Ethereum’s DeFi TVL has surpassed $99 billion, more than nine times higher than the next Layer 1, demonstrating the network’s mainstream adoption in decentralized finance.
Ethereum has seen strong growth in decentralized finance (DeFi) and stablecoin activity in 2025.
This is mainly due to falling transaction costs and infrastructure expansion which have contributed to increased usage across the network.
Increased DeFi and Stablecoin activity
In a New Year’s message shared via This figure puts Ethereum’s DeFi TVL at over 9 times that of the next largest layer 1 ecosystem. Stablecoin usage also remained high throughout the year, with $18.8 trillion settled on the network.
These numbers coincided with a decline in transaction costs across the ecosystem. Fees on Ethereum Layer 1 fell to a 5-year low, while Layer 2 networks saw transaction costs below $0.01, reducing expenses for payments, remittances, and savings-related activities. At the same time, the expanded paymaster infrastructure allowed apps to cover user fees, often eliminating the need to hold ETH for gas.
Crypto platforms have also expanded their use of Ethereum in 2025. Robinhood, Gemini, and Kraken have all launched tokenized stocks on-chain using Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, providing expanded access to US stocks beyond normal market hours. Robinhood also announced plans to build its own Layer 2 network using Arbitrum’s Orbit technology.
Meanwhile, regulatory clarity has supported the launch of new crypto-focused neobanks, which have introduced payment cards and rewards programs while reporting multi-million dollar daily spending volume.
Network upgrades and ecosystem expansion
Beyond DeFi and stablecoins, the Ethereum ecosystem has continued to grow on institutional and technical fronts. Institutional participation has increased thanks to the expansion of ETH digital asset treasuries, with over $35 billion of ETH held in exchange-traded funds and strategic reserves.
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Additionally, more institutions have used Ethereum smart contracts to manage on-chain capital, access DeFi-based yield strategies, and distribute over $12 billion in real assets.
The network’s accumulation roadmap also progressed during the year. Combined throughput across Layer 2 networks reached an average of 5,600 transactions per second, while the Fusaka upgrade, deployed in December, increased blob capacity and reduced Layer 2 costs. The Layer 1 gas limit was also increased to 60 million, increasing settlement capacity by approximately 33%.
Ethereum celebrated 10 years of operation in July 2025, marked by a record of over 88 million smart contracts deployed, while daily transactions reached a new high of 1.74 million. Developer activity also remained high, with 32,000 active developers across the ecosystem and over 16,000 new entrants between January and September.
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