Author：Fishing expert ks
USDT, the world's largest stablecoin, saw notable growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 despite the market crash in October.
Tether's USDT market report on Wednesday revealed that the stablecoin hit a fresh high of $187.3 billion in market capitalization, increasing by $12.4 billion during the quarter.
The report highlighted significant user adoption, adding 35.2 million new estimated users in the fourth quarter to reach a total of 534.5 million users worldwide. The quarter marked the eighth consecutive quarter in which the stablecoin added more than 30 million users.
The number of on-chain holders increased by 14.7 million during the quarter to 139.1 million, with USDT wallets accounting for 70.7% of all stablecoin wallets. Tether estimated that over 100 million users hold USDT on centralized platforms. Monthly active on-chain users reached an all-time high average of 24.8 million in the quarter.
Meanwhile, Tether's total reserves also grew by $11.7 billion during the quarter to $192.9 billion, including 96,184 BTC, 127.5 metric tons of gold, and $141.6 billion in U.S. treasuries.
Defying the downturn
"The continued growth in USDT comes from diverse use cases beyond the crypto market, with the data clearly showing users’ preference for USDT as the stablecoin to both store wealth and transact in," the report noted.
USDT's growth in market capitalization and usage came despite a major crypto liquidation event in October, followed by increased volatility throughout the fourth quarter. Crypto prices have fallen significantly since then, with bitcoin trading near $71,200 — the lowest level since October 2024.
"The crypto liquidation cascade of 10 October 2025 has meant the stablecoin ecosystem is not growing as fast as it has been," Tether wrote. "The total crypto market cap declined more than ⅓ between 10 October 2025 and 1 February 2026, while USDT has grown 3.5% since then, compared to the second and third largest stablecoins declining by 2.6% and 57% respectively."
Meanwhile, it was reported earlier on Wednesday that Tether has revised its fundraising targets, with advisers now floating a raise of $5 billion — a 75% decrease from earlier discussions of raising up to $20 billion.
