Thousands of stablecoins exist in the market today, but only two have crossed the threshold that actually matters, according to ARK Invest's research director Lorenzo Valente. A stablecoin is
Thousands of stablecoins exist in the market today, but only two have crossed the threshold that actually matters, according to ARK Invest's research director Lorenzo Valente.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, typically by being backed one-to-one by a traditional currency like the U.S. dollar.
They are used for payments, trading and moving money across borders. ARK Invest is the asset management firm founded by Cathie Wood.
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In a post on X, Valente argued that stablecoins are a network-effect asset. The bigger one gets, the harder it becomes for competitors to catch up.
He pointed to data from Blockworks and Artemis showing that while the number of stablecoins with more than $1 million in market value has climbed to roughly 135, the count drops sharply at each higher threshold.
Stablecoins above $10 million in market value sit at around 90. Above $100 million, the number falls to roughly 40. Above $1 billion, just 12.
The most striking pattern is at the top. The number of stablecoins with more than $10 billion in market value peaked at four in 2022 and has since fallen to just two, Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC.
Tether, based in El Salvador, issues the world's largest stablecoin by market cap, backed primarily by U.S. Treasuries. Circle, a U.S.-based financial technology company, issues USDC.
ARK is also backing the argument with capital. On August 31, ARK Invest bought 35,192 shares of Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) worth approximately $3.36 million.
Valente argued that breaking into the $10 billion tier is already extremely difficult. He said the $100 billion tier is likely to stay a two-player race for the foreseeable future, and the $500 billion tier will probably belong to a single issuer for at least the next two years.
The data aligns with broader adoption research. A 2026 report by BVNK, conducted in partnership with YouGov, Coinbase and Artemis, found that half of stablecoin holders increased their holdings in the past 12 months, with 56% planning to acquire more.
But that growing demand is concentrating around a small number of established tokens rather than spreading across the thousands in circulation.
The stablecoin market now exceeds $300 billion in total supply, yet the overwhelming majority of that value sits with Tether and Circle, a dynamic Valente's chart suggests is only hardening over time.
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