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- Ethereum reported a record high amount of developer activity in the fourth quarter of last year.
- The chain has attracted developers and institutions alike, establishing itself as the settlement layer.
- The network also holds the world’s largest supply of stablecoins, with Tron and Solana trailing.
The activities of developers on Ethereum, which are measured by the number of smart contract wallets, increased exponentially in the last quarter of 2025, reaching new records just as the Ethereum ecosystem proved itself the best layer for stablecoins, hosting up to 54% of the global stablecoin supply on ETH.
Token Terminal’s data has revealed Ethereum had about 8.7 million smart contracts deployed in the last quarter of 2025, making it the highest quarter witnessed ever, surpassing its previous record from 2021 when it reported 6 million deployments.
ETH developers set a new record in 2025
According to Leon Waidmann, Head of Research at Onchain Foundation, 2025 was a year of divergence for Ethereum as builders were more focused on shipping products that scale rather than speculating.
“That divergence matters heading into 2026!” Waidman claimed, before he declared that Ethereum is making the strongest case as the core execution and settlement layer.
However, one user pointed out that “quantity ≠ quality” then asked, “how many of those 8.7M contracts are actually being used vs deployed and abandoned? Active contract interactions matter more than deployment count.”
That sentiment was echoed in other comments as more people teased the possibility of those deployments getting abandoned in the future.
The Ethereum token price has yet to fully reflect this bullishness; however, the spike in deployed smart contracts confirms that the ecosystem has not lost its appeal and is attracting builders with great ideas to ship.
Stablecoin supply on ETH is at its largest yet
The Ethereum ecosystem is not only attracting developers in scores, its stablecoin stats are just as impressive. According to reports, the ETH network currently hosts about 54% of the total stablecoins in circulation.
This confirms its role as the settlement layer for institutions, and its stronghold on DeFi is just as strong.
Behind Ethereum is Tron, another payment rail with 26% of total stablecoin supply, dominating non-EVM chains with its raw USDT volume. Ironically, Tron accounts for more transaction volume, as it is preferred by individual users and retailers for its low fees.
Solana came in third place with just 5% attributed to it, and BSC was fourth with a mere 4.7%.
From the statistics, it is clear that ETH has maintained its reputation as an anchor for trust and value storage. However, Tron can also hold its own when it comes to payments.
Meanwhile, Solana continues to grow rapidly, accounting for more on-chain transaction volume than every other exchange bar Binance in 2025.
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Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.
Hannah Collymore
Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.
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