Most people watching crypto and blockchains watch some very crude numbers. Typically this starts with the price of a token, then perhaps trading volume on the token and/or chain, market-cap and maybe, for non-Bitcoin tokens and projects, total value locked (TVL) inside decentralized finance.
Based on most of these measures, ETH and Ethereum ended the year more or less as they started (despite the all-time highs in the middle). On January 1, 2025, ETH was at $3,362, while at the time of writing (December 22), it was $3,045, with market cap following a similar dip. Meanwhile, TVL on Ethereum within DeFi saw a modest increase, up from $65 billion to $70 billion, respectively, over the same time period.
However, by a number of other measures – measures that are key growth indicators for the chain this year and beyond – Ethereum grew exponentially over 2025 and all signs point to 2026 seeing the chain extend and cement this growth.
Stablecoins Find Their Footing – on Ethereum
Perhaps one of the most important growth areas for Ethereum in 2025 was stablecoins. Indeed, the entire stablecoin sector exploded last year, with its market cap growing 50% from around $210 billion to over $313 billion between 1 January to 22 December 2025, standing in sharp contrast with the flat to sliding performance of the crypto market as a whole.
This growth was rooted on Ethereum, where stablecoin market cap grew from $111.8 billion to $166.9 billion between January 1 and December 22, an equal spike of around 50%. Those paying attention to the numbers will note this makes the blockchain the primary home for this growing asset class, thanks in significant part to institutional adoption.
Last year, we saw some huge milestones for the adoption of stablecoins, with institutions expanding their use of Ethereum for the settlement of stablecoins. Indeed, according to a recent report from Artemis, in 2025, business-to-business stablecoin payments expanded by 156% on Ethereum, with the average transaction size up 45%. This indicates heightened institutional activity.
As observed by Wall Street heavy hitters like Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, and BitMine’s Tom Lee, Ethereum is emerging as Wall Street’s favourite blockchain thanks to the potential for stablecoins as a “viral” use case for payments. Indeed, Artemis also observed a 167% rise in the use of Ethereum-based stablecoins for person-to-business (P2B) payments last year.
Ethereum’s more than 50% dominance in the stablecoin market (53% at the time of writing, to be exact) means this growth is going to continue to find its way onto the chain. Indeed, in October last year, trading volume of stablecoins on Ethereum hit a new all-time high of $2.8 trillion. Meanwhile, a comparison of January to December shows volumes of $945 billion in the former compared to $1.7 trillion in the latter month — a growth of 75%.
The Real World is Choosing Ethereum
While numbers on the stablecoin market might look impressive, though, they pale in comparison to the growth area where Ethereum is really marching forward: the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs).
After years and years of hype, 2025 saw RWAs finally truly take off, with the sector growing from just $5.7 billion on January 3 to an incredible $18.6 billion by December 22 — a massive increase of over 226%. And, once again, we see this growth happening almost entirely on Ethereum where tokenized RWAs increased 198% from $4.12 billion to $12.3 billion over the same time period.
Even in one of crypto’s best years, this kind of growth is incredible – let alone a year in which the market ended lower than it began. And a year in which we saw its biggest single ever liquidation event on October 10, when $19.37 billion was wiped out overnight. Let alone a year where money flowed in and out of Bitcoin ETFs almost as fast as an altcoin.
Although, of course, the two are related. The real-world asset sector has found its footing thanks to this volatility. Indeed, one of the most successful sectors beyond stablecoins is tokenised gold, which grew from $1 billion in January to over $3.2 billion by the end of December 2025. As investors of all shapes and forms fled risk assets, rather than simply exiting the crypto system, they stayed in it in tokenised safe havens.
Indeed, the RWA “commodities” sector began the year as just four tokenized gold funds, but ended it at 15, including funds in oil, soy, wheat, and platinum. Tokenized commodities are perhaps one of the biggest stories of the year, and one very few have been paying attention to as the price of BTC and macroeconomic dramas have dominated the headlines.
And once again, where is this money coming from? Largely Ethereum. This is underlined by an incredible 348% spike in the number of active addresses in RWA products on Ethereum between January 1 and December 22, which grew from 6,597 to 29,561.
Ethereum, as the data and pundits alike are telling us, is the firm and undisputed chain of choice for both institutions and investors who are flocking to the chain to make stablecoin payments and tokenize some of the world’s oldest and most stable assets. And, if those paying attention thought 2025 was a banner year, 2026 is going to see Ethereum clean house.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cryptonews.com. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment or financial advice.
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