BNB Chain overtakes TRON with over 190M stablecoin users, captures 47% of DEX market: ARK Invest

BNB Chain has edged previous TRON to change into probably the most energetic community for stablecoin transactions, fueled by surging DEX quantity and spillover from Binance’s buying and selling incentives. However analysts at ARK Make investments famous that the house has change into extra fragmented.

BNB Chain has quietly dethroned TRON as the largest community by way of stablecoin exercise.

In keeping with ARK Make investments‘s “The DeFi Quarterly” report, for the reason that first stablecoin hit the market, round 192 million addresses have interacted with them. Tether’s (USDT) dominates with roughly 115 million of these, whereas the now-defunct Binance USD (BUSD) nonetheless accounts for 35 million, and USD Coin (USDC) trails shut behind at 31 million.

Stablecoins by issuer and chains | Supply: ARK Make investments

As ARK’s analysts put it, quarterly stablecoin adjusted transaction quantity “has grown 43% year-to-date, approaching $9 trillion through the third quarter 2025,” implying that stablecoins are circulating quicker and throughout extra networks than ever earlier than.

Community shares

Ethereum continues to be the largest elephant within the room. Particularly when counting its Layer 2s like Base and Arbitrum, which collectively deal with about 48% of complete stablecoin transactions. In the meantime, TRON constructed its footprint by carrying USDT flows throughout rising markets, a dynamic that saved it related lengthy after newer gamers entered the scene.

However community shares have shifted because the report reveals Ethereum’s share of stablecoin provide rising from 51% to 55% as TRON’s slipped from 32% to 26%. And someplace in that reshuffle, BNB Chain made its transfer, choosing up the slack as Solana misplaced floor and buying and selling exercise migrated elsewhere.

Lively stablecoin addresses by chain | Supply: ARK Make investments

This line from the report captures the change in provide allocation throughout chains. BNB Chain’s beneficial properties got here as Solana misplaced floor, and spot DEX exercise moved.

DEX quantity tells the identical story. Since late 2024, decentralized buying and selling jumped round 61%, climbing from roughly $1 trillion to $1.7 trillion. In the meantime, Solana’s share plunged from 47% to 19%, whereas BNB Chain’s shot up from 11% to 47%.

Growth of TVL

As ARK Make investments defined, the change adopted Binance’s zero-fee buying and selling program, noting that this system “drove a surge in PancakeSwap quantity and redirected memecoin buying and selling away from Solana to BNB Chain.”

This system additionally made sure buying and selling flows extra engaging on BNB Chain as merchants moved memecoin and retail liquidity towards the chain that linked tightly with Binance, the report reads.

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Moreover, BNB Chain additionally stands out for buying and selling effectivity. As of Q3 2025, the chain had probably the most spot DEX quantity relative to complete worth locked (TVL). In keeping with the report, the community’s quarterly quantity soared 94.7 instances that of TVL, a ratio that’s far above Ethereum’s roughly 3.83x.

Whereas Ethereum nonetheless attracts massive, long-term capital that strikes much less usually, BNB Chain concentrates increased turnover and extra speculative flows.

Rising competitors in a fragmented house

Stablecoin provide tendencies are additionally shifting. Collectively, USDT and USDC’s market share dipped barely from 93% to 89% this yr as newer entrants gained floor. Ethena Labs’ USDe climbed about 68% to almost $14 billion, whereas PayPal’s PYUSD surged 135% to round $2.4 billion, and most of it on Ethereum, ARK notes.

On prime of that, the DEX-to-CEX ratio has additionally modified. As on-chain buying and selling has gained in opposition to centralized venues, the ratio rose about 192% in 2024.

Whereas BNB Chain could not change Ethereum as the first community for institutional stablecoin custody or as the principle settlement hub, with Ethereum and its Layer 2s nonetheless dealing with the biggest share of dollar-denominated transactions, it has nonetheless taken the crown for energetic consumer engagement and DEX-led buying and selling, the report notes.

As ARK’s report suggests, the broader final result is a fragmented market. One the place stablecoins are transferring throughout extra chains and venues than ever. That fragmentation brings new challenges round liquidity and routing, but it surely additionally leaves house for every community to specialise in what it does finest.

Learn extra: Ondo World Markets pushes RWA adoption to BNB Chain