In 2025, the Ethereum network is staging a comeback, driven by activities from trading bots and the growth of stablecoins, bringing the mainnet back to the center of decentralized finance (DeFi).
On June 4, cryptocurrency trading platform CEX.io reported that automated bots facilitated 4.84 million stablecoin transfers on Ethereum's Layer-1 blockchain in May, with a trading volume reaching $480 billion, setting a new historical high.
CEX.io's chief analyst Illia Otychenko attributed the surge in activity to the reduction of transaction fees in the first quarter of 2025, which helped reverse the trend of liquidity and users migrating to competing blockchains and Ethereum Layer-2 networks over the years.
As a result, the market capitalization of stablecoins on the mainnet grew by 11% in 2025, reclaiming market share from its Layer-2 networks. While the mainnet regained stablecoin market share, the total stablecoin market on Layer-2 networks only shrank by 1%.
Trading bots, which have faced criticism for their controversial maximum extractable value (MEV) strategies and sandwich attacks, are now seen as playing a role in improving the liquidity and efficiency of Ethereum decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
CEX.io stated that these bots have pushed stablecoin trading to the forefront of the Ethereum DEX category for the first time. In April, stablecoin trading accounted for 37% of the total trading volume on Ethereum DEXs, dropping to 32% in May.
The shift in trading behavior within the Ethereum ecosystem indicates a greater focus on utility and payment-driven use cases. In this transition, Circle's USDC has become the most traded asset on Ethereum.
These changes suggest that Ethereum is regaining market share and driving DeFi towards a more stable and efficient mechanism. If Ethereum can maintain a low-fee environment, the network will be well-positioned to become the settlement layer for stablecoins, bots, and DeFi infrastructure.
Illia Otychenko stated in an interview with Cointelegraph that Ethereum's increasing focus on stablecoins is not just a market phase but a signal of real-world adoption taking root. "Speculative tokens come and go, but the reason stablecoins endure is that they solve real problems," he noted, emphasizing the rising demand in emerging markets for fast, reliable, and borderless payments.
While utility-driven DeFi may solidify Ethereum's position as the settlement layer for stablecoins, analysts warn that maintaining the lead requires more than just momentum; the network also needs to address existing challenges such as liquidity fragmentation.
"The network needs to tackle the issues of cross-layer costs and liquidity fragmentation," Otychenko told Cointelegraph. "This is not just a technical problem. It will determine whether Ethereum leads or lags in the next phase of adoption."
Related: The Ethereum Foundation calls the next 18 months "crucial" and launches a new reserve policy
Original: “Ethereum Reclaims DeFi Market, Trading Bots Drive $480 Billion Stablecoin Volume”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
