Circle mints US$68.26 billion in USDC on Solana, injecting global dollar liquidity

On July 13, Circle again minted USDC of approximately US$750 million on the Solana network, bringing its cumulative circulation on the network this year to approximately US$68.26 billion. The move highlights Solana's position as a major crypto-dollar liquidity platform, and market participants continue to view USDC's additional issuance as an early signal of capital flows.

USDC is an important asset in the digital economy and is often used to settle transactions, provide collateral for loans and derivatives, and execute transactions related to the tokenization of real-world assets. As a result, any new release will attract broader market attention than within Solana. A new issuance does not mean an automatic increase in value, but if accompanied by corresponding trading activity, it indicates that the demand for US dollars on the chain is rising.

According to blockchain tracking data, the latest batch of tokens have been minted to Solana's address: 7VHUFJHWu2CuExkJcJrzhQPJ2oygupTWkL2A2For 4BmE. This additional issuance continues the trend that has continued to accumulate since 2026. In April this year, it was reported that Circle had created US$3.25 billion in USDC on Solana through 13 independent transfers of 250 million pieces each within a week.

Total issuance only explains part of the story

It is crucial to understand the US$68.26 billion figure. It represents the total value of USDCs issued on the Solana blockchain this year, not current circulation. These tokens may then be converted into U.S. dollars, destroyed, or transferred to other blockchains based on market changes.

Current supply presents a completely different picture. According to DefiLlama data, the USDC currently held on Solana is approximately US$7.3 billion, while the total USDC held on all blockchains is close to US$73.5 billion. Comparing the above figures reveals the flow of funds on the network: only 10.7% of the USDC created on Solana this year remain on the chain. In other words, the total amount of casting is about 9.35 times the current circulation.

This does not mean that approximately 90% of the tokens have been lost. Instead, it suggests that liquidity is being actively recycled. Large amounts of capital are likely to be sold, destroyed or transferred to other networks as liquidity flows between different ecosystems. Solana is not only a place where stablecoins are accumulated, but also demonstrates its function as an efficient settlement network in which large amounts of US dollars flow.

Circle has repeatedly pointed out that it is crucial to consider issuance in conjunction with redemption situations. Circle's transparency report separately records the supply of new issues, redemptions and circulation, indicating that new foundries are not the only factor to pay attention to when considering supply.

One of the reasons why Solana continues to attract USDC

Circle continues to issue large-scale offerings on Solana is that Solana remains one of the most popular trading venues in the crypto space. Earlier this year, USDC accounted for 52% of all stablecoins on Solana, totaling US$14.7 billion, while decentralized exchanges such as Raydium, Jupiter and Orca continue to conduct large amounts of transactions. Adequate stablecoin reserves usually improve liquidity by narrowing price spreads and promoting large transactions to reduce price shocks.

The increase in issuance is consistent with Circle's extensive expansion in institutional finance. In June, Circle announced that BNY became the first partner to provide institutional custody services and direct USDC casting and redemption. Circle has also partnered with Standard Chartered Bank to provide institutional investors with network access, demonstrating its goal of strengthening the connection between traditional finance and blockchain transactions.

According to Circle's transparency statement, the USDC can still be convertible to the U.S. dollar on a 1:1 basis and is backed by reserves consisting mainly of cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds. It remains the world's second-largest stablecoin by market value, behind Tether's USDT.

In the future, investors are expected to focus on whether the newly issued USDC will remain on Solana or be transferred to other locations through redemption and cross-chain transfers. If this trend continues, Solana's importance may no longer depend on the amount of USDC it holds at any time, but rather on the total amount of dollar liquidity flowing through the platform.