Essential Insights
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Dominant DeFi Ecosystem: Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance surged past $99 billion, solidifying its dominance over the next largest Layer 1 ecosystem by more than nine times.
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Lower Costs Fuel Growth: A notable decline in transaction costs—reaching five-year lows—coupled with extensive infrastructure improvements, spurred significant increases in DeFi usage and stablecoin activity, with $18.8 trillion settled on the network.
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Institutional Participation Rises: Over $35 billion in ETH is held in exchange-traded funds and strategic reserves, with institutions increasingly utilizing Ethereum for on-chain capital management and DeFi strategies.
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Technological Advancements: Ethereum’s rollup-focused upgrades enhanced Layer 2 throughput to 5,600 transactions per second, and the network achieved record milestones in smart contracts and daily transactions, celebrating its 10th anniversary with 88 million smart contracts deployed.
Ethereum Sees DeFi TVL Surpass $99 Billion Amidst Surge in Stablecoin Volume
Ethereum’s decentralized finance (DeFi) total value locked (TVL) has soared past $99 billion, a remarkable achievement. This milestone indicates that Ethereum is more than nine times larger than the next biggest Layer 1 blockchain, underscoring its dominant role in the DeFi space.
Throughout 2025, Ethereum attracted significant attention for its growing DeFi and stablecoin activities. According to a recent post on X, the blockchain reported a staggering $18.8 trillion in stablecoin volume. These developments resulted from falling transaction costs and an expanding infrastructure that encouraged greater platform usage.
Transaction fees on its Layer 1 network dropped to five-year lows, which significantly improved the user experience. Conversely, Layer 2 networks recorded fees as low as $0.01, making payments and remittances more affordable. Furthermore, the introduction of paymaster infrastructure allowed applications to cover user fees, eliminating the necessity for users to hold ETH for gas expenses.
Prominent crypto platforms, including Robinhood, Gemini, and Kraken, also increased their presence on Ethereum, launching tokenized stocks that provided access to U.S. equities beyond standard market hours. Robinhood announced plans to create its own Layer 2 network using Arbitrum’s Orbit technology, indicating a strong commitment to the Ethereum ecosystem.
Regulatory clarity also paved the way for new crypto-focused neobanks, introducing innovative payment cards and rewards programs, which reported millions of dollars in daily spending.
Ethereum’s ecosystem did not stop at DeFi and stablecoins. Institutional engagement surged, with more than $35 billion in ETH held across exchange-traded funds and strategic reserves. Likewise, institutions increasingly adopted Ethereum smart contracts for on-chain capital management and real-world asset distribution, with over $12 billion flowing into yield strategies.
The network’s technical advancements progressed as well. Layer 2 networks achieved a combined throughput of around 5,600 transactions per second. The Fusaka upgrade, launched in December, increased blob storage capacity, also reducing Layer 2 costs. Additionally, the raise of the Layer 1 gas limit to 60 million enhanced settlement capacity by approximately 33%.
In July 2025, Ethereum celebrated its 10th anniversary, highlighted by the deployment of over 88 million smart contracts and a daily transaction record of 1.74 million. Developer engagement remained robust, with 32,000 active developers in the ecosystem, alongside 16,000 newcomers joining between January and September.
Ethereum’s expansion demonstrates its resilience and adaptability in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape, establishing itself as a leader in both technological development and user adoption.
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