Stablecoin Transaction Volume Soars 83% Year-on-Year: TRM Labs Report Reveals Explosive Growth
Stablecoins aren't just surviving—they're absolutely thriving while traditional finance scratches its head.
The Numbers Don't Lie
TRM Labs data reveals stablecoin transaction volume skyrocketed 83% year-over-year, crushing conventional payment rails and leaving legacy systems in the dust. This isn't gradual growth—it's a full-scale migration toward digital dollar efficiency.
Why This Matters Beyond Crypto
While bankers debate interest rates, stablecoins are quietly building the payment infrastructure of tomorrow. They're processing more value than some national payment systems—without asking permission or waiting for committee approvals.
The bottom line? That 83% surge proves what crypto natives already knew: when people discover something that works better, faster, and cheaper than traditional banking, they vote with their transactions. Wall Street might call it disruption—everyone else calls it progress.
Stablecoins lead illicit crypto activity
While stablecoins are making serious gains in the world of legitimate crypto activity, they are also responsible for a growing share of illicit crypto transactions. Stablecoin transactions accounted for 60% of illicit activity in the year ending July 2025, though 99% of stablecoin use remained licit overall.
TRM attributed the rise in illicit activity to “the same underlying drivers that have made stablecoins attractive for licit activity,” including “low transaction costs, speed, and broad availability on open blockchains like TRON and Ethereum.”
Ang told Decrypt that stablecoins offer bad actors many of the benefits of conventional cryptocurrencies, such as cross-border value transfer at speed, but with “a stability in value” other cryptocurrencies don’t provide.
“Illicit actors use stablecoins to MOVE funds for the same reasons as the rest of us.”
Investment fraud was the primary contributor to illicit volume growth between 2024 and 2025, according to TRM. Meanwhile, within the stablecoin ecosystem, extortion and blackmail activity saw the highest relative growth between January and July 2025, increasing by 380% year-on-year.
South Asia leads the way
In early 2025, South Asia stood out as the region with the highest growth in crypto adoption. Between January and July 2025, the region saw an 80% year-on-year increase in transaction volume, reaching $300 billion in total.
India ranked first in crypto adoption among all countries studied, just ahead of the US. Pakistan came in third, while Bangladesh placed 14th—despite an official ban on crypto in the country.
TRM attributed much of India’s strong adoption to its young population and robust developer infrastructure, and pointed to Pakistan’s plans to establish a VIRTUAL Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA).
