Stablecoin Retail Transfers Shatter Records in 2025, Surpassing $5.8B in August

Digital dollars hit escape velocity as mainstream adoption accelerates.

The Tipping Point

Retail users moved a staggering $5.8 billion through stablecoin networks last month—smashing previous records and leaving traditional payment rails in the dust. This isn't just speculation; it's real economic activity.

Frictionless Finance in Action

Consumers bypass banking hours and cross-border fees, settling transactions in seconds rather than days. Merchants embrace stable settlements without volatility risk—finally delivering crypto's original promise as a medium of exchange.

Wall Street's Awkward Silence

While legacy finance debates regulatory frameworks, actual users vote with their wallets. Another reminder that innovation happens at the edges, not in boardrooms. Maybe banks will finally notice when their transfer fee revenue dips below their quarterly espresso budget.

The genie's out of the bottle—and it's not going back to charging 3% interchange fees.

The distribution of activity among blockchains have shifted, the report noted. The Tron (TRX) blockchain, traditionally popular for retail transfers due to its low fees and wide support for Tether's USDT (USDT), has given up market share. Monthly transaction counts fell by 1.3 million, or 6%, and its growth in volume lagged behind its closest competitors.

In its place, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) emerged as the top choice for retail users, capturing nearly 40% of retail stablecoin activity, the report said. The network’s transaction count jumped 75% this year with transfer volume rising 67%. Much of the momentum came after Binance delisted USDT in March for European users and a resurgence of memecoin trading on PancakeSwap on BSC.

The ethereum complex, with the base chain and layer-2 networks combined, made up over 20% of transfer volume and 31% of transaction counts, the report noted. While small transfers largely took place on L2s, the mainnet enjoyed a significant rise in the retail segment. Sub-$250 transfers on the mainnet rose 81% in volume and 184% in count.

Ethereum has been mostly used for large-value transactions due to its high fees, but transaction costs have dropped more than 70% over the past year, making mainnet transactions more competitive even in the sub-$250 range, the authors said.