Ethereum Dominates Stablecoin Expansion With $84.9B Added in 12 Months: Can It Retain Market Share?

Ethereum Pulls Ahead in Stablecoin Growth

Ethereum has extended its dominance over the global stablecoin market, recording $84.9 billion in net new stablecoin supply over the past 12 months, the largest increase across any blockchain, according to new data from Artemis Analytics.

The report highlights that no other network came close to Ethereum’s surge in issuance. Tron, its nearest competitor, recorded only a fraction of the growth, followed by Solana, BNB Chain, and Arbitrum. Together, all other networks accounted for less than half of Ethereum’s total yearly increase.

This expansion underscores Ethereum’s role as the de facto settlement layer for dollar-denominated crypto activity, supporting everything from decentralized finance (DeFi) to tokenized Treasury products and cross-chain liquidity flows. For a broader context, The Block Research confirms similar findings, showing Ethereum maintaining 60% of the stablecoin market share.

Stablecoins as the Core of On-Chain Liquidity

Stablecoins, tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar or other fiat currencies, have become the backbone of on-chain liquidity. Their role extends beyond payments, serving as the primary collateral for DeFi, derivatives markets, and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).

Ethereum’s infrastructure maturity and interoperability have made it the network of choice for stablecoin issuers and institutional settlement platforms. Nearly all major stablecoins, including Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and PayPal USD (PYUSD), have substantial footprints on Ethereum.

The Artemis data suggest that the chain continues to attract both new issuance and migrations from other blockchains as developers and liquidity providers consolidate activity in the most liquid ecosystem.

At current estimates, Ethereum hosts over 60% of the total on-chain stablecoin market, reinforcing its position as the primary network for crypto-denominated finance. Analysts at CoinDesk also note that Ethereum’s liquidity depth and composability remain key reasons for its continued stablecoin dominance.

Why Ethereum Is Leading the Pack

The reasons behind Ethereum’s widening lead stem from both technological upgrades and market structure shifts over the past year:

• Layer-2 expansion: Networks such as Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism, all built atop Ethereum, have absorbed a significant portion of the stablecoin activity. Although counted separately in Artemis’ chart, these rollups ultimately settle on Ethereum, reinforcing its ecosystem dominance.
  
• Institutional adoption: Ethereum’s compliance-friendly infrastructure and established tooling have attracted major financial institutions exploring tokenized cash and bond products. Projects tied to J.P. Morgan’s Onyx, Franklin Templeton’s tokenized funds, and Circle’s Treasury programs all rely on Ethereum rails.
  
• Developer network effects: The liquidity and composability of Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem keep it sticky. New protocols integrating lending, staking, and RWA collateralization typically launch first on Ethereum to access its deep liquidity pools.
  
• Stablecoin composability: Because DeFi protocols are highly interdependent, stablecoins deployed on Ethereum circulate through lending platforms, automated market makers, and cross-chain bridges, creating a self-reinforcing liquidity loop that few competitors can replicate.

If you’re positioning around these dynamics, some investors use institutional ramps and retail venues to buy ethereum as part of a broader ETH and stablecoin strategy during periods of rising on-chain activity.

Tron and Solana Remain Competitive, but Far Behind

Ethereum dominates stablecoin growth (Source: Artemis Analytics)

While Ethereum’s growth dwarfs that of rivals, other blockchains are far from stagnant. Tron continues to hold one of the largest active user bases for USDT transactions, particularly in emerging markets, thanks to its low fees and broad exchange integrations.

Solana, meanwhile, has seen accelerating activity in stablecoin settlement and retail-focused applications, benefiting from its speed and cost efficiency. Solana-based USDC volumes rose throughout 2025, aligning with growing DeFi participation and new fintech integrations.

However, as Artemis’ data make clear, neither network’s growth trajectory approaches Ethereum’s $84.9 billion net increase. For institutional use cases requiring auditability and deep liquidity, Ethereum remains the default option. Traders rotating liquidity between chains often prefer swap crypto no fees to minimize friction during cross-ecosystem shifts.

Institutional Liquidity and On-Chain Settlement

The timing of Ethereum’s stablecoin expansion coincides with the return of institutional capital to crypto infrastructure. Over the past year, on-chain treasury markets, money market protocols, and settlement solutions have regained momentum amid rising demand for tokenized yield.

Stablecoins issued on Ethereum now underpin a wide range of financial applications:

• Tokenized U.S. Treasuries on platforms such as Ondo Finance and Maple Finance.
  
• DeFi liquidity markets, including Aave, Compound, and MakerDAO’s DAI ecosystem.
  
• Cross-border payment corridors using regulated stablecoins for near-instant settlements.

These developments are reinforcing Ethereum’s identity as a neutral base layer for global finance. With stablecoins functioning as crypto’s version of digital cash, Ethereum’s dominance mirrors the U.S. dollar’s position in traditional markets.

Network and Economic Implications

The influx of stablecoins also affects Ethereum’s internal dynamics. More on-chain transfers mean higher transaction throughput and greater gas fee generation for validators and stakers.

According to recent data from Etherscan and Glassnode, transaction volumes tied to stablecoins now represent more than 70 percent of all ERC-20 activity on Ethereum. Despite periodic fee spikes, Layer-2 adoption has helped keep average transaction costs under control, ensuring scalability for large issuers.

This sustained utility contributes indirectly to Ethereum’s token economics: higher network usage supports ETH’s burn rate under EIP-1559, partially offsetting issuance and contributing to Ethereum’s long-term monetary model. For day-to-day custody as activity grows, a secure digital wallet helps organize stablecoins, ETH, and L2 assets in one place.

The Competition Closing In

Still, Ethereum’s lead is not unassailable. Competing ecosystems are experimenting with more efficient stablecoin models and faster settlement infrastructure.

• Tron remains dominant in transfer volume and retail settlements, especially across Asia.
  
• Solana has emerged as a credible alternative for high-frequency payments and tokenized asset platforms.
  
• Layer-2 networks such as Base and Optimism are beginning to host their stablecoin liquidity centers, which could fragment issuance across rollups even within Ethereum’s umbrella.

Meanwhile, regulatory changes in the U.S., Europe, and Asia could influence where stablecoin issuers deploy new supply. Circle, Tether, and other large issuers are increasingly seeking jurisdictional diversification, which could mean more cross-chain deployment in the coming quarters.

Analysts’ Take: Ethereum’s Moat Is Deep but Narrowing

Market researchers broadly agree that Ethereum’s deep liquidity and institutional familiarity make it difficult to displace in the short term. However, they caution that the network’s dominance could erode if rivals sustain faster growth rates or if Layer-2s become functionally independent.

“Ethereum’s lead is built on liquidity gravity; everyone goes where the dollars are,” one Kaiko analyst noted. “But if cost efficiency and transaction speed keep improving on other chains, stablecoin issuers may diversify more aggressively.”

Others point out that Ethereum’s roadmap, including proto-danksharding and further rollup compression, aims precisely to maintain its economic moat by keeping transaction costs low while expanding throughput.

Outlook: Can Ethereum Keep Its Crown?

With $84.9 billion in added stablecoin supply, Ethereum’s past year has been its strongest yet in cementing its role as crypto’s primary settlement layer. Yet maintaining that dominance will require balancing scalability, regulatory compliance, and ecosystem inclusivity.

If Ethereum continues to capture institutional tokenization efforts while improving user experience through Layer-2 scaling, its position as the global hub for digital dollars will remain secure.

But if lower-cost, high-speed chains like Solana and Base continue to attract fintech integrations and retail payment flows, Ethereum may see its share of stablecoin liquidity gradually redistributed across a multi-chain environment.

For now, the data shows that Ethereum remains the center of gravity for stablecoin issuance, a position earned through liquidity depth, network effects, and a decade of developer trust.

The question heading into 2026 is whether it can continue to expand that lead or whether the next wave of innovation will finally test its dominance. For ongoing market developments and regulatory headlines that impact stablecoin supply, follow crypto market news to stay ahead of shifts that could alter chain-level market share.