Ethereum Has Grown $100 Billion in Stablecoins Since the Start of 2024

Profit from strong demand

Ethereum’s stablecoin supply has skyrocketed from around $65 billion at the start of 2024 to $165 billion today, a 154% increase thanks to the issuance of USDT, USDC, and emerging pegs like USD1. The past week alone saw an increase of $5 billion, capping a streak of nearly $1 billion in inflows—a pace that has reshaped on-chain finance. Tether dominates with $94.8 billion on ETH (up from $40 billion year-to-date), while Circle’s USDC has fallen to $32 billion, according to DefiLlama cross-checks.

The global stablecoin supply has doubled to $290 billion since January, but Ethereum has a 57% market share, far ahead of Tron at 29% and Solana at 5%. Token Terminal attributes this surge to “trust neutrality” – Ethereum’s proven security and composability attracts tokenized treasuries and RWAs. There is no single catalyst; instead, it’s a combination of ETF stability, Layer 2 scalability (e.g., Base’s $2.5 billion TVL), and yield hunting amid 4.25% US interest rates.

From L1 Anchor to Liquidity Lighthouse

Ethereum’s stablecoin dominance dates back to 2015 as the pioneer of smart contracts, but the Dencun upgrade (March) in 2024-2025 has cut L2 fees by 90%, unlocking parallel throughput for high-volume stablecoins. This contrasts with the disruptive speed of Solana or Tron’s USDT vault: ETH’s $165 billion reserve accounts for 80% of DeFi volume, from Aave lending to Uniswap swaps. Institutional footprints abound – BlackRock’s BUIDL fund tokenized $500 million in ETH-based treasury bonds, while JPMorgan’s Onyx operates stablecoin settlements.

Gas prices spiked during peak times (150 gwei) and dampened retail demand, although blocks from Dencun mitigated the risk. Competitors are closing in: Tron has added $20 billion since the start of the year thanks to low fees, but lacks the growth advantage of ETH (70% of dApps). As one analyst noted, “Ethereum’s supply explosion cements its role in the tokenization market.”

The trend of stablecoins

Stablecoins have become the backbone of liquidity in the cryptocurrency market, with over $280 billion in circulation across ecosystems. For emerging Layer 1 networks like Aptos, attracting stablecoin liquidity is crucial to:

• Building a sustainable DeFi ecosystem.

• Providing on-chain payment solutions for consumers and businesses.

• Compete with dominant ecosystems like Ethereum and Solana.

Since the start of 2024, several catalysts have contributed to this impressive $100 billion growth:

• US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have reignited institutional demand for on-chain liquidity.

• The rise of DeFi on Layer 2 networks (Arbitrum, Base, Optimism) has driven the speed and volume of stablecoin deposits.

• The rise of tokenized treasury bonds and RWAs, where investors use stablecoins to access US Treasury products on-chain.

Evaluation and Conclusion

Ethereum’s addition of $100 billion in stablecoin supply since the start of 2024 has reasserted its position as the global backbone of the dollar’s ​​crypto infrastructure. Rather than being overshadowed by faster or cheaper blockchains, Ethereum is evolving into the institutional-grade settlement layer where digital dollars are created, circulated, and managed.

With tokenized treasuries, Return On Investment (RWA), and programmable finance growing rapidly, Ethereum’s dominance in stablecoin issuance is likely to continue – even as new ecosystems compete for transaction volume. The surge in stablecoins has ultimately cemented Ethereum’s identity as the monetary and liquidity core of Web3 finance.

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