Circle mints $5B in USDC in a single week, pushing market cap past $73B

Circle printed $5 billion worth of USDC in the week ending August 26, making it the largest single-week minting for the stablecoin since the start of 2026. The burst of issuance pushed USDC’s circulating market cap to roughly $73.88 billion, a 2.67% jump in seven days. The $5 billion figure represents gross issuance, not a net increase in supply. Redemptions ate into some of that total, meaning the actual circulating supply didn’t balloon by the full amount. Circle and Tether together minted roughly $3 billion in stablecoins within a 48-hour window earlier in the week. The total stablecoin market cap climbed to $303.72 billion, a 0.94% increase over the same period. Even as the net supply growth stayed relatively contained, USDC’s adjusted on-chain transaction count surged 31.5% week-over-week. Solana’s stablecoin moment A significant chunk of the minting activity landed on Solana. August alone saw a pattern of concentrated Solana-based USDC minting, with individual transactions reaching as high as $250 million. On August 20, a single $250 million mint hit the Solana network. Five days later, Circle minted $1 billion in USDC on the chain within a 24-hour window. Hyperliquid and the...