TL;DR
- Stablecoin issuers generated about $5B in 2025 revenue attributed to Ethereum deployments, driven mainly by yield on collateral assets.
- Quarterly attribution rose from just under $1.2B in Q1 and about $1.2B in Q2 to $1.3B in Q3 and near $1.4B in Q4 as supply climbed.
- Revenue is assigned pro rata by where supply sits on-chain, making Ethereum’s stablecoin share a direct input into issuer profitability and strategy for 2026 planning.
Stablecoin issuers turned Ethereum into a profit engine in 2025, generating about $5 billion in revenue attributed to their token supply on the network. That total underscores Ethereum’s growing position as the primary settlement layer for stablecoin activity, where supply concentration can translate directly into economics. Unlike trading fees, the revenue comes mainly from yield earned on collateral assets backing stablecoins, and Ethereum’s share of supply determines the share of revenue. As the amount of stablecoins residing on Ethereum rose through the year, the revenue line climbed in tandem, reinforcing why issuers watch deployment mix.
Quarterly growth and the attribution model
Quarterly figures show a steady, compounding climb rather than a one-off spike. Revenue linked to Ethereum-based deployments was just under $1.2 billion in Q1 2025, stayed near $1.2 billion in Q2, then rose to around $1.3 billion in Q3. By Q4 it peaked near $1.4 billion, bringing the year to roughly $5 billion. The visual pairs rising revenue bars with an upward supply line, so the second half of 2025 delivered the strongest acceleration as both metrics hit year-end highs. That consistency mattered for desks tracking issuer yield.
How that $5 billion is assigned matters as much as the headline. The data uses a pro rata method: if an issuer has 70% of its stablecoin supply deployed on Ethereum, then 70% of its revenue is attributed to Ethereum deployments. Because issuers mainly earn from yield on collateral assets, the approach links revenue to where tokens circulate, not where marketing happens. In practice, stablecoin supply concentration becomes a direct proxy for issuer profitability on Ethereum, making distribution strategy a balance-sheet decision. It also explains why issuers favor liquidity and composability when selecting settlement hubs.
For Ethereum, the implication is strategic positioning, not just bragging rights. The same dataset shows stablecoin supply expanding from Q1 through Q4, suggesting larger balances were held and moved on-chain as the year progressed. As supply concentrates, Ethereum becomes the foundational venue for large-scale, yield-generating stablecoin operations, strengthening its role in the digital asset economy beyond transaction fees alone. That dynamic also reframes competition: networks can chase activity, but issuers are paid where supply resides. In 2025, that gravity translated into nearly $5 billion tied to Ethereum deployments, and keep that footprint growing into 2026.
