Less than 10% of stablecoins are deposited in DeFi, Token Terminal finds

Token Terminal data shows most stablecoins and tokenized assets sit idle outside DeFi protocols, with USDC leading the deposits that do exist Stablecoins have become one of crypto’s biggest success stories. Most of them, it turns out, are not doing much. According to Token Terminal, less than 10% of stablecoins and tokenized assets are deposited in decentralized finance protocols. The findings, dated November 4, 2026, put the combined market for these assets at an estimated $333 billion. That leaves the large majority of it parked outside the lending pools and yield venues DeFi was built to offer. The numbers behind the idle capital Token Terminal’s data shows stablecoin deposits in DeFi reached $24 billion as of October 25, 2026. That equals roughly 8% of the total stablecoin market, which the firm pegs at $298.4 billion. Stablecoin deposits in DeFi have climbed 560.8% over the past three years. The deposits that do exist are heavily concentrated. USDC leads with a 38.2% share of total DeFi stablecoin deposits, or around $9.2 billion. USDT follows at 20.3%, roughly $4.9 billion. Ethena’s USDe comes third at 9.0%, about $2.2 billion. Together, those three tokens account for about t...