DeFi TVL Tops $99B, Stablecoin Volume Hits $18.8T

Ethereum’s DeFi TVL exceeded $99B, nine times larger than the next Layer 1, showing the network’s outstanding adoption of decentralized finance.

Ethereum has reported strong growth in all decentralized finance (DeFi) and stablecoin activity in 2025.

This was due to the fact that low operational costs and growing infrastructure contributed to increased usage across the network.

DeFi and Stablecoin Activity on the Rise

In a New Year’s post shared by X, the chain revealed that it has recorded more than $99 billion in closed value by 2025, according to data from DefiLlama. This figure puts the DeFi TVL of Ethereum more than 9 times that of the next largest ecosystem of Layer 1. Stablecoin usage also remained high throughout the year, with $18.8 trillion residing in the network.

These figures coincide with a drop in labor costs across the ecosystem. Ethereum Layer 1 fees have dropped to a 5-year low, while Layer 2 networks record transaction fees of less than $0.01, reducing the cost of payments, withdrawals, and transaction-related savings. At the same time, the expanded payment manager infrastructure enables applications to pay user fees, often eliminating the need to hold ETH for gas.

Crypto platforms are also increasing their use of Ethereum during 2025. Robinhood, Gemini, and Kraken have all launched token shares on the chain using Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, therefore providing extended access to United States shares beyond normal market hours. Robinhood also announced plans to build its Layer 2 network using Arbitrum’s Orbit technology.

Meanwhile, the regulatory clarification supports the implementation of new crypto-focused neobanks, which introduce payment cards and rewards programs while reporting millions of dollars in daily usage volume.

Network Development and Ecosystem Expansion

Beyond DeFi and stablecoins, the Ethereum ecosystem has continued to grow across institutions and technologies. Institutional participation has grown with the expansion of ETH digital asset wealth, with more than 35 billion ETH dollars held in exchange-traded funds and strategic reserves.

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Additionally, many institutions used Ethereum smart contracts to manage large amounts of money on the chain, access DeFi-based yield strategies, and spread more than $12 billion in real-world assets.

The network-centric roadmap also continued during the year. Combined performance across all Layer 2 networks averaged 5,600 transactions per second, while the Fusaka upgrade, implemented in December, increased blob capacity and reduced Layer 2 costs. Layer 1’s gas limit was also increased to 60 million, increasing seating capacity by 33%

Ethereum celebrated 10 years of being live in July 2025, which was marked by a record of more than 88 million distributed smart contracts, while daily transactions reached a new high of 1.74 million. Developer activity also remains high, with 32,000 active developers across the ecosystem and more than 16,000 newcomers joining between January and September.