Forget Bitcoin And Ethereum, Here’s What Stablecoin Volumes Say About The Crypto Market

Rising stablecoin volumes have provided insights into the crypto market’s growth despite the decline in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices. A recent report noted that these stablecoins have evolved from speculation to utility, particularly as the number of daily active users increased in the last quarter.

Stablecoin Volumes Highlight Crypto Market Growth Despite Bitcoin And Ethereum Decline

According to an Orbital report, the fourth quarter of 2025 marked the peak of stablecoin growth, accounting for 33.5% of the year’s transaction volume. Q4 2025 is said to have been defined by a fundamental shift from speculation to utility as velocity surged while supply growth decelerated to 1.3%. The report noted that the stablecoin market peaked in October, around the time Bitcoin and Ethereum reached new highs, hitting an all-time high of 1.5 billion in transactions.  

Furthermore, the stablecoin market hit an unadjusted volume of $7.6 trillion at the time. Notably, the crypto market decline following the October 10 crash saw stablecoin volumes drop by around 23% and peer-to-peer (P2P) activity fall 29% in November. Despite this, the number of daily active users rose to 4.07 million, which the report noted signals a crossover into mainstream payment infrastructure. 

Meanwhile, Orbital revealed that in December last year, a more stable market structure emerged with a new, elevated baseline of 1.55 billion monthly transfers. This occurred even as the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum stalled. Amid the rise in stablecoin volumes in Q4, the Aptos network emerged as the breakout retail chain, with its market share rising from 6% to 25% through autonomous expansion. 

Aptos’ growth appears organic and additive, enabling the network to rank alongside BSC as a co-leader in retail activity. Orbital also mentioned that the narrowing gap between unadjusted and adjusted stablecoin volumes signals a decline in wash trading and bot activity, indicating that the crypto market is now driven by organic institutional demand. The reported volume is said to reflect genuine capital allocation and settlement rather than artificial noise. 

Stablecoin Volume Surpasses $8 Trillion

Artemis data shows that the adjusted stablecoin transaction volume has now surpassed $8 trillion, with stablecoins like World Liberty Financial’s USD1 recording significant growth. USD1’s market cap notably jumped from just over $3 billion to $5 billion within a week towards the end of last month. 

The surge in stablecoin volumes comes despite the recent crypto decline, with the Bitcoin and Ethereum prices reaching new lows. It is worth noting that stablecoins are seeing increased utility with more markets moving on-chain. Crypto traders are now able to trade stocks and commodities on exchanges like Hyperliquid, which has also likely contributed to the increase in stablecoin transaction volumes. 

At the time of writing, the stablecoin market cap stands at $310 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.