Tether and Circle top $169m in weekly revenue as DEX activity falls

Tether and Circle have retained the top two places in DeFiLlama's revenue rankings, with a combined $169.34 million over seven days, as the platform's Oct. 28 data show lower weekly decentralized exchange trading activity.

Summary

• Tether and Circle recorded a combined $169.34 million in estimated revenue over seven days.
• DEX spot trading volume fell 11.30% on DeFiLlama's weekly measure.
• Circle's second-quarter reserve income grew 5% despite a 66-basis-point decline in reserve yields.
• Circle paid $819 million to distribution partners and transaction costs during the first half of 2026.

DeFiLlama's Oct. 28 revenue table lists $121.23 million for Tether and $48.11 million for Circle, ahead of Hyperliquid's $14.18 million and Pump's $13.04 million. The dashboard records $35.72 million in revenue over 24 hours and $1.247 billion across 30 days, with its weekly change indicator at minus 11.83%.

Stablecoin revenue remains led by reserve assets

In the earlier snapshot circulating on X, Tether's seven-day figure stood at $121.55 million and Circle's at $48.29 million. Hyperliquid followed with $14.92 million, while Pump recorded $13.39 million. The supplied image places both stablecoin issuers in a separate category from derivatives venues and launchpads.

Why are stablecoin issuers are dominating crypto revenue?

this is your answer👇

Tether generated $121.55M in revenue over the last 7 days, while Circle brought in $48.29M. These numbers put both ahead of several major names in crypto.

But why are they generating so much?... https://t.co/jPYoFFzoV4 --- CRYPTOKRALI©️ (@CRYPTOKRALI3) October 28, 2026

Calculated from that snapshot, the two issuers generated a combined $169.84 million, almost six times the $28.31 million attributed to Hyperliquid and Pump together. The Oct. 28 rolling totals put the issuers' combined revenue $500,000 below the figures in the circulating image.

According to DeFiLlama's Tether methodology, the revenue measure covers yields collected from investments backing USDT, including Treasury bills, repurchase agreements, money market funds and secured loans. Its Circle revenue definition includes returns on USDC backing assets and fees from the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol.

DEX trading volume falls as fees trail their monthly pace

On its separate spot exchange dashboard, DeFiLlama records $5.554 billion in daily DEX volume and $210.029 billion over 30 days, alongside a weekly change of minus 11.30%. Uniswap accounts for $12.274 billion over seven days, followed by PancakeSwap at $5.801 billion and Aero at $3.829 billion.

The platform's fee table lists Uniswap at $14.93 million for seven days and $88.64 million for 30 days. Dividing each figure by its reporting period gives daily averages of $2.13 million and $2.95 million, respectively. The seven-day average is approximately 27.8% below the 30-day average, based on those displayed totals.

Pump's corresponding fees are $36.95 million and $187.42 million. Using the same calculation, its daily average over the latest seven days is roughly 15.5% below the 30-day average. Pump's fee definition includes bonding-curve trades, graduation charges, trading-terminal activity, and swap fees, including amounts allocated to liquidity providers and coin creators.

Across the full fee dashboard, DeFiLlama shows $64.36 million over 24 hours, $2.276 billion over 30 days and a weekly change of minus 8.87%. The dashboard covers several categories, including stablecoin issuers, lending platforms and derivatives venues.

Lower reserve yields have already affected Circle's income

In its August 5 quarterly results, Circle reported $668 million in second-quarter reserve income, up 5% from a year earlier. The company attributed the growth to a 25% rise in average USDC circulation, partly offset by a 66-basis-point decline in its reserve return rate.

Circle's filing records $701 million in total revenue and reserve income, $412 million in distribution, transaction and other costs, and $254 million in operating expenses. Net income reached $48 million. At the end of June, USDC circulation stood at $73.3 billion, up 19% year over year.

For a fixed $100 billion portfolio, a 25-basis-point reduction in the annual yield would reduce gross annual income by $250 million, equivalent to approximately $4.8 million per week. This calculation assumes the full portfolio earns the lower rate for a year, balances remain unchanged, and no expenses are deducted; it is not an earnings forecast for either issuer.

Tether attributed its second-quarter operating earnings primarily to its U.S. Treasury portfolio and repo operations. As crypto.news previously reported on July 31, the company disclosed roughly $1.5 billion in profit for the quarter. Its July 31 release put assets at $187.75 billion and liabilities at $183.64 billion, leaving $4.11 billion in excess reserves.

An August 1 examination of Tether's reserve asset composition recorded $18.84 billion in gold and $5.80 billion in Bitcoin at quarter-end. Together, the reported positions totaled $24.64 billion.

Circle distributes reserve earnings through commercial agreements

In an Oct. 16 explanation of USDC economics, Circle said it generated nearly $1.4 billion in first-half revenue and paid $819 million to distribution partners and transaction costs. The company put that allocation at 59 cents per revenue dollar, with another 34 cents spent on infrastructure, compliance and other investments, leaving seven cents in net profit.

Circle's explanation says distribution partners earn a share of reserve income by holding and growing USDC balances on their platforms. Its description of redemption liquidity states that cash maintained at partner banks earns less than the same funds would in Treasuries.

Following a Sep. 22 announcement, Circle's five-year Binance agreement provides for monthly incentives tied to qualifying USDC balances held through its Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure.

The Sep. 27 coverage states that Binance retained voting rights but accepted restrictions on selling, transferring, pledging, or hedging the shares for up to two years, subject to exceptions.

The commercial arrangement replaced agreements signed in November 2024 and August 2025. Binance purchased 1,237,011 Class A shares at $80.84 each in a $100 million private placement that closed Sep. 17.