Stablecoin market cap drops $16 billion in 10 weeks, hitting six-month low

The stablecoin market just posted its worst stretch since the Terra implosion of 2022. Total market capitalization has fallen roughly $10 billion over the past 10 weeks, sliding to a six-month low and marking the first sustained contraction the sector has seen in four years. The numbers behind the drawdown The stablecoin market peaked in May 2026 somewhere in the $300 billion to $316 billion range. By late July, total market cap had settled between $300 billion and $310 billion, a decline of roughly 3%. The last time stablecoins experienced a contraction this significant was May 2022, when the Terra/Luna collapse wiped out 26% of the market in a matter of days. USDT, the dominant force in stablecoin markets, shed about $6 billion in market cap during this window, dropping from around $190 billion in May to approximately $184 billion by late July. USDC declined from a March peak near $80 billion to roughly $74 billion over the same period. The GENIUS Act effect The most compelling explanation for the outflow traces back to Washington. The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, established a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. One of its key provisions: a prohibition on ...