Stablecoin growth stalls after October shock as Base leads transaction volume: ARK Invest

According to a report from ARK Invest, decentralized finance continued to grow in Q4 2025, despite a volatility shock in October that stalled stablecoin supply growth above $300 billion. Ethena's USDe supply notably dropped by 58% following an October 10 liquidation event. While overall supply growth cooled, transaction volume shifted, with Coinbase's Base network surging 121% quarter-over-quarter to handle about $3 trillion in stablecoin volume, surpassing Ethereum and Tron. Ethereum and its L2s remained the primary hub for stablecoin transactions broadly, accounting for 58% of total volume. USDC widened its lead as the transactional stablecoin, representing over 60% of adjusted volume. Meanwhile, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) grew 14.8% to $19 billion, driven by commodities, and decentralized exchange (DEX) spot volume cleared $1.1 trillion, with stablecoin flows making up 55% of activity. Network revenue metrics declined, with total application revenue falling to roughly $656 million, though Ethereum's quarterly revenue ($111 million) surpassed Solana's ($90 million) for the first time since Q3 2024.

(Source：The Block)