December flipped the script: Monero gave back share, Nano climbed, and both Bitcoin and USDC posted strong gains.

Here is the breakdown.

Monero Cools but Stays on Top

Monero slipped to 44.01%, down from November's 52.32%, but it still commands the largest share.

Nano Strengthens in Second

Nano rose to 18.73% from 16.13%, widening its cushion over the mid-tier.

Bitcoin Rebounds, Lightning Eases

On-chain Bitcoin jumped to 11.67% from 8.53%, while Lightning eased to 1.96% from 2.78%. Combined, BTC + LN now sit at 13.63%, up from 11.31% last month.

USDC and Litecoin Surge

USDC climbed to 10.85%, a sharp jump from 6.55%. Litecoin nearly doubled to 5.66% from 2.72%, becoming the clear fifth-place coin.

Mid-Tier and Long Tail Shuffle

Zcash cooled to 1.40% (from 2.35%), while Dogecoin rose to 1.01% and Bitcoin Cash edged up to 0.83%. Dash fell to 0.80%, TON retraced to 0.42%, and Solana dropped to 0.03%. Smaller caps appeared in the tail, including ZANO (0.11%), LTC-MWEB (0.07%), VERSE (0.04%), FUSD (0.01%), POL (0.00%), and ETH (0.00%).

The Full Data

Here is the complete breakdown for all coins in December:

• XMR: 44.01%
• XNO: 18.73%
• BTC: 11.67%
• USDC: 10.85%
• LTC: 5.66%
• Other: 2.40%
• BTC-LN: 1.96%
• ZEC: 1.40%
• DOGE: 1.01%
• BCH: 0.83%
• DASH: 0.80%
• TON: 0.42%
• ZANO: 0.11%
• LTC-MWEB: 0.07%
• VERSE: 0.04%
• SOL: 0.03%
• FUSD: 0.01%
• POL: 0.00%
• ETH: 0.00%

Takeaways

• XMR remains dominant but gave up meaningful share in December.
• XNO and BTC both gained, with BTC + LN back above 13%.
• USDC and LTC delivered the biggest month-over-month jumps.
• The tail diversified slightly with new small-cap entries, while TON and SOL cooled sharply.

That wraps December. The top four coins now account for almost 85% of all payments, and the center of gravity moved away from Monero toward Nano, Bitcoin, and USDC.