12 Public Chain Stablecoin Ecosystems: SUI Leads Growth, USDT on Tron Surpasses Ethereum

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Stablecoins have emerged as one of the most critical forms of digital asset settlement, serving not only as key indicators of capital flow but also as barometers for public chain adoption and market confidence. As of May 22, 2025, the total market capitalization of stablecoins has surpassed $245 billion, reflecting a rapidly evolving landscape where blockchain networks compete fiercely for dominance in stablecoin issuance and usage.

This comprehensive analysis explores the stablecoin ecosystems across 12 leading public chains, revealing growth trends, dominant players, and emerging challengers reshaping the future of on-chain finance.

Ethereum: USDC Momentum Shields Market Leadership

Ethereum continues to lead with a stablecoin market cap of $122.5 billion, accounting for roughly 50% of all stablecoin value. While USDT remains the most widely used stablecoin on Ethereum—representing about half of its stablecoin volume—its growth has stalled in 2025.

In fact, USDT issuance on Ethereum declined by 5.07% year-to-date, following an impressive 83.1% surge in 2024. This downturn opened the door for Tron to surpass Ethereum as the top USDT-issuing chain.

However, Ethereum’s position remains strong due to explosive growth in USDC. With $36.9 billion in USDC issued on-chain—60.82% of the global total—the network has maintained its dominance. USDC’s presence on Ethereum grew 46.4% in just six months, underscoring institutional confidence and reinforcing Ethereum’s role as the primary hub for regulated digital dollar activity.

👉 Discover how top blockchains are driving the next wave of stablecoin adoption.

Tron: The Global Hub for USDT Transactions

Tron has solidified its status as the world’s busiest corridor for USDT, now hosting over 99% of its stablecoin supply. With a global market share of 31.3%, Tron has overtaken Ethereum in both issuance and transaction volume.

Key metrics highlight Tron’s dominance:

From 2024 to mid-2025, Tron’s USDT supply surged from $48.8 billion to $77.7 billion after Tether minted an additional $18 billion on the network. The combination of near-zero fees and high throughput makes Tron ideal for retail users and emerging markets.

Additionally, strategic partnerships are expanding Tron’s reach. The upcoming launch of USD1, a stablecoin backed by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), will be natively issued on Tron—further cementing its role in mainstream financial integration.

Solana: High-Speed Growth Fueled by DeFi Activity

Solana stands out as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems, with stablecoin market cap soaring from $1.8 billion** in early 2024 to a peak of **$13.1 billion—a staggering 627% increase.

Currently at $11.4 billion, Solana trails behind Ethereum and Tron but shows immense potential given its high throughput and low-cost transactions. Notably, Solana’s DEX trading volume already exceeds Ethereum’s, indicating strong user engagement despite lower stablecoin depth.

The stablecoin mix is dominated by:

Solana is increasingly becoming a go-to platform for new stablecoin launches and DeFi innovations.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC): Zero Gas & New Stablecoins Drive Surge

BSC holds 2.4% of the global stablecoin market, with total value rising from $4 billion to **$10 billion** since 2024—a 150% increase driven by two major catalysts:

  1. Zero gas fee campaigns boosted short-term user activity.
  2. The launch of USD1, which is 99.26% deployed on BSC, adding $2.1 billion in new supply.

Today, BSC’s stablecoin composition includes:

Visa Onchain Analytics reports that BSC’s DEX trading share jumped from under 10% in April to 28% in May. It also leads all chains in transaction count (38.1%) and ranks third in USDT transfer volume.

👉 See how low-cost chains are redefining stablecoin usability.

Base: Coinbase-Backed L2 Claims Speed Crown

Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2, has achieved the highest growth rate among top-five stablecoin chains—surging from $177 million** in January 2024 to **$4.09 billion by May 2025—an increase of 2,210%.

This meteoric rise is fueled almost entirely by USDC, which accounts for 97.8% of Base’s stablecoin ecosystem. Beyond issuance, Base ranks second only to Ethereum in cumulative USDC transaction volume, proving its role as a major consumer-facing payment layer.

Hyperliquid: Whales’ Playground with Growing Stablecoin Diversity

Launched less than a year ago, Hyperliquid has amassed $3.26 billion in stablecoin value—surpassing established chains like Arbitrum and Polygon.

As a decentralized derivatives exchange, it primarily uses USDC (97.8%), but has recently introduced new options: feUSD, USDT, and USDe, signaling efforts to broaden its ecosystem beyond speculative trading.

Arbitrum: Incentive Expiry Triggers Massive Outflow

Once a top contender, Arbitrum saw its stablecoin market cap plummet from a high of $6.9 billion** to just **$2.73 billion in January 2025.

Three key factors contributed:

The exodus highlights the fragility of incentive-driven growth models.

Polygon: Enterprise Payments Fuel Steady Growth

Polygon’s stablecoin market cap rose from $1.26 billion to **$2.15 billion**—a nearly 70% annual increase—driven by:

USDC (47%) slightly edges out USDT (40.79%) as institutional adoption grows.

Avalanche: Lower Fees, Limited Impact

Despite a 96% reduction in transaction fees post-C-Chain upgrade, Avalanche’s stablecoin value remains between $1 billion and $2 billion—growing just 79% over the year without sustained momentum.

True expansion may require deeper ecosystem engagement beyond infrastructure improvements.

Aptos: Move-Based Chain Gains Rapid Traction

Aptos broke the $1 billion mark in Q1 2025, achieving a staggering 2,408% growth since 2024. As part of the emerging Move language ecosystem (alongside Sui), Aptos attracts developers seeking scalable smart contract environments.

Stablecoin distribution:

Native USDC launched in January 2025, accelerating adoption.

Sui: The Fastest-Growing Chain with 230x Surge

Sui recorded the most dramatic growth: from $5 million** in early 2024 to **$1.156 billion by May 2025—a jaw-dropping 230x increase.

With USDC comprising 75% of its stablecoin supply, Sui is attracting developer attention and venture funding. However, challenges remain:

Still, Sui exemplifies how new architectures can achieve hypergrowth when aligned with market demand.

TON: Telegram-Powered Growth Stalls

Initially promising, TON launched USDT integration targeting Telegram’s 900 million users. By June 2024, USDT supply reached $519 million.

But growth reversed in 2025—dropping from $1.4 billion to around **$900 million**—due to lack of sustained innovation beyond mini-games and limited utility beyond messaging apps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Tron surpassing Ethereum in USDT issuance?

Tron offers faster transactions and negligible fees compared to Ethereum’s higher gas costs, making it more attractive for high-frequency USDT transfers, especially among retail and emerging market users.

What drives Base’s explosive growth?

Base benefits from direct integration with Coinbase’s massive user base and product suite, along with strong incentives and a focus on consumer-friendly applications using USDC.

Is Sui’s growth sustainable?

While Sui’s 230x growth is impressive, long-term sustainability depends on expanding its application ecosystem, improving security post-incidents, and attracting institutional capital beyond speculative inflows.

How important are incentives in stablecoin adoption?

Incentives can jumpstart adoption (e.g., Arbitrum), but they often lead to temporary inflows. Sustainable growth requires organic utility, low friction, and real-world use cases—not just yield chasing.

Why did Arbitrum lose so much value?

The end of liquidity mining programs caused capital flight, compounded by competitive yields elsewhere and technical changes like Tether’s token migration.

Are new stablecoins like USD1 changing the game?

Yes. USD1's rapid deployment across BSC and Tron shows that new issuers are bypassing traditional platforms like Ethereum, choosing instead chains with lower costs and faster settlement—reshaping where stablecoins are issued and used.

👉 Explore how next-gen blockchains are redefining digital dollar ecosystems.

Conclusion

The public chain stablecoin landscape is undergoing rapid transformation. While Ethereum and Tron maintain leadership through scale and transaction volume, challengers like Solana, BSC, Base, and Move-based chains (Aptos, Sui) are gaining ground through speed, cost efficiency, and innovative incentives.

As regulatory frameworks evolve globally and new stablecoins enter the market, competition will intensify—not just for issuance share, but for real-world utility in payments, DeFi, and cross-border finance.

For investors and builders alike, the next phase won’t be about who leads today—but who can sustain momentum tomorrow.