Stablecoins play a pivotal role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, serving as bridges between traditional finance and decentralized applications. Among them, USDC and USDT dominate the market, but how do they compare beyond surface-level metrics? By leveraging on-chain data through advanced blockchain analytics tools, we can uncover deeper insights into user behavior, adoption trends, and token distribution dynamics.
This article explores real-world on-chain activity using Bitquery’s Token Holders API, a powerful tool that enables developers and analysts to retrieve granular data about token holders, their balances, transaction patterns, and more across Ethereum and other EVM-compatible blockchains.
Understanding Token Holder Behavior
While narratives around stability, transparency, and issuer reputation influence perceptions of USDC and USDT, actual on-chain behavior often tells a more accurate story. Instead of relying on speculation, let’s analyze measurable data to answer key questions:
- Which stablecoin has more holders?
- How has holder count changed over time?
- Who are the largest holders (whales)?
- Which token sees higher daily spending?
- How unequal is the distribution of each token?
We’ll use query results from the Token Holders API to extract meaningful insights—without needing to run code ourselves.
How Many People Hold USDC vs USDT?
One of the most basic yet revealing metrics is the total number of unique wallets holding each token.
As of October 2023:
- USDC: ~1.797 million unique holders
- USDT: ~4.591 million unique holders
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This indicates that USDT has nearly 3 million more holders than USDC—an overwhelming lead in wallet adoption. However, this isn’t surprising given USDT’s earlier launch in 2014 compared to USDC’s debut in 2018. Early mover advantage allowed Tether to embed itself deeply across exchanges, DeFi platforms, and remittance systems.
Still, raw holder count doesn’t tell the full story. Let’s examine recent trends.
Monthly Holder Growth: Who’s Gaining Trust?
Tracking changes over time reveals momentum. Over the past month:
- USDC gained over 13,000 new holders
- USDT lost approximately 15,000 net holders, despite short-term spikes
This shift suggests growing confidence in USDC, potentially driven by its transparent reserve reporting and regulatory compliance. Meanwhile, USDT’s fluctuating holder base may reflect periodic reallocations or concerns during volatile markets.
Even though USDT maintains dominance in total users, the trendline hints at increasing competition—with USDC attracting consistent organic growth.
Daily Liquidations: Who’s Exiting?
A drop in holder count could mean either new users aren’t joining or existing ones are cashing out. To understand outflows, we analyze daily wallet liquidations—addresses that reduce their balance to zero.
Key findings:
- USDC: Peak daily liquidations reached ~15,000 wallets
- USDT: Peaked at ~47,000 wallets—over three times higher
Moreover, even USDT’s lowest daily liquidation count (~24K) exceeded USDC’s highest. This suggests significantly higher turnover among USDT holders, possibly due to its use in high-frequency trading, arbitrage, or speculative activities.
In contrast, USDC’s lower liquidation volume may indicate stronger retention and use in long-term DeFi positions or institutional flows.
Top Holders and Whale Activity
Large holders—often called "whales"—can influence market dynamics. Let's examine concentration levels.
Top 10 Holders:
- USDT: Control 24.05% of total supply (~$39 billion)
- USDC: Control 12.17% (~$23 billion)
This shows significantly greater centralization among USDT’s top addresses, many of which belong to centralized exchanges like Binance and crypto-native institutions.
Whales (Holdings > $1M):
- USDT: Over 3,700 whale wallets
- USDC: Around 2,200 whale wallets
Despite starting with fewer whales, USDC’s whale count has been rising steadily. The gap reflects USDT’s entrenched position but also raises questions about decentralization and systemic risk.
Interestingly, both tokens saw a decline in whale counts over the past month—possibly due to portfolio diversification or movement into yield-generating protocols.
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Which Stablecoin Is Used More Actively?
Adoption isn’t just about holding—it’s about usage. Daily spending volume reveals which token fuels more economic activity.
Over the last month:
- USDC daily spending peaked above $8 billion
- USDT peaked at ~$5.5 billion
That’s a $2.5 billion difference in favor of USDC—highlighting its growing role in DeFi lending, swaps, and cross-border payments via Web3 rails.
This surge aligns with major protocols like Circle’s integration with payment gateways and Circle Mint adoption by financial institutions.
Inequality in Token Distribution
Beyond totals and trends, how fairly are these tokens distributed?
Three key metrics help assess inequality:
Gini Coefficient
Measures distribution fairness (0 = perfect equality; 1 = maximum inequality):
- Both USDC and USDT show high Gini scores (>0.8), indicating highly unequal distribution
- Caution: These values include exchange wallets and smart contracts that pool user funds, skewing results
- True individual distribution is likely less extreme—but still concentrated
Nakamoto Coefficient
Indicates decentralization by measuring how many entities control 51% of supply:
- For both tokens, fewer than 100 addresses hold over half the supply
- Confirms significant centralization risk
- Neither token achieves true decentralization by this standard
While both stablecoins serve as reliable mediums of exchange, their ownership structures remain heavily skewed toward large players—highlighting an ongoing challenge in crypto economics.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is USDC safer than USDT?
A: Both are considered safe but differ in transparency. USDC is backed by regulated U.S. financial institutions with monthly attestations. USDT has faced scrutiny over reserve composition in the past but now publishes regular audits.
Q: Why does USDT have more holders but less spending?
A: USDT is widely used for trading and short-term exposure, while USDC dominates DeFi applications where capital is actively deployed—leading to higher transaction volumes despite fewer users.
Q: Can on-chain data predict price changes?
A: Not directly—stablecoins aim to maintain $1 value—but shifts in holder growth, liquidations, and whale movements can signal confidence or stress in the ecosystem.
Q: Are whale movements a red flag?
A: Large transfers aren’t inherently dangerous but warrant monitoring. Sudden outflows from exchanges or whale accumulation can precede volatility.
Q: Does higher inequality mean a weaker token?
A: Not necessarily. Inequality reflects real-world usage patterns (e.g., exchanges holding user funds). However, extreme centralization increases systemic risk if major holders act simultaneously.
Final Thoughts: A Shifting Landscape
The rivalry between USDC and USDT is more nuanced than market cap alone suggests. While USDT leads in total holders, USDC shows stronger growth momentum, higher active usage, and slightly better distribution metrics.
On-chain data empowers investors, developers, and analysts to move beyond hype and evaluate real behavior. Tools like Bitquery’s Token Holders API make it possible to ask precise questions—and get factual answers—from blockchain data.
Whether you're assessing risk, identifying trends, or building dApps, understanding token holder dynamics is essential in today’s data-driven crypto economy.
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