Stablecoins are rapidly becoming a cornerstone of digital finance, with user adoption growing at an unprecedented pace. Over the past year, the number of active stablecoin users jumped by 53%, rising from 19.6 million in February 2024 to 30 million in February 2025.
A collaborative report by Dunes Analytics and Artemis revealed that this surge reflects growing institutional interest, increased use in payments and DeFi, and wider accessibility across multiple blockchains. By May 2024, Circle launched in Brazil, partnering with local businesses to provide access to USDC.
Circle also obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in France under the EU’s MiCA framework by mid-2024, facilitating institutional adoption in Europe.
In May 2024, PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD became available on the Solana blockchain, and by September 2024, PayPal enabled U.S. merchants to buy, hold, and sell PYUSD, indicating broader institutional integration into its payment ecosystem.
Known for its tokenized payment platform, J.P. Morgan enhanced its stablecoin-related offerings in 2024, with reports suggesting increased institutional use for efficient transactions, particularly in cross-border payments.
Paxos, issuer of stablecoins like Binance USD (BUSD) and USDG, saw institutional adoption grow, particularly with USDG in Singapore under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s framework. In 2024, Paxos also partnered with the Global Dollar Network (GDN) to enhance enterprise adoption, a trend that continued into 2025.
Higher supply, more volume and rise of Ethena
Per report, the total stablecoin supply grew from $138 billion to $225 billion over the past year, a 63% increase. Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies, stablecoins maintain a stable value,
Alongside the rise in users, and supply, stablecoin transfer volume more than doubled from February 2024 till February 2025. Monthly transfers climbed from $1.9 trillion to $4.1 trillion, a 115% year-over-year increase. December 2024 saw the highest recorded volume at $5.1 trillion before a slight dip in early 2025.
Over the past year, stablecoins facilitated a staggering $35 trillion in total transfers—more than double Visa’s annual processing volume in 2024. Despite the rise in total transfers, the average stablecoin transaction size remained steady, hovering around $680,000.
Another important revelation from the report is the rise of Ethena’s USDe. USDe saw explosive growth, skyrocketing from $620 million to $6.2 billion in supply, making it the third-largest stablecoin.
Meanwhile, Maker’s rebranded stablecoin, Sky (formerly DAI), saw a slight decline, though its new stablecoin, USDS, gained traction with $2.6 billion in supply.
Check this out: Latin Americans Turn to Stablecoins USDC and USDT for Value Preservation, Reports Bitso.
Different stablecoins are also carving out distinct roles. USDC leads in institutional transactions, favored for its compliance with global regulations. In contrast, USDT dominates peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, especially on the Tron network, which has become a key player in cross-border remittances.
Stablecoins on exchanges and blockchain
While centralized exchanges (CEXs) hold the majority of stablecoin reserves, the report highlighted that most transactions occur in decentralized finance (DeFi). DEXs, lending platforms, and yield farming applications drive most stablecoin movement, with MEV arbitrage playing an increasingly important role. This suggests that while stablecoins sit in reserves on CEXs, their most dynamic use cases—trading, lending, and arbitrage—are happening on-chain.
An analysis of different blockchains and stablecoins reveals unique behaviors. On Solana, stablecoin activity is primarily driven by MEV and Phoenix, dominated by arbitrage bots and order book trading rather than AMM-based DEXs like Jupiter. While Binance holds the largest stablecoin supply, it contributes less to transfers, reinforcing Solana’s role as a hub for high-frequency trading rather than passive liquidity storage.
On Ethereum, stablecoin usage is more balanced across CEXs, DeFi, and lending. Binance leads in both supply and transfer volume, while Aave and Uniswap play key roles in borrowing and trading. MEV is less dominant due to Ethereum’s higher gas fees, while Gnosis Chain stands out for integrating stablecoins with real-world payments via Gnosis Pay.
Base’s stablecoin activity centers on lending, DeFi, and high-frequency trading. Aave leads in supply, with Aerodrome holding significant liquidity. MEV farming and memecoin trading surged in 2024, driving transaction volumes. Coinbase plays a major role in stablecoin transfers, acting as the main fiat on/off-ramp.
