Tether backs Mercado Bitcoin with $20M to expand blockchain finance

The divergence in USDT and USDC usage highlights evolving stablecoin roles, impacting global payment systems and decentralized finance growth. The post Tether’s USDT dominates payments while Circle’s USDC leads DeFi, Dune data shows appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The post Dune: USDT Leads Payments, USDC Dominates DeFi appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. The world’s biggest stablecoins are increasingly becoming chain-specific financial products, with Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) serving distinct roles across the crypto ecosystem rather than competing head-on. Dune’s Digital Asset Brief found that USDT overwhelmingly dominates onchain payments. During the first half of 2026, the biggest stablecoin settled about $95 billion in identified commerce payments, compared with $14 billion for second-biggest USDC. It also accounted for roughly 92% of the $48 billion in business-to-business payment volume. On Tron, USDT’s largest network, around 93% of the token’s supply is held in ordinary wallets rather than on exchanges, underscoring its role as a payment and remittance asset. USDC, meanwhile, has established itself as the dominant stablecoin in decentralized finance. USDC on Base processed roughly $2.6 trillion in transfer volume in J

The post Tether Invests in Mercado Bitcoin to Grow Tokenized Finance appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Tether has invested $20 million in Brazilian crypto platform Mercado Bitcoin to support the company’s expansion into tokenized assets, stablecoin payments, lending and other blockchain-based financial services across Latin America. Since its 2013 launch, Mercado Bitcoin has expanded beyond crypto trading into regulated financial services, including tokenized assets, credit, stablecoin payments and cross-border services. The company said it has more than 4.5 million users, has issued more than 2 billion Brazilian reais (about $370 million) worth of tokenized assets, and operates under nearly a dozen licenses across Brazil and Europe, including a payment institution license from Brazil’s central bank. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said Mercado Bitcoin has built one of Latin America’s most comprehensive regulated onchain financial platforms, citing its licensing, tokenization infrastructur

Dune data shows Tether's USDT has become crypto’s dominant payments stablecoin while Circle's USDC powers DeFi, highlighting how blockchain choice shapes stablecoin use.

The post SpaceX IPO powers record $3.86 billion in tokenized equities trading in June appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Tokenized equities posted record trading activity in June as investors piled into blockchain-based versions of SpaceX (SPCX) stock following the aerospace company’s blockbuster initial public offering. On-chain trading volume climbed 145% from May to $3.86 billion, according to CoinDesk Data’s latest Stablecoins & Tokenized Assets report. Tokenized SpaceX shares accounted for $1.19 billion of the total, or about 31% of all tokenized equity trading during the month. The surge followed SpaceX’s $75 billion IPO, the largest on record, which valued the company at roughly $1.8 trillion on a fully diluted basis. Backpack Securities’ SPCX token was the most popular tokenized version of the stock, with $1.08 billion in onchain trading volume, followed by xStocks’ SPCXx, which reached $852 million. The figures point to a change in what is driving demand for tokenized equiti

The post Tether Equity Stake Sale: Richard Heathcote’s Planned Exit appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. One of the most opaque corners of the crypto industry just got a rare crack of light. Richard Heathcote, the former chief investment officer of Tether Holdings SA, is planning a Tether equity stake sale — offloading part of his 1.26% holding in the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by circulating supply. The process is being managed by Wall Street investment bank PJT Partners, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the development citing sources not authorized to speak publicly. Key takeaways Richard Heathcote holds a 1.26% stake in Tether Holdings SA and is selling part of it via PJT Partners. No buyer or sale price has been disclosed; negotiations are ongoing. Heathcote stepped down as CIO in March 2026 and moved into a non-executive advisory role, replaced by deputy Zachary Lyons. Tether has historically disclosed almost nothing about its capitalization table o

The post Ripple Partner Secures Funding From Tether appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Stablecoin issuer Tether has announced a $20 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America’s largest digital asset exchanges and on-chain financial platforms.  The financing round is meant to speed up the expansion of Mercado Bitcoin’s blockchain-based infrastructure across tokenization, digital payments, and credit markets in Brazil and the broader region. Notably, Mercado Bitcoin is a key regional partner for San Francisco-headquartered enterprise blockchain firm Ripple. The two firms previously partnered to deploy Ripple Payments to facilitate cross-border treasury operations between Brazil and Portugal.  Ripple Exec: Washington Can’t Ignore Crypto Dogecoin (DOGE) Uptrend Attempt Is Fuelless, XRP Paints Severe RSI Divergence, Bitcoin (BTC) Recovery Rally Is Premature: Crypto Market Review Additionally, Ripple has supported Mercado Bitcoin’s massive tokenization efforts, which inclu

Mercado Bitcoin will use the funding to expand tokenized finance across Latin America, adding to Tether's growing portfolio of infrastructure investments.