While bot activity dominates aggregate volume, the quarter also saw a sharp uptick in small, retail-sized transfers below $250, setting new highs. Analysts interpret this as evidence that 2025 is on track to become the most active year ever for retail stablecoin use.
Major stablecoins saw substantial net inflows during the quarter. USDT led with approximately $19.6 billion, followed by USDC with $12.3 billion, and synthetic stablecoin USDe with about $9 billion. In total, stablecoin net inflows leapt 324 percent compared to Q2, reaching $45.6 billion.
Some analysts caution that persistent dominance of bot-driven volume may inflate activity metrics, undercutting assessments of genuine real-world use. Illya Otychenko, market researcher at CEX. io, notes that both high-frequency trading bots and wash-trading bots are included in the 71 percent figure. He emphasised that only by distinguishing between manipulative and legitimate bot strategies can regulators properly gauge systemic risk.
Retail transfers under $250 — nearly 88 percent of which were tied to exchange activity — point to a nascent shift toward use cases beyond pure trading. Non-trading use cases such as remittances, payments and conversions to fiat rose more than 15 percent in 2025, indicating growing adoption across geographies.
On the network front, Ethereum remained the primary host for stablecoin volumes, handling the majority of transfers. Meanwhile, the stablecoin ecosystem as a whole is transforming into a programmable payment layer bridging fiat and crypto. A recent McKinsey report projects that daily stablecoin transaction volumes could reach $250 billion within three years if current growth trajectories persist.
Regulators are responding to this growth with renewed interest. In the United States, the GENIUS Act, enacted in mid-2025, seeks to create a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, mandating reserve requirements, issuer oversight, and rules governing underwriting and redemption. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-assets regulation likewise sets standards for stablecoin issuers operating across member states.
Yet skepticism remains. J. P. Morgan analysts recently revised their projections downward, forecasting stablecoin supply may reach only $500 billion by 2028 — a far cry from earlier estimates in the trillions. They argue that real-world adoption remains limited, and payments account for only a small share of demand. The Bank for International Settlements has also warned that stablecoins perform poorly against traditional money in factors such as elasticity, integrity and central backing.
Academic research explores hybrid monetary models that link private stablecoin issuance with central bank reserves to reconcile programmability with trust and stability. One such proposal envisions a two-layer system in which private stablecoins are backed by central bank reserves to limit runs and ensure interoperability with fiat systems.
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Cryptocurrency