In June 2026, the stablecoin market recorded its sharpest supply contraction in four years while simultaneously settling a record $1.79 trillion in transactions — a paradox that resolves only when one recognizes that the instrument is no longer a vessel for holding value, but a channel for moving it. Regulatory pressure from the GENIUS Act redirected idle capital toward yield-bearing tokenized funds, leaving stablecoins to do what payments infrastructure is meant to do: turn over quickly and clear. The scoreboard has changed, and the old measure — how much sits still — no longer captures what