Fourth quarter numbers just dropped, and they’re massive. Ethereum stablecoin transfer volume topped $8 trillion between October and December 2025, according to Token Terminal’s Monday report.
That’s nearly double what we saw in Q2, which came in just over $4 trillion. The gap between quarters tells you everything about where crypto adoption is heading right now.
The Numbers Keep Climbing
Daily transactions hit 2.23 million in late December. That’s a 48% jump from this time last year, based on Etherscan’s tracking. The growth hasn’t been a straight line, but the trend is clear.
Monthly active addresses reached 10.4 million in December. Token Terminal confirmed this as an all-time high for the network. Unique daily addresses topped one million around the same time.
Stablecoin issuance grew 43% through 2025. BlockWorks data shows the total climbing from $127 billion in January to $181 billion by year’s end.
Market Share Tells the Story
Ethereum controls about 65% of the real-world asset tokenization market right now. RWA.xyz pegs that market at roughly $19 billion. Add layer-2 networks and EVM-compatible chains, and the share goes past 70%.
For stablecoins specifically, Ethereum holds 57% of global issuance. Tron comes second with 27%, but that’s still a big gap.
Tether remains king with $187 billion issued across all chains. That’s 60% of the entire stablecoin market. More than half of that sits on Ethereum’s network.
USDT’s dominance on Ethereum actually grew from 55% to 62% during 2025. USDC dropped from 29% to 25% over the same period.
Why the Ethereum Stablecoin Transfer Surge Happened
The Dencun upgrade changed everything for fees. Transactions that used to cost $5 or $10 now run for pennies. That opened the door for smaller payments that weren’t worth doing before.
Regulatory clarity helped too. Enterprises felt more comfortable building on public blockchains once the rules became clearer in major markets. Payment processors started bridging traditional finance with crypto rails.
DeFi keeps expanding. Lending protocols, exchanges, and yield platforms all run on stablecoins. More apps mean more volume flowing through the network constantly.
Cross-border payments are a big driver. Sending money internationally through banks takes days and costs a fortune. Ethereum stablecoin transfer settlement happens in minutes for a fraction of the price.
How Ethereum Stacks Up
Solana processed $10.5 trillion in stablecoin volume for the full year 2025. That’s higher than Ethereum’s total. But here’s the catch – CEX.IO data shows 98% of Solana’s volume came from bot activity.
Bot trading represented 70% of all stablecoin transaction volume across every chain in 2025. Networks like Solana and Base saw unadjusted transactions hit over 98% as of December.
Ethereum’s volume looks different. The mix includes institutions, DeFi users, and regular people actually moving money. That matters more than raw numbers when you think about sustainability.
Base recorded $2.3 trillion in stablecoin transfers during 2025. It’s technically separate, but Base settles back to Ethereum’s main chain. That security relationship benefits both.
Traditional Finance Takes Notice
The scale now rivals Visa and Mastercard. Stablecoins settled $27.6 trillion total in 2025, beating the combined volume of those two payment giants by over 7.68% according to CEX.IO research.
Private credit on Ethereum exploded. Maple Finance went from $500 million to over $4 billion in total value locked. Companies are borrowing directly through on-chain protocols now.
Goldman Sachs holds Ethereum through ETFs. Other major institutions are building tokenization solutions on the network. When Wall Street commits capital, it validates the tech.
Revenue Picture Gets Complicated
Ethereum’s layer-1 revenue dropped from $100 million monthly to under $15 million. The rollup-centric strategy intentionally pushes fees to layer-2 networks. That changes where money flows.
Application revenue stayed steady at around $80 million monthly through 2025. Total value locked rose from 25 million to 31 million ETH. DEX volumes climbed from $67 billion to $86 billion, comparing Q4 2024 to Q4 2025.
The ecosystem keeps growing even when revenue distribution shifts around.
Global Adoption Spreads
Ethereum stablecoin transfer usage doesn’t correlate with GDP per capita. Rich and poor countries use it differently, but both use it heavily.
Nigeria and Ukraine rely on stablecoins for remittances and storing value when local currencies struggle. Wealthier economies use them for market access and yield generation.
Daily Ethereum stablecoin transfer volume regularly exceeds $85 billion now. That’s real settlement happening every single day.
What’s Next
The $8 trillion milestone proves blockchain can handle serious economic activity at scale. People are moving real money, not just trading meme coins.
SWIFT integrations and complete RWA tokenization are still coming. But current volumes already show the infrastructure works. That sets up deeper connections with traditional finance.
Competition will keep heating up. Solana attracts high-frequency traders. Ethereum appeals to institutions wanting security and transparency. Different chains will win different use cases.
Regulators are watching closely. How governments handle dollar-backed tokens will shape what happens next. Ethereum’s transparency helps with compliance, but uncertainty remains around the edges.
What was the Q4 2025 Ethereum stablecoin transfer volume?
Ethereum processed over $8 trillion in stablecoin transfers during Q4 2025, nearly doubling the $4 trillion recorded in Q2, according to Token Terminal.
Why did Ethereum stablecoin transfer volume grow so fast?
The Dencun upgrade slashed fees, making small transactions viable. Regulatory clarity improved, enterprises built more payment solutions, and the DeFi ecosystem expanded significantly.
Which stablecoin dominates Ethereum?
Tether (USDT) has $187 billion issued on Ethereum, representing 60% of the global stablecoin market. USDT’s Ethereum market share grew from 55% to 62% in 2025.
How does Ethereum compare to Visa and Mastercard now?
Stablecoins settled $27.6 trillion in 2025, surpassing Visa and Mastercard’s combined volume by 7.68%. Ethereum handles daily settlements exceeding $85 billion regularly.
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