Artemis, Castle Island, Dragonfly Study: Stablecoin Monitoring Shows Several Unique Trends
Total stablecoin payments reached $94.2 billion from January 2023 to February 2025, a new industry study shows. The study, conducted by analytics firm Artemis in conjunction with Castle Island Ventures and Dragonfly, tracked transactions across 31 payment companies to map the expansion of fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies in global commerce.
The Artemis report highlights that monthly transaction volumes surged 215% during the period, growing from less than $2 billion to $6.3 billion. Business-to-business (B2B) transactions emerged as the largest category, reaching an annual run rate of $36 billion by February 2025. Card-related payments followed closely behind with an annual volume of $13.2 billion, while peer-to-peer transfers leveled off at an annual rate of $18 billion.
Tether’s USDT dominated stablecoin usage with roughly 80% market share among the companies surveyed. The report notes that Circle’s USDC accounts for most of the remaining volume. Tron is the most used blockchain for settlement, followed by Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain.
“The most popular blockchain used to settle customer traffic, measured by share of value sent, is Tron, followed by Ethereum, Polygon (Ethereum Layer 2), and Binance Smart Chain,” the report’s authors explain. “This aligns with the findings of our 2024 report, which found that users preferred to use these five blockchains, although Ethereum was the most popular network.”
Regionally, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong saw the highest volume. Latin America and Africa have particularly strong adoption of Tron and Tether’s USDT for cross-border settlements. Pre-funding services—providing funding for instant settlements—grew significantly, reflecting demand for liquidity solutions.
The report attributes this growth to the efficiency of stablecoins in financial management and international payments. The findings suggest that stablecoins are evolving from speculative assets to functional payment tools, particularly for businesses. The researchers documented transactions across B2B, consumer cards, remittances, and payroll use cases.
