Ethereum cemented its role as the backbone of on-chain payments in late 2025, processing a record $8 trillion in stablecoin transfers during the fourth quarter, according to data from Token Terminal. The figure marks the largest quarterly total ever recorded on the network and underscores how stablecoins have shifted from a crypto niche into a functioning global settlement layer.
The Q4 total was nearly double the roughly $4 trillion recorded in Q2, highlighting how transaction activity accelerated into year-end. Analysts note that the growth reflects real economic usage rather than speculative trading, driven by cross-border payments, decentralized finance activity, and early-stage institutional adoption.
Stablecoin supply on Ethereum expanded in parallel. Data from Blockworks shows issuance on the network climbed 43% in 2025, rising from $127 billion to $181 billion by December. That expansion provided the liquidity backbone for the surge in transaction volume and reinforced Ethereum’s dominance in digital dollar infrastructure.
Network Activity Reaches New Highs
The jump in stablecoin transfers coincided with record-breaking usage metrics across Ethereum’s base layer. According to Etherscan, daily transactions peaked at 2.23 million in late December, representing a 48% increase year over year. Activity remained elevated into the final weeks of the year, suggesting sustained demand rather than a one-off spike.
Token Terminal also reported that monthly active addresses hit an all-time high of 10.4 million in December, while the number of unique daily sending or receiving addresses surpassed one million. These metrics point to broader participation across wallets, applications, and regions.
Key indicators behind Ethereum’s Q4 surge include:
- $8 trillion in quarterly stablecoin transfers
- 2.23 million daily transactions at peak
- 10.4 million active monthly addresses
- Over 1 million daily active sender/receiver wallets
Together, these figures reflect Ethereum’s evolution from a smart-contract platform into a high-throughput financial network handling real payment flows at scale.
Ethereum Leads Stablecoins and RWAs
Ethereum continues to dominate both stablecoin settlement and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Data from RWA.xyz shows the network accounts for around 65% of on-chain RWA value, representing roughly $19 billion. When layer-2 networks and EVM-compatible chains are included, Ethereum’s effective market share rises above 70%.
In stablecoins, Ethereum holds a 57% share of total issuance, ahead of Tron at 27%. Tether’s USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin with $187 billion outstanding, represents about 60% of the entire stablecoin market, with more than half of that supply issued on Ethereum.
Market participants argue that current volumes may only reflect an early phase of adoption. Broader integrations—such as bank-linked settlement rails, tokenized securities, and real-time cross-border payment systems—could further expand on-chain stablecoin usage.
For now, Q4’s $8 trillion milestone positions Ethereum as the leading settlement layer for digital dollars, with usage metrics suggesting that on-chain finance is increasingly mirroring traditional payment networks in scale and consistency.
