OCB Reference/Diligence
How concentrated are stablecoins?
A stablecoin held by a few large wallets behaves very differently from one held broadly — especially under a rush to redeem. Here is the top-10 holder concentration for stablecoins we measure, read live onchain.
OnChain Benchmark · Reference · figures update live
Stablecoin concentration varies enormously. The largest, most widely-used stablecoins are held across a broad base, but many smaller, newer, or regional coins sit with a handful of wallets holding most of the supply. What matters is the top-10 holder share — how much of the circulating supply the largest wallets control — measured against free float (supply outside the issuer's own and custody wallets) so a single custody address doesn't distort the picture. A highly-concentrated stablecoin can move sharply when one large holder redeems or exits, which is why concentration is one of the four dimensions of a stablecoin's quality rating. The live figures below are read from current onchain data.
"How many holders does it have" is the wrong question for a stablecoin — a raw count is easily padded by dust wallets or deflated by institutional use. The question that shapes risk is how concentrated ownership is: if the biggest holders exit at once, how much of the supply is that? For a token whose entire purpose is to hold its value, the answer matters.
How is stablecoin concentration measured?
We measure the share of circulating supply held by the largest ten wallets — the top-10 holder concentration — against free float, the supply held outside the issuer's own and custody addresses, on the coin's primary chain of issuance. Excluding protocol and custody wallets is what makes the figure meaningful: it reflects who really holds the tradable supply, not a treasury address that happens to sit on a large balance. Here it is, read live:
Share held by the 10 largest wallets · protocol addresses excluded · primary chain
These are the stablecoins for which we currently measure top-10 concentration. Even the least concentrated among them is held far more tightly than a broad retail base would be — and several sit with the top ten wallets controlling the great majority of float. That is the signal the big issuer dashboards rarely surface.
Why does concentration matter for a stablecoin?
A stablecoin's peg depends on orderly redemption. When ownership is concentrated, the coin's behavior hinges on a few holders: a single large redemption can drain redemption capacity, and a single large exit can move onchain liquidity sharply. Broad distribution absorbs those shocks; concentration amplifies them. It doesn't make a coin unsound on its own — a well-reserved, transparent coin can still be concentrated — but it changes how the coin behaves under stress, which is exactly what a holder needs to know.
How does concentration fit into a stablecoin's rating?
Holder concentration is one of the four dimensions OnChain Benchmark scores for a stablecoin, alongside reserve quality, redemption depth, and transparency — each 0–25 for a 0–100 composite. Concentration is weighed together with the others, so a coin isn't judged on any single number. For the full picture of what makes a stablecoin sound, see which stablecoins are fully backed, and the methodology page for how each dimension is scored.
- How concentrated are stablecoins?
- It varies widely. The largest stablecoins are held across a broad base, while many smaller, newer, or regional coins are held tightly — with the top ten wallets controlling most of the float. OnChain Benchmark measures the top-10 holder share against free float (protocol and custody wallets excluded) on the coin's primary chain of issuance, and reads it live per coin.
- How is stablecoin holder concentration measured?
- As the share of circulating supply held by the largest ten wallets, measured against free float — the supply outside the issuer's own and custody addresses — on the coin's primary chain of issuance. Excluding protocol and custody wallets keeps a single treasury address from distorting the figure.
- Why does concentration matter for a stablecoin?
- A stablecoin's peg depends on orderly redemption. When a few wallets hold most of the supply, one large redemption can drain redemption capacity and one large exit can move onchain liquidity sharply. Broad distribution absorbs those shocks; concentration amplifies them. It's one input into how the coin behaves under stress.
- Does high concentration mean a stablecoin is unsafe?
- Not on its own. A well-reserved, transparent, deeply-redeemable stablecoin can still be concentrated. Concentration is one of four scored dimensions — reserve quality, redemption depth, transparency, and holder concentration — and it mainly tells you how the coin behaves when a large holder moves, not whether it is backed.
- Which stablecoin is the most broadly held?
- Among the coins measured here, the lower the top-10 holder share, the more broadly the coin is held. The live figures on this page show the spectrum; concentration is measured against free float so the comparison reflects tradable supply rather than custody balances.
Last reviewed Sep 5, 2026 · figures read live