Canada’s cryptocurrency economy expanded by over 2% in the year to June 2026, contrasting with a similar percentage contraction in the United States, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. This divergence is largely attributed to Canadian traders shifting towards stablecoins, which now constitute a larger portion of their order-book volume compared to assets primarily held for value storage.
Globally, the crypto economy shrank by 1.6% during the same period. Canada’s share of the crypto market grew by 2.3% to $247.7 billion in the year to June 2026, while the US market share dropped by 2.2% over the same timeframe, Chainalysis reported.
Canada’s Stablecoin Surge
Within Canada, the trend towards stablecoins is pronounced. In June 2026, stablecoins accounted for 44% of crypto order-book volume, a significant increase from 30% a year earlier. This shift placed stablecoins ahead of store-of-value assets, which represented 29% of the volume. USDC emerged as the dominant stablecoin in this category. Other asset classes in Canada’s tracked volume included smart contract layer-1 assets at 17%, payment-focused cryptocurrencies at 8%, and meme coins, layer-2 tokens, and other assets making up the remaining 2%.
US Market Dynamics: Inflows and Outflows
The United States experienced a different dynamic. Chainalysis reported that the US became a net importer of Bitcoin in 2026 for the first time since 2022. Concurrently, dollar-backed stablecoins continued to flow out of the US. While transfers below $10,000 remained net outbound from the US, larger transactions, specifically those exceeding $10 million, moved into the country. These substantial transfers accounted for an inflow of 53,200 BTC into the US in 2026.
Chainalysis noted that 99.1% of global stablecoin order-book volume was tied to the US dollar. The firm suggested that the benefit of stablecoins for holding dollars is less pressing for US users due to their generally easier access to traditional dollar banking services compared to users in other regions.
Broader Market Context
Further context from Chainalysis’s data reveals a growing market for tokenized real-world assets, which expanded by 135% to $36.07 billion in the period ending in the second quarter of 2026. Within this sector, tokenized US Treasuries reached a value of $15.42 billion during the same period.
Chainalysis ranked Canada second in its ‘big money index’ and tenth in its grassroots adoption index. However, the firm’s report did not provide a specific transaction total for Canada’s peer-to-peer crypto economy activity, which it described as the strongest in the Group of Seven. The precise percentage of contraction for the US crypto economy was also not detailed, only described as ‘almost similar’ to Canada’s growth.
Why This Matters
The materials describe a narrow update: Canada’s crypto economy grew by over 2% in the year to June 2026, while the US crypto economy contracted by a similar percentage. Transaction total for peer-to-peer crypto economy activity in Canada was not provided.
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