- Ethereum leads stablecoin growth with $4.24B increase in holdings.
- DEX trading volumes surge, with Uniswap and PancakeSwap seeing significant growth.
- Whale activity spikes, with large institutional buys of ETH, BTC, and SOL.
The week of September 15–21, 2025, saw strong growth in the crypto market, with both the stablecoin market cap and decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volumes experiencing large increases. Ethereum (ETH) maintained its dominant position in the stablecoin market, while decentralized trading platforms also saw notable volume surges. These trends are driven by increased institutional investment and growing adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions.
During this period, the total stablecoin market cap grew by $3.61 billion, with Ethereum leading the way. The stablecoin holdings on Ethereum saw a remarkable increase of $4.24 billion, the largest among all blockchain networks. Solana (SOL) also saw strong growth, adding $212 million in stablecoins, reflecting its ongoing position as a key player in the crypto space. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) followed, adding $207 million in stablecoin reserves.
Ethereum’s dominance in the stablecoin market signals the growing role of Ethereum-based solutions in attracting stablecoin inflows. Layer 2 solutions and scalability-focused projects like Base and Arbitrum (ARB) also saw inflows, with Base gaining $116 million and Arbitrum adding $86 million.
However, some blockchain networks faced stablecoin outflows. Sui (SUI) experienced a $147 million decline, while Avalanche (AVAX) saw $114 million in outflows. Aptos (APT), Optimism (OP), and Sei also recorded declines ranging from $22 million to $41 million, signaling possible shifts in investor preferences or broader market dynamics.
Surge in DEX Spot and Perps Trading Volumes
Another highlight of the week was the surge in decentralized trading volumes. Spot trading volume on DEXs reached $118.24 billion, an 8.38% increase from the previous week. Uniswap led with $23.111 billion in volume, reflecting a 2.10% week-over-week increase. PancakeSwap saw the largest growth, with a 35.77% rise, bringing its trading volume to $20.837 billion. Meteora, another decentralized platform, reported a 28.44% increase, hitting $9.092 billion in volume.
Similarly, DEX perpetual contract (perps) trading volumes rose, with a total of $155.42 billion in perps trading, marking a 32.31% week-over-week increase. Hyperliquid remained the dominant player in perps trading, although its volume saw a slight decrease of 8.34%, totaling $60.065 billion. Lighter, however, experienced significant growth, rising by 24.95% to reach $29.455 billion, while edgeX recorded a 10.61% increase, reaching $14.101 billion.
Whale Activity and Institutional Investment
Institutional and whale investors continued to make substantial moves in the market. BitMine purchased 264,378 ETH, valued at $1.11 billion, increasing its total ETH holdings to 2,416,054 ETH, worth $10.12 billion. Strategy, another institutional investor, acquired 850 BTC for $99.7 million, raising their total BTC holdings to 639,835 BTC, valued at $72.12 billion.
Metaplanet also made notable acquisitions, purchasing 5,419 BTC for $632.5 million, increasing its holdings to 25,555 BTC, worth $2.88 billion. Additionally, Helius bought 760,190 SOL for $175 million at $231 each.
