Record-Breaking January for Stablecoins

January delivered an unexpected signal in the cryptocurrency market. Stablecoin trading volume reached a record-breaking $10 trillion, even as the broader market remained firmly in risk-off mode. For comparison, total stablecoin volume for the entire previous year amounted to $33 trillion, meaning nearly one-third of that activity occurred within just 30 days.

Importantly, this surge came during a challenging period for the market. Bitcoin lost 10.17% of its value, marking its weakest monthly performance since 2022. Despite this downturn, stablecoin liquidity continued to rise, suggesting that capital was not leaving the market but rather shifting into a different form.

USDC accounted for the largest share of January’s volume, processing $8.4 trillion in transactions. USDT followed with $1.8 trillion, while DAI contributed $58.1 billion. Together, these figures indicate that on-chain liquidity remained strong, even as investors avoided higher-risk assets.

Moreover, the data shows that stablecoins are increasingly used for more than just capital preservation. In January alone, $10.5 billion worth of USDC was minted on the Solana network. At the same time, the total value locked in real-world asset (RWA)–linked products grew by 8% to $1.19 billion.

Looking at the broader picture, the RWA sector saw even stronger capital inflows. Total value locked increased by 18%, or roughly $3.7 billion, reaching a new all-time high of $24.19 billion. This made RWA the best-performing market segment during the month.

This activity translated into growing structural demand pressure on the Solana network. Solana ranked fourth overall in January, recording $490 billion in transaction volume, despite SOL’s price falling by 16% over the same period.

According to data from Y Combinator, the startup accelerator, stablecoins are increasingly being used not only as a safe store of value, but also as a practical financial tool for funding early-stage companies and innovative projects.