Stablecoin "Three Kingdoms" Saga: Profit Sharing in the 315 Billion USD Pool

Q1 2026, the total market cap of stablecoins broke through 315 billion. Behind this data, there is actually a game between three completely different "profit models". As a holder, you need to see through these accounts.
First is the "offshore hegemon" USDT.
Tether's current profit can even rival Goldman Sachs. Its logic is the simplest and most brutal: I use your dollars to buy US bonds, buy Bitcoin, buy gold, and all the profits go into my pocket, without sharing a penny of interest with users. It is non-compliant, it has a black box, but it has a key — liquidity. As long as all industry trading pairs are linked with USDT, it remains that "big but too big to fail" shadow central bank. Using its convenience, you must accept being exploited for interest.
Next is the "compliance benchmark" USDC.
Circle follows an elite route, and after its IPO in 2025, it has become a compliant white glove. USDC's reserve management is indeed transparent, but its biggest problem is "interest being drained by intermediaries". Looking at its revenue-sharing agreement with Coinbase makes it clear — most of Circle's profits must be paid as protection fees to channel partners. The renewal in August 2026 is a hurdle; if negotiations fail, its profit margin will look very poor.
Finally, there is this disruptor USD1.
Its rise path represents a third logic: interest redistribution.
Since regulators do not allow direct interest payments on stablecoins, I will return profits to users through WLFI's ecological subsidies. This is essentially playing "rural encircles the city". Through CEX's financial activities and various Launchpool supports, it has broken into the TOP 5 within a year. The core logic of USD1 is not transparency, but "interest bundling". It pulls together sovereign funds and exchanges for profit sharing, taking a portion of the profits that were originally swallowed by Tether, and exchanging it for market share.
The situation is now clear: USDT relies on scale, USDC on compliance, USD1 on subsidies.
In this blue ocean with an 80% annual growth, who can ultimately win? It depends on who can define the "scenarios". USD1's current Agentic SDK and RWA exclusive settlement $BTC ‌$ETH ‌