Major trading venues are shifting stablecoin balances as issuers offer increasingly lucrative incentives, even as USDT retains 84% of measured payment activity.

Tether lost $4.6 billion in USDT supply across 19 selected cryptocurrency exchanges and lenders during the third quarter as rival stablecoins gained ground.

During the same period, the 19 institutions added approximately $1.9 billion in competing tokens, including $569 million of Circle's USDC and $493 million of Ripple's RLUSD.

According to the Crystal Intelligence report, Bybit recorded the largest reduction, shedding $1.66 billion in USDT while adding $315 million of RLUSD. Binance reduced its Tether holdings by $987 million and acquired $223 million of USDC, while OKX cut $899 million in USDT and added $273 million of USDC.

Across the wider market, USDT's circulating supply fell $647 million, or 0.4%, to about $184 billion during the quarter. Meanwhile, RLUSD rose 59% to $2.5 billion, while USDC gained $687 million.

The changes reflect growing competition for cryptocurrency trading balances, as issuers and their distribution partners offer financial incentives to exchanges and customers who hold their tokens.

The competition has become especially visible in cryptocurrency derivatives markets, where stablecoins serve as trading collateral and can generate additional income for platforms that hold customer deposits.

Hyperliquid, a leading derivative trading platform, recorded a $1.5 billion increase in USDC deposits during the quarter, bringing its holdings to approximately $7.2 billion.

The growth coincided with an arrangement between Coinbase and Circle that lets Hyperliquid receive income from USDC deployed on the platform.

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