Majority of top stablecoin owned by fewer than 6 accounts

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Updated on Dec 23, 2024

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CoinMetrics recently conducted research into top stablecoins and their distribution among users.
The study found that fewer than six accounts control over 80% of the top coins' wealth.
The report revealed how other stablecoins performed, with Ethereum's USDT being the most pluralistic.

CoinMetrics recently published a report that uncovered that the large majority of wealth among the top stablecoins is held by only a handful of accounts. At least 80% of the top 5 stablecoins’ wealth is being held by fewer than 6 accounts, the study concluded.

CoinMetrics also reported that around 20% of all transfers that were made with stablecoins had relatively low value of $100 or less. According to researchers, this is a sign that people are adopting stablecoins as a means of payment.

The results of research

However, more than 40% of transactions that use Paxos are connected to a single MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) Ponzi scheme.

According to researchers, many stablecoins are experiencing strong wealth centralization. Fewer than six accounts are holding the majority of Gemini Dollar (GUSD), TRON-based Tether (USDT), Huobi Dollar (HUSD), Binance USD (BUSD), and USDK’s respective capitalization.

Ethereum-based Tether (USDT) ended up being the most decentralized, with over 1,600 accounts holding 80% of its wealth. Meanwhile, TrueUSD (TUSD) and USD Coin (USDC) both have the majority of wealth controlled by around 200 accounts. Lastly, Omni-based Tether’s (USDT) capitalization is held by around 150 accounts.

USDC was also marked by the second-most distributed stablecoin according to the total number of transfers. There are over 20% of its wallets driving 80% of the transfers. After USDC, the Omni version of USDT, as well as GUSD, sit between 15% and 20%, while TUSD is at 15%.

At first, the Paxos network seems to have a very large percentage of wallets managing 80% of PAX, but a closer inspection reveals a different picture. The coin’s two most-active accounts are linked to the MMM BSC Ponzi scheme, which has been growing strongly over the course of 2019. Right now, the scheme-related transactions represent around 40% of PAX activity.

As for TRON-based Tether accounts, they are mostly associated with dividend payouts. In fact, on certain days, such payouts represent 90% of all activity.