CryptoQuant Says USDT Supply Is Contracting Faster Than After the FTX Collapse
On November 10, on-chain analytics company CryptoQuant said that the contraction in USDT supply has already exceeded the pace seen after the FTX collapse. Over the past 60 days, USDT market capitalization has shrunk by $6.6 billion, a decline more than twice the drop in the same period in December 2022.
CryptoQuant pointed out that in this round of the crypto market cycle, growth in stablecoin scale has been an important source of funds driving the market higher, but this liquidity support is now gradually weakening. According to reports, as of around November 7-8, USDT market capitalization was about $177 billion. During the same period, the overall stablecoin market also contracted. DefiLlama data showed that on November 10, total market capitalization was about $289.8 billion, down about 4.57% over 30 days.
Original sources:
Title: Tether supply drops $6.6 billion in 60 days, outpacing the post-FTX decline Publisher: CryptoBriefing Publication date: 2026-11-10 URL: https://cryptobriefing.com/tether-supply-drops-66-billion-60-days/ Source type: English crypto media Verification status: The report content was actually read in this instance (2026-11-10), and cross-checked against CryptoQuant's official X post and multiple secondary reports (Blockonomi, The Crypto Times, etc.) Supporting content: Supports CryptoQuant's statement that USDT market capitalization shrank by $6.6 billion over the past 60 days, that the contraction speed exceeded the post-FTX level in December 2022, and that stablecoin growth as liquidity support in this market cycle is weakening.
ABAB AI Insight
CryptoQuant is an on-chain data analytics platform, and its indicators are often used by traders to track exchange flows, miner behavior, and changes in stablecoin supply. USDT, issued by Tether, is the world's largest stablecoin and is widely used for crypto trade settlement and funds moving in and out. After the FTX collapse in November 2022, stablecoin supply contracted significantly; the 60-day change in December 2022 was about -$3.2 billion, according to a CryptoQuant chart annotation.
In terms of capital flows, a decline in stablecoin market capitalization usually reflects increased redemptions or a slowdown in new minting, meaning some dollar liquidity is leaving the crypto ecosystem. In this market cycle, supply expansion in USDT and USDC has accompanied Bitcoin's price rise; the current contraction is appearing alongside a decline in apparent Bitcoin demand (down about 284,000 BTC over the past 30 days, the fastest since March 2025) and a persistently negative Coinbase Premium Index.
A comparable case is the wave of stablecoin redemptions during the 2022 Terra/FTX crisis, as well as the association between stablecoin expansion and bull markets in earlier cycles. The difference is that USDT's absolute scale is now much larger (about $177 billion), so although the absolute contraction amount is large, the relative percentage may be lower than during the extreme period in 2022; at the same time, the overall stablecoin market is also declining, indicating that this is not simply a rotation between USDT and USDC.
This data point reinforces the view of tightening liquidity and may put pressure on short-term prices, but in history, sharp stablecoin supply contractions have sometimes also approached a stage where selling pressure is nearly exhausted. The short-term effect is a weakening of available purchasing power indicators; the long-term effect depends on whether stablecoin supply expands again and on the macro interest rate environment. Indicators to watch are the direction of the 60-day changes in USDT and total stablecoin market capitalization, the recovery in spot Bitcoin demand, and net stablecoin inflows at major exchanges.
ABAB News · Laws of Cognition
Stablecoin supply expansion is often used as a proxy indicator for crypto market liquidity expansion.
Absolute contraction amounts and relative contraction percentages should be observed separately, because the base size has changed significantly.
A decline in stablecoin market capitalization and a contraction in Bitcoin demand can occur at the same time, but that does not automatically mean prices have bottomed out.