Stablecoin adoption among retail users has set new records this year, with transaction volumes through August already exceeding last year’s total, a fresh report by CEX.io said.
Retail-sized transfers, counting transactions under $250, crossed $5.84 billion in August alone, the highest ever recorded, according to data by Visa and Allium cited in the report. With nearly four months left in the year, 2025 has already become the busiest period yet for stablecoin transfer volume at the consumer level.
The figures underscore stablecoins, a group of cryptos tied to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, becoming increasingly embedded into everyday financial activity, from cross-border remittances to microtransactions, the report pointed out.
Survey data from emerging markets, asking over 2,600 consumer in Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia, reinforced this picture, CEX.io analysts. A majority of respondents said they turned to stablecoins to avoid high banking fees and slow transfers, the report said. Nearly 70% of them reported using stablecoins more frequently than last year, and more than three-quarters expect usage to keep rising, the report said.
Survey results about stablecoin motivations in emerging countries. (CEX.io)
Ethereum gains, Tron falls back
The distribution of activity among blockchains have shifted, the report noted. The Tron 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.
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