Solana, Base, and Arbitrum: How L2s are absorbing Circle’s $75B expansion
This is the year stablecoins go from passive storage to active on-chain capital.
Key Takeaways
How many people now use Circle’s stablecoins?
Over 35 million users, doubling since early 2025.
How big is the stablecoin market on Ethereum now?
It has reached $184 billion, with faster transaction growth and real on-chain usage.
Circle’s [USDC] stablecoins are booming in 2025.
USDC and EURC now have 35 million users, and Circle’s total supply and yield products have hit a record $75 billion. Meanwhile, stablecoins on Ethereum [ETH] have grown to $184 billion, adding almost $100 billion since January.
With faster transfers and more activity, a new phase of real on-chain money use and efficiency is taking shape!
35 mln stablecoin holders, doubling in 2025
Circle-issued stablecoins reached 35 million holders, double the count seen at the start of 2025. Token Terminal data showed this rise was broad-based across Ethereum, Solana [SOL], Base [BASE], Arbitrum [ARB], and Polygon [MATIC].
Ethereum remained the dominant settlement rail, but the chart showed Base’s sharp user curve in recent months, indicating that L2 stablecoin distribution was gaining material traction.
The slow growth from 2022 to 2023 is over.
Since late 2024, stablecoin adoption has surged again. From late 2024 to mid-2025, USDC’s supply and number of holders have risen together, showing strong, connected growth rather than separate trends.
$75 bln outstanding supply, and no longer just Ethereum-first!
Circle’s total outstanding supply (including USDC, EURC and yield-enabled structures) climbed to $75 billion. Token Terminal’s supply chart showed a wider chain mix than prior cycles.
Ethereum still anchors the base layer, but Solana, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon and OP Mainnet collectively account for a growing share of issuance.
The post-2024 expansion leg was also materially steeper than the 2021-2022 build, indicating this surge was a new distribution curve, with L2s and alternative L1s absorbing meaningful new capital.
Ethereum’s $184 bln base isn’t idle
Ethereum carried more than USD 184 billion in Stablecoin Supply, an increase of more than $100B since January 2024. But the more important shift is that transfer volume has accelerated alongside supply, not lagged it.
This implied that the new holders (35 million) and the $75 billion Circle supply expansion were not just passive storage; capital is turning over. The 2021-2023 pattern saw supply growth without equivalent throughput.
In contrast, 2024-2025 shows rising velocity in tandem with issuance, which means that on-chain dollars are moving (and being used) at scale, not merely parked.
