Stablecoins have rapidly evolved into a multi-billion-dollar force in the payments sector, with various companies at the forefront—Tether, in particular, maintaining a commanding position in the landscape.
Stablecoin Study by Artemis, Castle Island, and Dragonfly Reveals Distinct Market Trends
A new industry analysis revealed that stablecoin transactions amounted to $94.2 billion between January 2023 and February 2025. The study, carried out by analytics provider Artemis in collaboration with Castle Island Ventures and Dragonfly, monitored activity across 31 payment platforms to illustrate the growing role of fiat-linked digital currencies in international trade.
The Artemis study underscored a 215% surge in monthly transaction volumes over the review period, rising from below $2 billion to $6.3 billion. The business-to-business (B2B) segment accounted for the largest share, hitting a $36 billion yearly run rate by February 2025. Card-based payments came next, totaling $13.2 billion annually, while peer-to-peer transfers stabilized at around $18 billion per year.
Tether’s USDT held a commanding lead in stablecoin transactions, capturing close to 80% of the market share across the companies analyzed. According to the report, Circle’s USDC comprised the bulk of the remaining transaction volume. Among blockchain networks, Tron emerged as the most frequently used for settlements, with Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain following closely behind.
The report explained that Tron led among the blockchains used to settle customer flows by value, trailed by Ethereum, Polygon (an Ethereum layer-2), and Binance Smart Chain. These findings aligned with results from a 2024 survey, which revealed that users favored the same five blockchains, though Ethereum had been identified as the most widely used network at that time.
Across global regions, the largest volumes of stablecoin transactions came from the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In Latin America and Africa, adoption of Tron and Tether’s USDT for international transfers rose sharply. The expansion of prefunding services, which provide upfront capital for immediate settlement, highlighted a growing appetite for efficient liquidity solutions.
This growth has been linked in the report to the effectiveness of stablecoins in streamlining treasury operations and facilitating cross-border transactions. The study underscores the transition of stablecoins from primarily speculative instruments to practical financial tools, particularly for corporate use. Documented transactions spanned across areas such as business payments, card-based consumer purchases, remittances, and salary disbursements.
