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Crypto markets lost liquidity over the past six months even as one network’s payment activity climbed to a record, AMBCrypto reported. Total stablecoin supply fell from $280 billion in April to $263 billion, a 6% decline, while Solana stablecoin-funded card spending reached $141 million in October.
The exchange data points to where the money went. Binance’s stablecoin reserves dropped from about $51 billion to roughly $33.9 billion, a slide AMBCrypto tied to a hacking incident that removed approximately $3 billion from the platform. Over the past 30 days, Binance’s Ethereum-based Tether (USDT) reserves fell 7.8% to $34.78 billion.
Also read: Coinbase Europe Sets 30 October Deadline for USDT and 13 Tokens
Key facts
- Stablecoin supply fell 6%, from $280 billion in April to $263 billion, according to AMBCrypto.
- Binance’s Ethereum-based USDT reserves declined 7.8% over 30 days to $34.78 billion.
- Solana card spending reached a record $141 million in October, AMBCrypto reported, a sevenfold rise from October 2025.
- Crypto Briefing reported September card volume of $113.9 million on Solana, versus $19.7 million a year earlier, a 478% increase.
- Paymentscan’s November 3 dashboard showed about $1.37 billion in tracked October stablecoin card volume across all networks, per crypto.news, including some self-reported data.
A reserve drain meets a payments record
The two data sets describe different sides of the same market. AMBCrypto reported that withdrawals from exchanges reduce the purchasing power available for trading; with both institutional and spot demand lower, it said ETH faces continued downward pressure until USDT flows back into exchanges. Reserve losses at Binance also reflect the hack the outlet linked to the decline.
Solana tells the other story. AMBCrypto noted that monthly card spending crossed $50 million in January 2026 and has risen since, which it read as growing real-world reliance on Solana-based stablecoins.
Crypto Briefing supplied the mechanism behind the growth: partnerships with card networks including Visa, issuer rewards, and the network’s low fees and throughput for small payments. It reported that USDC accounts for about 58% of stablecoin card volume and USDT about 26%. RedotPay, described as one of the leading card programmes, accounted for roughly $402 million in card volume over a recent 30-day window. Crypto Briefing also reported Solana’s stablecoin supply climbing past $15 billion, with a peak of roughly $17.3 billion to $17.5 billion in September, and more than 14 million stablecoin-holding addresses by early October.
crypto.news examined how those totals are measured. Its report said Paymentscan separates top-ups from spending and tracks issuer settlement flows, so a single on-chain transaction can stand for many purchases. One example it gave: the KAST series showed $121 million across 31 transactions and 4 active addresses in October — roughly $3.9 million per observed transaction, a settlement average rather than a retail purchase price.
Why it matters
For exchanges, weaker stablecoin reserves mean less capital on hand to buy assets, which can weigh on prices. For payment users, the Solana figures indicate that dollar-denominated tokens are increasingly used at checkout rather than held idle. Crypto Briefing noted Solana usually ranks third by on-chain volume share behind Base and Optimism, and that the market’s growth carries concentration risk: a large share of activity runs through a handful of card programmes, and USDC and USDT dominate volume. crypto.news also flagged that merchant payments are often settled in ordinary currency through card networks, so card volume is not the same as tokens changing hands at the till.
What to watch
Watch whether Binance’s USDT reserves recover, whether Solana monthly card spending extends its run of records, and whether card partnerships widen the issuer base. Paymentscan’s monthly dashboards, including partial-month figures, will be the first place those shifts appear.
This article is informational only and is not financial advice; cryptocurrency markets are volatile and uncertain.
Reported by AMBCrypto.
Sources: AMBCrypto, Crypto Briefing, crypto.news