USDC market cap nears record $80B amid ‘capital flight’ in UAE: Analyst

USDC is flexing hard — market cap is about to smash $80B for the first time ever. That’s a record high for the stablecoin, and it’s all thanks to a massive demand spike in the Middle East. One analyst says it’s straight-up capital flight from the UAE.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows USDC’s circulating supply is now around $79.2B — a new all-time high. The previous peak was just under $79B back in December 2025. This surge is recent and aggressive: supply was just over $70B in early February, then $75B earlier this month. Now it’s knocking on $80B’s door.

Dubai-based analyst Rami Al-Hashimi dropped the tea on X: OTC desks in Dubai can’t even keep up with the demand for USDC. He says investors are panic-dumping traditional assets and rushing into stablecoins.

Al-Hashimi connects the dots to Dubai’s real estate market meltdown. He claims property prices in Dubai have crashed roughly 27% this month alone — sparking a mad dash into digital assets. “War panic. Capital flight. Sellers are bleeding,” he wrote.

Data backs it up: the DFM Real Estate Index (tracking Dubai’s listed real estate/construction firms) has nosedived from ~16,800 at its peak to about 11,516 — a brutal 31% drop.

The chaos is so real that some property sellers are now accepting crypto payments directly. Al-Hashimi says listings are offering 5–10% discounts if you pay in Bitcoin. When traditional markets tank, digital assets become the exit ramp.

Japanese investment bank Mizuho reports USDC has just overtaken Tether’s USDt in adjusted transaction volume for the first time since 2019. USDC recorded ~$2.2T in adjusted transaction volume year-to-date vs. USDt’s $1.3T — giving USDC about 64% of the combined transaction share.

But let’s keep it real: USDt is still the stablecoin king by market cap at ~$184B, dwarfing USDC’s $79B. Volume is one thing, but size still matters.