Stablecoin Market Surges to $15.6 Trillion in Transfers and $300B Supply in Q3 2025

The third quarter of 2025 marked a major milestone for the stablecoin market, reflecting growing global adoption and institutional use. Fueled by record DeFi activity and greater regulatory clarity, stablecoins reached historic highs in both supply and transaction volume, solidifying their role as a core pillar of the digital asset economy.

Ethereum Reclaims Dominance as Tron Sees Rare Supply Dip

Stablecoins recorded their strongest quarter on record in Q3 2025, with transfer volumes exceeding $15.6 trillion and total supply expanding by $45 billion. The 18% quarterly growth pushed the stablecoin market above $300 billion, according to a report by CEX.IO.

USDT, USDC, and USDe drove most of the growth, making up 84% of all new stablecoin issuance. Even with U.S. limits on yield-bearing tokens under the Genius Act, USDe and PayPal’s PYUSD saw the fastest expansion, jumping 173% and 152%. The surge was fueled by strong DeFi activity and growing use across cross-chain platforms like LayerZero’s Stargate Hydra.

On-chain activity also reached new highs, with several notable developments:

• Total stablecoin transfers in Q3 2025 exceeded $15.6 trillion, marking a new record.
• Automated bots accounted for 71% of all on-chain transactions.
• Retail activity strengthened, with sub-$250 transfers reaching all-time highs in September.
• Small-value transactions are projected to exceed $60 billion by the end of 2025.
• Ethereum regained market dominance, hosting 69% of new stablecoin issuances, while Tron experienced a rare supply decline. 

Layer 2 networks such as Arbitrum also gained traction, driven by demand from perpetual trading platforms and liquidity migration. As a result, USDC’s market share on Arbitrum rose from 44% to 58%, strengthening the network’s role as a hub for trading and DeFi activity.

Stablecoin Ecosystem Reaches New Heights as Final Quarter Kicks Off

Trading volumes across all stablecoins soared to $10.3 trillion, the highest level since 2021. USDT extended its dominance, surpassing $100 billion in monthly decentralized exchange (DEX) volume for the first time. 

It overtook USDC as the most used trading pair on decentralized exchanges, boosted by rapid growth in activity on Binance Smart Chain (BSC). By the end of Q3, USDT’s share of total trading volume rose from 77.2% to 82.5%, while USDC declined to 10.5%. Other stablecoins collectively fell to a combined 7% share of the market.

Stablecoins cemented their central role in digital asset markets during the third quarter of 2025. Once viewed mainly as liquidity tools, they are now essential for settlement, payments, and retail adoption. With stablecoin usage historically rising in Q4, the sector may be poised for another strong quarter.