Key Highlights
- B2B stablecoin volume on Ethereum surged 156% from August 2024 to August 2025, with average transaction sizes up 45%.
- Business-involved payments drive 76% of the total volume despite making up just 33% of transactions, underscoring larger institutional flows.
- This positions Ethereum as a maturing settlement layer for institutional and commercial payments rather than retail experimentation.
The share of stablecoins in decentralized, and in traditional finance to some extent, is growing rapidly. Noting this shift, a new empirical analysis reveals significant growth in real-world stablecoin payments on Ethereum, with business-to-business (B2B) transactions witnessing a spike of over 156% this year.
Published on December 19, 2025, the report from analytics firm Artemis examines USDT and USDC transfers on Ethereum, which hosts about 52% of global stablecoin supply. Both these dominant stablecoins comprise 88% of the total market value of $302 billion, as per DeFillama data.
Growth in stablecoin volume
Over the period from August 2024 to August 2025, stablecoin payment volume and transaction counts more than doubled. Notably, B2B stablecoin volume surged 156%, accompanied by a 45% increase in average transaction size. These numbers highlight larger institutional settlements while person-to-business (P2B) payments grew even faster at 167%, signaling rising consumer adoption for everyday commerce.
Despite this growth, the composition of transfers tells a nuanced story. Peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions dominate by count, making up 67% of direct wallet-to-wallet (EOA-to-EOA) transfers, but contribute only 24% of the volume. In contrast, business-related categories, like B2B, P2B, and internal business transfers, drove the majority of dollar value due to their substantially larger average sizes.
The report estimates that genuine payments account for up to 47% of total stablecoin volume on Ethereum, or 35% when excluding internal business moves. It includes only EOA-to-EOA transfers, excluding decentralized finance (DeFi) and smart contract interactions.
This data positions Ethereum as an increasingly reliable settlement layer for high-value flows rather than purely retail experimentation.
Larger players continue to dominate the market
Another notable key takeaway from the report is that the large market players (potentially institutions and DAOs) have continued to dominate the space. The top 1,000 sender wallets handle 84% of transfer volume.
The analysis also notes patterns like reduced weekend activity and a spike in sub-$0.1 transactions, potentially indicative of bots or wash trading, which warrant caution in interpreting raw data.
The methodology relies on Artemis’s wallet labeling to classify transfers into P2P, B2B, P2B/B2P, and internal business categories. It also acknowledges limitations such as potential misclassification in pseudonymous environments.
The findings underscore a “quiet adoption” of stablecoins for institutional and commercial purposes on Ethereum. As James, Head of Ecosystem at the Ethereum Foundation, highlighted in recent commentary, these trends reflect Ethereum maturing into infrastructure for borderless, efficient payments—particularly where traditional systems fall short in speed and cost.
While P2P remains prominent in transaction numbers, the volume dominance of business flows suggests stablecoins are evolving into a tool for intermediaries and large firms, complementing DeFi and trading activities.
This report arrives amid broader stablecoin expansion, with global supply exceeding $300 billion and monthly volumes in the trillions. For Ethereum, it reinforces the network’s role in bridging crypto with real-world finance, even as competitors like Tron capture significant shares in certain segments.
Also read: Why Gold and Silver Won 2025, And Why Bitcoin Isn’t Done Yet
