Issuer treasury |
| USDC | 250.000M minted at USDC Treasury 3 | Solana | Sep 1, 18:29 | Issuer treasury |
| USDC | 101.619M minted at USDC Treasury 4 | Ethereum | Sep 1, 11:44 | Issuer treasury |
| USDC | 107.084M burned at USDC Treasury 5 | Ethereum | Aug 31, 12:54 | Issuer treasury |
| USDT | 150.000M transferred from Tether Treasury to Bitfinex 6 | Ethereum | Aug 30, 08:50 | Issuer-to-exchange operation |
The selected USDC records contain $601.6M of identified mints and $107.1M of identified burns. Those gross event totals describe treasury operations during the window. The totals differ from the asset-level weekly change of -$6.1M because the alert set is partial and because minting, burning, transfers, and circulating endpoint balances are different measurements.
The Tether-to-Bitfinex transfer identifies exchange routing, while its event text leaves end-user demand unclassified. The same distinction applies to treasury mints: an issuer can create inventory before an exchange or application uses it.
Market cross-check
| Asset / indicator | Snapshot | 7-day or period change |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | $76,824.32 7 | -2.16% over 7 days; -1.71% over 24 hours |
| ETH | $2,384.17 8 | -3.05% over 7 days; -2.65% over 24 hours |
| Crypto Fear & Greed | 63, Greed 9 | Previous reading: 65, Greed (Aug 25, 19:00 local) |
| Combined USDT + USDC exchange balance | Data temporarily unavailable | No verified public seven-day series |
BTC and ETH both fell over seven days while the Big-3 base expanded by $215.5M. Fear & Greed remained in Greed, although the reading eased from 65 to 63 in the comparable weekly pull. The market cross-check therefore pairs a small stablecoin increase with softer spot prices and still-positive sentiment.
CryptoQuant's public stablecoin exchange-reserve chart was inaccessible behind a Cloudflare challenge during this run. The exchange-balance field remains unresolved; total circulating supply cannot serve as an exchange-balance proxy.
What the snapshot establishes
- Did the three-asset base grow? Yes. USDT, USDC, and DAI rose from $261.767B to $261.982B, a $215.5M increase. The result is materially slower than last week's $1.910B expansion.
- Where did the balance move? USDT added $302.7M on Tron and $189.1M on Ethereum, while USDC added $369.3M on Ethereum and $49.7M on Hyperliquid L1. USDC Solana balances fell $328.5M, and the residual USDT group fell $295.1M.
- Does the snapshot establish new buying power? The data establishes a small aggregate expansion and several issuer or exchange-routing events. The missing exchange-held balance series, unavailable bridge pairs, and partial alert coverage leave end-user buying power unmeasured.
The immediate signal is mild aggregate support with strong internal rotation. USDT provided the net growth, while USDC's near-flat supply hid a large shift from Solana and other rails toward Ethereum, Hyperliquid, and Polygon. Traders who treat circulating supply as available spot buying power should wait for exchange-held balances or a comparable deployment series to confirm that interpretation.
Method note: Supply figures use DeFiLlama's asset and chain snapshots.
Other chains is the residual after Ethereum, Tron, Arbitrum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Avalanche, BSC, and Hyperliquid L1. Issuer and wallet events come from Whale Alert's public event records and are treated as treasury or routing evidence. Market figures use the linked public APIs. All displayed times are in UTC-05:00.For informational use only; this report offers no investment advice.
References
- 1DeFiLlama Stablecoins API
stablecoins.llama.fi
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7CoinPaprika BTC ticker
api.coinpaprika.com
- 8CoinPaprika ETH ticker
api.coinpaprika.com
- 9Alternative.me Fear and Greed API
api.alternative.me
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