Allium says stablecoin supply hit $303 billion in August as 2026 transfers reached $85 trillion

Blockchain data platform Allium has released its report, “State of Stablecoins and Payments: September 2026.” According to the report, stablecoin supply reached $303 billion in August 2026, up 6% from a year earlier, with Tether and Circle accounting for a combined 85%.

Holdings and payment volume

The report said exchanges held $89 billion in stablecoins, while DeFi protocols held $26 billion. During the first eight months of 2026, stablecoin payment volume totaled between $401 billion and $527 billion, up 42% to 63% year over year.

Businesses received 58% to 64% of those payments, and B2B was the largest channel. Cross-border stablecoin payments were growing seven times faster than traditional fiat payment rails, according to the report.

Real economic activity and use cases

From January to August, total stablecoin transfer volume reached $85 trillion. After excluding internal exchange transfers, DeFi transfers and infrastructure-related transfers, Allium estimated real economic activity at $4.0 trillion.

Within that total, transactions accounted for 69%. Store-of-value use made up 13%, while payments reached as much as 13%.

B2B settlement and operating expenses

The report put B2B settlement volume at $137 billion to $153 billion. In business operations, service fees accounted for $56 billion, payroll for $43 billion, supplier payments for $28 billion, and retail procurement for $19 billion.

Geographic data and protocol activity

Among geographically attributed payments, 61% were domestic. By market, wallets in Thailand received $10.8 billion, Turkey $7.8 billion, Indonesia $6.3 billion, and Mexico $6.1 billion.

Agent payments on the x402 protocol reached 29 million monthly transfers in August, with an average value of $0.06 per transfer. Ether.fi Cash monthly spending rose to $108 million.