As the crypto market grows, knowing which assets are genuinely driving value becomes increasingly vital and doesn’t merely involve following price charts.
By April 2025, on-chain transfer volumes (cleaned of spam, wash trades, and other non-economic activities) tell a clear story: stablecoins rule, with USDT and USDC leading the way. Yet blockchain-native assets are also enjoying a healthy value movement, with ETH and SOL steadying the ship. If anything, real usage is playing an even more pivotal role than before in creating the crypto economic landscape.
Stablecoins: The Unquestioned Powerhouses of Crypto Value Transfer
In terms of actual value being moved across blockchains, stablecoins are in a league of their own. Tether (USDT) is the long-standing leader of the stablecoin market and has transferred a staggering $80 billion in actual USD value so far in April 2023. Not just impressive, it’s double that of USDC, the next closest competitor, which has done about $40 billion during the same timeframe. That’s well over an $8 trillion a year run rate for Tether alone.
This difference emphasizes USDT’s supremacy as the favored liquidity rail within the crypto economy. For trading, for cross-border transfers, or for DeFi liquidity provision, Tether remains the asset of choice. Even given the regulatory scrutiny and the years of questionable asset backing, that Tether continues to grease the wheels of the crypto economy is remarkable.
USDC, which is much more regulatory compliant and used almost exclusively in institutional settings, still stands at a solid second place behind Tether. Together, these two stablecoins account for the vast majority of any sort of value movement across crypto in April 2025, and they reinforce the idea that if you want to move around any sort of value in crypto, you need to use something that is as stable as possible and ideally pegged to the dollar.
ETH and SOL: The Workhorses of Web3
Following the stablecoin leaders but still showing impressive consistency are Ethereum and Solana. The native tokens for each blockchain clocked in around $15 billion in real USD value transferred this month. While this was far below the volumes seen with stablecoins, it was still significant. It especially was significant because it reflected more than just speculative trading. These assets were being used to pay for gas fees, settle NFT transactions, and move assets within decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems.
Ethereum remains the bedrock layer upon which a strikingly diverse range of applications has been built, going far beyond the tokenization of RWAs to embrace everything from DAOs to the smart contract infrastructure. Solana, meanwhile, has emerged as a high-performance alternative, offering faster transaction throughput and lower costs — a combination that has made it particularly attractive for consumer-facing apps and NFT platforms.
The neck-and-neck performance suggests that while Ethereum continues to be the most battle-tested smart contract platform, Solana has matured into a legitimate contender with consistent, real-world usage.
January’s Solana Surge: A Cautionary Tale
April’s numbers come after a sharp deviation in January, when Solana briefly outpaced USDC by transferring $90 billion in value—a massive spike that more than quintupled its current monthly figures. This unusual surge was driven largely by speculative trading during a memecoin boom, including the viral rise of the TRUMP token. While the event showcased Solana’s ability to handle high-volume activity under pressure, it also served as a reminder of the fleeting nature of hype-driven usage.
The sharp rise in January seems to have been a one-time event, a momentary burst of excitement that, rather than signaling a return to sustainable growth in crypto, underscores how ephemeral it can be for any digital currency. Bitcoin, the most popular and valuable form of digital currency, had been trading in a narrow band around $16,000 since early November. Suddenly, in January, it shot up to around $21,000.
Conclusion: Utility, Not Hype, Moves Value
Stablecoins, especially USDT and USDC, are the backbone of value transfer in the crypto space, while the transfer of value in crypto isn’t going anywhere. This isn’t a surprise to anyone who pays even a little bit of attention to the crypto industry, and it’s increasingly true for payments across the decentralized finance space as well. But the fact that it keeps being reinforced is actually very important.
At the same time, the unshakeable ETH and SOL presence in the upper crust proves that blockchain-first tokens still hold a significant place. They’re not mere punchlines in a punch-drunk asset class. They’re powerful tokens shoring up a nascent Web3 economy. In crypto’s constant flux, one thing seems certain: tokens with real utility are the ones likeliest to endure and prosper. And in that competition, the real winners aren’t just the noise-makers (a category that seems to include a lot of people and projects these days); they’re the ones moving real value, quietly and with purpose.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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