Stablecoin Supply Shrinks $6.7 Billion in a Week, Steepest Drop Since Terra's Collapse

Published November 8, 2026, 6:45 PM PKT. Based on DefiLlama's daily stablecoin series (primary source), reporting from Blockchain Reporter and CoinMarketCap Academy, and The Defiant's coverage of Sky.

Total stablecoin supply fell $6.66 billion in the seven days to November 7, 2026, to $292.31 billion, the steepest weekly contraction of 2026 and the deepest since the week Terra's UST ($UST) collapsed in May 2022, according to DefiLlama's daily stablecoin series. Tether ($USDT) and USD Coin ($USDC), the two largest dollar tokens, accounted for $4.40 billion of the drop, or 66 percent of it, and the decline has now run for ten consecutive days.

The dollars left through redemptions, not through a discount. Tether ($USDT) traded at $0.99892 and USD Coin ($USDC) at $0.99945 on CoinGecko at 01:03 UTC on November 8, both effectively at their dollar pegs, Blockchain Reporter reported. A live check of DefiLlama's data on November 8 showed about $293.7 billion of dollar-pegged stablecoins in circulation, with Tether ($USDT) at $176.76 billion and USD Coin ($USDC) at $70.62 billion.

Ten straight down days and the steepest week of 2026

The daily series shows the slide building through late October. Supply stood at $303.25 billion on October 23 and held above $300 billion through October 29, when the reading was $300.11 billion. It crossed below $300 billion the next day and fell in every daily reading after that, to $299.70 billion, $298.96 billion, $298.36 billion, $297.62 billion, $296.01 billion, $295.13 billion, $294.55 billion, $293.73 billion and finally $292.31 billion on November 7.

The three largest single-day drops came on October 29, down $1.49 billion, November 3, down $1.60 billion, and November 7, down $1.42 billion. The rolling seven-day change has now been negative for 29 straight days, and over 30 days supply is down $15.03 billion from $307.33 billion on October 8. The November 7 reading is the lowest since September 24, 2025, when the total stood at $291.68 billion, and measured from the May 17 peak of $315.54 billion, the market has shed $23.23 billion, or 7.36 percent, in 174 days.

Of the 311 rolling seven-day readings recorded in 2026, the one for November 7 is the most negative of the year, and the seven worst readings of 2026 all fall inside the current run. The previous sharpest weeks were February 1, down $4.08 billion, and June 7, down $3.81 billion.

The comparison with 2022 is less alarming than the headline suggests. In the week to May 15, 2022, supply fell $27.4 billion against a $158.01 billion base, a 17.36 percent contraction. Last week's $6.66 billion equals 2.28 percent of the base, about 7.6 times smaller in percentage terms. The 2022 event was a run on issuers whose collateral was in question. This one is a steady withdrawal from the two largest issuers, both of which are still redeeming at par.

Tether and Circle account for two-thirds of the drop

Tether ($USDT) fell $3.10 billion over the week, from $180.09 billion on October 31 to $177.00 billion on November 7, or 46.5 percent of the total drop. USD Coin ($USDC) fell $1.31 billion, from $71.90 billion to $70.60 billion, or 19.6 percent. Sky Dollar ($USDS) lost $864 million, World Liberty Financial USD ($USD1) lost $357 million, BlackRock's BUIDL ($BUIDL) lost $249 million, Global Dollar ($USDG) lost $217 million and PayPal USD ($PYUSD) lost $70 million. Eight of the ten largest stablecoins shrank over the week, and exactly two grew.

The concentration matters because Tether ($USDT) and USD Coin ($USDC) are the default quote asset on most spot and derivatives venues. When their supply falls, the effect lands on the shared order-book base rather than on a single platform losing deposits.

Sky's USDS ($USDS) fell further in percentage terms, down 13.4 percent in the week, from $6.45 billion to $5.59 billion, The Defiant reported. Sky's total value locked fell about 15 percent in the same week, from $5.20 billion to $4.42 billion, its lowest reading among 30 daily observations beginning October 9 and about 29 percent below its October 12 peak of $6.23 billion. Dai ($DAI), Sky's older stablecoin, slipped from $4.72 billion to $4.67 billion over the same period.

Tether's own attestation points the same way

Tether's third-quarter attestation, prepared by BDO and dated September 30, described Tether ($USDT) issuance as broadly steady at $184 billion across the first three quarters. DefiLlama's series for the same date shows $183.84 billion, a $160 million gap that sits inside the normal difference between issuer reporting and on-chain aggregation. Against the November 7 reading of $176.997 billion, Tether ($USDT) is down $6.84 billion, or 3.87 percent, in the 38 days since that report.

The issuer's own numbers explain why the redemptions have not produced a discount. The attestation put the reserve buffer at $7.95 billion, up from $4.1 billion at the end of the second quarter, with total reserve assets of $191.5 billion and $132.4 billion in direct and indirect Treasury bill holdings. Against the $6.84 billion five-week drawdown, the buffer covers 1.16 times. Against the $176.997 billion of Tether ($USDT) outstanding, reserves cover 108.2 percent.

Paolo Ardoino, Tether's chief executive, framed the buffer as a redemption tool in the attestation release. "Our responsibility is to make sure USD₺ remains dependable when people need it most, including when markets and financial systems come under pressure," he said. Tether reported $4.5 billion in net operating profit across the first three quarters, $1.5 billion of it in the third.

Circle's quarter shows a steeper slope on a smaller base. USD Coin ($USDC) stood at $74.58 billion on September 30 and $70.60 billion on November 7, a decline of $3.99 billion, or 5.35 percent, in five weeks. Its third-quarter results reported revenue up 17 percent to $865 million while reserve income fell 8 percent. Chief executive Jeremy Allaire pointed to distribution rather than balances in the company's release, saying the quarter showed "continued proof that institutions are building and expanding on USDC." The same release disclosed a $100 million equity investment from Binance alongside a renewed partnership, and the Arc mainnet launch on September 16.

Neither quarter is a distress signal, which is the point. The two largest issuers lost $4.40 billion of tokens in a week, and neither reported a reserve shortfall. Supply can fall because holders redeem, and that is a different event from supply falling because holders cannot.

The long tail grew while the leaders shrank

Ethena USDe ($USDe) gained $404 million over the week, from $4.52 billion to $4.92 billion, and Ripple USD ($RLUSD) gained $270 million, from $2.42 billion to $2.69 billion. Together the two gains offset 10.1 percent of the total contraction. Both differ structurally from the tokens that shrank. Ethena USDe ($USDe) is a synthetic dollar backed by hedged derivative positions rather than bank deposits, and Ripple USD ($RLUSD) is issued by a company that also runs a payments network and settles on the XRP Ledger ($XRP) as well as Ethereum ($ETH).

Two tokens gaining is not proof of a rotation. Total supply still fell, which means most of the dollars that left the two largest issuers did not reappear elsewhere in the same quantity. What the split does show is where marginal demand went: toward instruments that pay a yield on the dollar rather than a token whose only promise is a peg.

What a $6.7 billion hole does to onchain credit

A stablecoin is the unit in which onchain credit is denominated. Lending markets quote borrow rates in Tether ($USDT) and USD Coin ($USDC), perpetual futures settle in them, and treasuries hold them as the cash leg. When the supply of those tokens falls 2.28 percent in a week, three things follow mechanically, without any change in borrower behaviour.

First, USD-denominated total value locked falls at the same rate. A protocol holding $1 billion of USD Coin ($USDC) shows $977 million after a 2.28 percent contraction even if no contract changed hands. Second, the lendable float shrinks, so utilization rises for a given level of borrowing, and variable borrow rates follow utilization. Third, the same dollars are asked to do more work across venues, which is why a 2.28 percent supply move can register as a larger move in funding rates than its size suggests.

The run began on October 29, the same day as the Binance breach that the exchange later said it had 98 percent replenished. The timing is worth naming and not overreading. A theft does not shrink stablecoin supply unless the stolen tokens are redeemed or burned, and neither issuer has linked the two events. The daily series also shows the decline accelerating after November 4, with drops of $580 million, $822 million and $1.42 billion on consecutive days.

The stablecoin drain ran alongside a wider exit from crypto risk. US spot Bitcoin ($BTC) ETFs lost $1.28 billion in the week, flipping negative for 2026, The Block reported on November 7. Bitcoin ($BTC) traded at $75,709 and Ethereum ($ETH) at $2,233.87 on CoinGecko at the time of writing. Stablecoins are the cash leg of crypto positions. When the cash leg shrinks, gross exposure is usually shrinking too.

The levels that break or confirm the trend

Two readings matter for the next week, and both come from the same daily series rather than from a chart pattern. A close back above $300 billion, the level the total held on October 29, would be the first sign that the run has stalled. A print below $291.68 billion, the September 24, 2025 reading, would be a new 2026 low and the weakest level since at least September 2025, extending the drawdown past the range that has held all year.

Pace matters more than the level. Five consecutive seven-day readings have landed between $3.5 billion and $6.7 billion in decline. A week that closes with a decline under $1 billion would be the first deceleration since October 29, and would mean new issuance is absorbing redemptions. The data does not yet support a stronger claim than that.

For DeFi, the number to watch is the ratio between stablecoin supply and total value locked. At $292.31 billion of stablecoins against $81.07 billion of total value locked, that ratio is 3.6 to 1. Watching it separates a dollar exit from a risk exit: if total value locked stabilises while supply keeps falling, the money is leaving crypto entirely. If supply stabilises first, the withdrawal was a rotation out of risk within crypto.

Sources

• DefiLlama, Daily stablecoin series (primary source: total stablecoin supply of $292.31 billion on November 7, 2026, down $6.66 billion in seven days, the steepest weekly contraction of 2026 and the deepest since the week Terra's UST ($UST) collapsed in May 2022; ten consecutive daily declines from October 29; rolling seven-day change negative for 29 straight days; 30-day decline of $15.03 billion from $307.33 billion on October 8; May 17 peak of $315.54 billion)
• Blockchain Reporter, Stablecoins Shed $6.7B In Sharpest Week Of 2026, November 8, 2026 (secondary reporting: Tether ($USDT) and USD Coin ($USDC) accounted for $4.40 billion of the $6.66 billion drop; token-level table for October 31 to November 7; Tether ($USDT) at $0.99892 and USD Coin ($USDC) at $0.99945 on CoinGecko at 01:03 UTC on November 8; Tether's third-quarter attestation figures and Paolo Ardoino's comment; Circle's third-quarter results and Jeremy Allaire's comment; the May 2022 comparison of $27.4 billion on a $158.01 billion base)
• CoinMarketCap Academy, Stablecoin Supply Hits 13-Month Low as Bitcoin ETFs Lose $1B, November 3, 2026 (secondary reporting: total stablecoin supply of about $295.9 billion on November 3, down roughly $5.7 billion in seven days and about $11.4 billion since October 5, the lowest since September 2025; US spot Bitcoin ($BTC) ETFs lost $1.04 billion on October 30 and November 2)
• The Defiant, Sky TVL drops about 15% in a week as USDS supply falls, November 8, 2026 (secondary reporting: Sky Dollar ($USDS) supply fell from $6.45 billion to $5.59 billion, down 13.4 percent, in the week ended November 7; Sky total value locked fell from $5.20 billion to $4.42 billion, down about 15 percent; Dai ($DAI) slipped from $4.72 billion to $4.67 billion)
• GazeWire, Stablecoins Contract Despite Rising Fed Reserves, November 7, 2026 (secondary reporting: dollar-pegged stablecoin circulation fell 1.91 percent, or about $5.768 billion, from 301.99 billion to 296.22 billion between October 28 and November 4; Tether ($USDT) supply fell by 3.655 billion units, 63.37 percent of that contraction)

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.