According to a new report from ARK Invest, even after the volatility of October, cryptocurrency activity rotated across various networks and products in Q4 2025, but decentralized finance (DeFi) continued to expand its role as a settlement and trading layer for cryptocurrencies. ARK stated that Coinbase's Base stablecoin saw approximately $3 trillion in trading volume this quarter, a 121% increase quarter-over-quarter, surpassing Ethereum and Tron. However, in terms of the number of active addresses across chains, BNB Chain, Tron, and Polygon still lead. Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem strengthened their position as the primary hub for stablecoin trading, accounting for 58% of total trading volume, a 1300 basis point increase from Q3. ARK noted that USDC's dominance as a transactional stablecoin further expanded, accounting for over 60% of adjusted stablecoin trading volume despite representing only about 25% of the total supply. PYUSD saw the largest quarterly increase in transaction speed, growing 2.5 times. ARK projects that the total value of RWA will reach approximately $19 billion by the end of 2025, representing a 14.8% quarter-over-quarter increase. Commodities led the growth this quarter. Tokenized commodities grew by approximately 64% to approximately $3.5 billion, primarily driven by tokenized gold products, including Tether's XAUT and Paxos' PAXG. Private lending also saw progress, with ARK noting that Maple Finance's quarterly growth (from approximately $1.5 billion to $2 billion) was a major contributor. In Q4 2025, DEX spot trading volume is projected to reach approximately $1.1 trillion, marking the fifth consecutive quarter exceeding $1 trillion. Stablecoin trading accounts for approximately 55% of total trading volume, including trades between stablecoins and native cryptocurrencies, as well as trades between stablecoins themselves.
