In the past five years, stablecoins have gradually evolved from a supplementary asset to a core pillar of crypto finance. According to CoinMarketCap statistics, the global market capitalization of stablecoins stabilized at over $160 billion at the beginning of 2025, consistently accounting for about 15% of the total market capitalization of crypto assets. This not only reflects investors' demand for safe havens in volatile markets but also demonstrates the irreplaceable role of stablecoins in scenarios such as payments, settlements, and lending.
At the same time, stablecoins have increasingly become a bridge connecting traditional financial institutions with the crypto world, facilitating the cross-border flow of more funds and assets.
It is noteworthy that the scope of stablecoin usage is continuously expanding, moving from early crypto-native scenarios to areas closer to the real economy, such as cross-border e-commerce, remittances, and supply chain finance. As stablecoins play a role in these new applications, their identity as "digital dollars" has transcended speculative attributes and is evolving into an auxiliary tool for the global financial system.
Today, USDT still holds the top position with over two-thirds of the market share, while USDC maintains competitiveness among institutional investors due to its compliance audits. Meanwhile, stablecoins like FDUSD, TUSD, and DAI are gradually accumulating users in specific niche scenarios. The market landscape is shifting from "the strong get stronger" to "multipolar coexistence," with the focus of competition no longer solely on size but also on transparency, compliance, and application scenarios.
As cryptocurrencies gradually move towards the mainstream, stablecoins have become a regulatory focus. The U.S. Congress continues to push for legislation regarding dollar-pegged stablecoins, requiring issuers to establish comprehensive reserve and disclosure mechanisms; the EU's MiCA regulation will take effect in 2024, clarifying the regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance and operation; the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has introduced a stablecoin licensing system, incorporating stablecoins into the payment system; and the Japanese Financial Services Agency has approved the first yen-denominated JPYC, marking the launch of a locally compliant stablecoin.
Globally, the advancement of stablecoin policies is not only a compliance requirement but also the starting point for reshaping the financial landscape. Countries hope to manage systemic risks through stablecoin regulation while exploring how to leverage blockchain to enhance cross-border settlement efficiency, thereby gaining an advantage in the digital finance era.
The gradual clarification of policies has made the development logic of stablecoins clearer: on one hand, compliance is the "ticket to entry"; on the other hand, application scenarios are the "amplifier." On-chain payments, cross-border settlements, DeFi lending, RWA collateralization, and even mainstream trading pairs on exchanges all rely on stablecoins as liquidity tools and credit carriers. In the future, whoever can find richer landing scenarios within the regulatory framework will gain a lasting advantage in competition.
Against this backdrop, the actions of emerging stablecoins are attracting significant attention. Take GUSD, recently issued by Gate, as an example; this coin surpassed 50 million in minted volume within a week of its launch, standing out among similar new entrants. Compared to USDT's often hundreds of billions in volume, this number may seem like "a drop in the bucket," but in a fiercely competitive arena, such growth indicates an open market attitude towards new options.
The logic behind this is mainly reflected in two aspects: first, a narrative of transparency and security. When issuing GUSD, Gate explicitly proposed a framework for reserve mechanisms, regular audits, and on-chain verification, responding to the core demands of regulators and users for "trustworthiness." Second, the ecosystem and usage scenarios. Leveraging Gate's existing trading platform, financial products, and user base, GUSD can quickly land in trading pairs, wealth management, and payment scenarios, reducing early promotion costs. Rather than being a single-point breakthrough, it is more accurate to say that Gate is leveraging its ecological advantages to navigate the stablecoin market—seizing the psychological opportunity of "transparent compliance + rapid application" in an increasingly stringent regulatory and diversified market environment.
The competitive landscape of the stablecoin market can only be clearly understood through horizontal comparison; the positioning, strategies, and advantages of different issuers often become more meaningful when contrasted with one another.
USDT vs. USDC: Scale vs. Compliance
USDT maintains its leading position due to its massive liquidity and global acceptance, serving as the default settlement tool for almost all exchanges and DeFi protocols. However, its reserve transparency issues have long been a subject of controversy, with ongoing external skepticism. In contrast, USDC emphasizes compliance audits and transparent disclosures, making it favored by institutional and traditional financial partners, but its expansion speed is limited by policies and regions. The two represent the two poles of the stablecoin track: one relies on scale and network effects, while the other emphasizes compliance and transparency.
FDUSD, TUSD, and Emerging Players: Platform-Driven and Differentiated Attempts
Platform-driven FDUSD and TUSD often rely on partnerships with exchanges or institutions to rapidly increase volume, forming trading depth in the short term, but due to a lack of independent ecosystems, user stickiness is limited. Emerging players like GUSD choose to establish trust through "transparent reserves + on-chain verification," while leveraging ecological scenarios to accelerate penetration. For instance, GUSD completed over 50 million in minting in its first week, showcasing initial growth advantages. These stablecoins do not aim to directly compete with USDT or USDC but rather carve out a differentiated position through transparency, compliance expectations, and rapid application scenarios.
Overall Landscape: The Triangular Game of Scale, Compliance, and Scenarios
In horizontal comparison, USDT forms a monopoly effect through scale, USDC solidifies its position in the institutional market through compliance, while emerging forces like FDUSD, TUSD, and GUSD seek breakthroughs in specific scenarios. They either emphasize compliance and transparency, leverage platform ecosystems, or focus on speed and application, each representing different directions in stablecoin competition.
However, the market must also recognize the real challenges. Even with impressive growth rates, emerging stablecoins still face the network effect barriers of the leading players. Users tend to prefer "who has strong liquidity and high acceptance," which means all new players must continuously cultivate cross-platform applications, long-term transparency, and compliance identity, rather than relying solely on early single-ecosystem support.
In the short term, GUSD's goal is to surpass 100 million in minting and establish a solid position in more mainstream trading pairs; in the medium to long term, to expand its influence, it needs to find "anchor points" in areas like RWA, cross-border payments, and on-chain finance. This relies not only on a transparent reserve mechanism but also on broader ecological cooperation. While issuing GUSD, Gate is also promoting integration with platform financial products, payment tools, and cross-chain infrastructure to create greater landing space.
From an industry perspective, the second half of stablecoin competition has already begun; the past core was "scale," while the future keywords will be "compliance + application." USDT and USDC will continue to dominate, but more emerging stablecoins may establish a foothold in niche areas, forming a multipolar landscape. For users and institutions, a diversified stablecoin choice not only means more convenience but also serves as a risk diversification mechanism. Gate's entry into this competition with GUSD clearly aims to secure a position in the increasingly diversified landscape of stablecoins.
The rapid growth of GUSD indicates an open market attitude towards new entrants, but whether it can convert short-term popularity into long-term trust will require time and sustained performance. The future stablecoin market may coexist with multiple models, rather than being dominated by a single player. Stablecoins have become the "public goods" of the crypto world, serving as the foundation for emerging scenarios like DeFi, payments, and RWA. As regulatory policies accelerate implementation, the industry is transitioning from "barbaric growth" to a phase of "refined competition."
GUSD's performance of minting over 50 million in a week demonstrates its potential, but the challenges it faces are equally significant: how to break through network effect barriers, how to establish long-term user trust, and how to find a position within the global compliance system. For Gate, this is not only an attempt at stablecoin issuance but also a reinforcement of its ecological closed loop—whether it can truly convert platform advantages into market trust will determine its position in the second half of the competition.
Related: As inflation rises to 229%, Venezuelans are abandoning the bolívar in favor of stablecoins like USDT.
Original article: “Emerging Stablecoins Accelerate Growth, Industry Landscape Hits Inflection Point as Market Competition Intensifies”
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