Arbitrum and Base Lead the Way as Ethereum Layer 2 Chains Dominate Stablecoin Activity

Arbitrum and Base are paving the way for Ethereum Layer 2 chains to dominate stablecoin activity. Together, they handle over $22 Million in monthly volume.

Arbitrum and Base are quickly becoming the dominant Layer 2 chains for stablecoin activity, handling over $22 Million in monthly volume together. As these chains gain popularity, they are taking a larger slice of the total stablecoin usage due to the efficiency and cost benefits they provide.

The total supply of stablecoins has now reached an all-time high on Ethereum, with a sharp increase in activity. According to Token Terminal, the supply of stablecoins on ETH hit $133 Billion in early 2025.

This level is the highest ever recorded on the chain and follows a rebound from a slump throughout most of 2023.

Supply was below $50 Billion from 2018 to early 2021 but quickly grew in the following years. In 2022, supply peaked. In 2023, it dropped and in mid-2024, it began to climb again.

This rise in supply is also evident in the increasing payment volumes. Artemis data revealed that ETH and its Layer 2 (L2) chains are now taking the majority of the stablecoin transactions.

By late 2024, the total monthly volume across all chains was already $22 million.

Arbitrum, Base, and Ethereum mainnet were the most significant contributors. While there was still activity on BSC and Avalanche, the majority of the volume had moved to the cheaper Ethereum-based chains.

This shift highlighted the users’ preference for more affordable and faster platforms. They aim to achieve this without moving away from the Ethereum network.

This trend started growing in early 2024 and has been increasing since. L2s are taking a bigger slice of stablecoin usage due to the efficiency and cost benefits.

Higher User Activity Levels in the Ethereum Ecosystem

The growth in stablecoin usage is accompanied by new highs in user engagement in the ETH ecosystem. According to GrowThePie data, weekly active addresses topped 10 million early in 2025.

It was a huge jump from the beginning of 2023, when weekly activity was below 3 million. Since mid-2023, wallet activity has been on an upward trend, with new peaks in late 2024 and early 2025.

A significant number of these users are interacting over multiple chains. Cross-chain engagement is also on the rise, as more than 600,000 wallets used two or more chains in the same week.

The stifling activity on Ethereum mainnet is what drives the higher transaction volume on L2s and contributes to the rise in users. These platforms also offer lower fees, which may be attracting more activity.

Layer 2 dominance has also grown. At the moment, it sits at 4.35x more than mainnet activity, a 5.45% increase from last week alone. This signaled that users are moving away from Ethereum and using L2s to enjoy faster and cheaper experiences.

ETH Gas Prices Hit Record Lows, Supporting L2 Growth

Meanwhile, ETH gas prices have hit their lowest levels ever recorded. According to CryptoRank, the average gas price in March 2025 was as low as 2.71 gwei.

This marks the lowest monthly average in the history of Ethereum. It’s a significant decline from the 49.0 gwei recorded in March 2024.

The reduction in gas prices is due mainly to a raised gas limit, the first increase since 2021. This change enables more transactions to be processed in each block, thus reducing congestion and cost.

From May to August, prices fell from 20.6 gwei to below 10 gwei, a steady decline that started in mid-2024. The trend carried on until the end of the year and into 2025.

With lower fees, the network has become more accessible for stablecoin transfers and high-frequency applications. This also supports the rise of L2s, which already have cheaper fees than the mainnet.