USDT briefly tops ETH market cap as flows hint at a 2026 “stablecoin season”

A rare market-cap reversal saw Tether (USDT) edge above Ethereum (ETH) for the first time in nearly eight years, with ETH near $185 billion versus USDT around $187 billion. Over less than 21 days, the stablecoin sector shrank by more than $7 billion and roughly $400 billion was pulled from the broader crypto market, alongside ETH DeFi TVL sliding to $36 billion. The setup is being framed as a risk-off phase where liquidity and utility are favored, fueling talk that 2026 could resemble a “stablecoin season.”