USDT and USDC are both USD-pegged stablecoins. From a US/Western perspective, USDC is cleaner — fully USD-reserve-backed, monthly audits, NYDFS-regulated issuer. From an Indian P2P perspective, USDT wins by miles on liquidity. The right choice depends on what you're optimising for.
Why USDT dominates Indian P2P
Network effects, plain and simple. The merchant pool prices USDT, takes USDT, holds USDT. USDC has merchant ads but volumes are 1-3% of USDT.
Indian arbitrageurs and traders use USDT because the spot pairs they trade against (BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, alts/USDT) are deeper than the USDC equivalents.
Where USDC has an edge
Regulatory cleanliness — Circle (USDC issuer) is NYDFS-regulated and US-licensed. If you're a corporate treasury or a high-net-worth individual concerned about issuer risk, USDC is meaningfully safer.
Some institutional flows out of India prefer USDC for cross-border settlements with US counterparties.
The Tether reserve question
Tether publishes attestations (not full audits). Reserves are now mostly US Treasury bills and reverse repos — much higher quality than 2018-2020. Tail risk has reduced significantly but isn't zero.
For Indian retail trading, USDT is the practical choice. For long-term holding of large amounts, USDC's reserve transparency may justify a portion of the allocation.
Key takeaways
- USDT for Indian P2P liquidity (>97% market share).
- USDC for institutional / regulatory cleanliness.
- Tether reserves have improved but are attestations, not audits.
- Practical pick: USDT for trading, optionally USDC for HODL portion.
