Ethereum ended the past year as one of the leading blockchain systems and essential global infrastructure. By lowering costs and offering improved technical upgrades, the network has further staked its claim in the global finance sector. Activity from institutions, developers, and consumers showed Ethereum moving beyond experimentation into regular economic use. Reports published Tuesday by the Ethereum Foundation provide a detailed view of Ethereum’s progress over the past year.
Ethereum Emerges as a Liquidity Hub for DeFi and Regulated Finance
As per the disclosure, Ethereum posted high liquidity figures in 2025. Total value locked in DeFi exceeded $99 billion, more than nine times higher than any other Layer 1 network. Stablecoins played a central role, settling over $18.8 trillion in volume during the year.
Adding to these liquidity numbers, traditional financial services also adopted Ethereum-based infrastructure. Regulated crypto neobanks launched cards, rewards, and payment programs that reached millions of users.
In 2025, Ethereum solidified itself as the secure foundation for our growing digital civilization. From industry-leading adoption to new technology that reinforces protocol resilience, here are 12 themes that defined the past year:
1/ DeFi reinforced Ethereum’s role as the…
— Ethereum (@ethereum) January 6, 2026
Tokenized stocks launched through platforms such as Robinhood, Gemini, and Kraken, giving users extended-hours access to U.S. equities through Ethereum-based systems. Robinhood also announced plans to build its own Layer 2 network using Arbitrum’s Orbit stack, signaling a long-term commitment to the ecosystem.
Smart wallets entered production following the Pectra upgrade in May. Accounts gained built-in security controls and programmable logic, making wallets easier to use and safer for both individuals and institutions. Prediction markets also expanded, processing $20 billion in volume and becoming a widely used indicator for global events.
Institutional adoption accelerated as Ethereum-based projects showed clear economic value. Public companies began holding ETH as part of digital asset treasuries, while ETFs and strategic reserves together held more than $35 billion in ETH.
Large institutions used smart contracts to manage capital directly onchain, allocating funds across DeFi strategies and issuing more than $12 billion in real-world assets. Major banks, asset issuers, and payment processors increasingly relied on Ethereum Layer 2 networks for continuous settlement and transparent accounting.
Scaling Advances Support Rising Network Activity
Notably, this growth was backed by scaling progress within the network’s ecosystem. For instance, Layer 2 activity increased sharply, as combined throughput across rollups hit 5,600 transactions per second for the first time.
Celo also completed its transition to an Ethereum Layer 2, while networks such as Ronin and Nillion announced plans to follow. December’s Fusaka upgrade introduced PeerDAS, increasing blob capacity and reducing Layer 2 data costs. A higher Layer 1 gas limit also raised base settlement capacity by roughly one-third.
Interoperability improved alongside scaling efforts. Shared standards allowed smoother interaction between Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks. ERC-7683 unified order and settlement formats, while the Open Intents Framework reduced costs and complexity for cross-chain actions. Ethereum Interop Layer reached testnet, laying the groundwork for trust-minimized transactions across multiple rollups using a single signature.
The growth in onchain activity also brought with it an increase in privacy-centered projects on the network. In fact, these protocols saw value locked rise more than 60% in the past year.
More than 750 projects now operate across the web3 privacy ecosystem, including wallets, identity tools, DeFi, storage, and applications. Sovereign identity systems and privacy-preserving design became core areas of development rather than niche use cases.
Artificial intelligence agents became active participants in onchain economies. These agents operated without bank accounts, relying instead on Ethereum wallets and cryptographic proofs. Internet-native payment standards enabled direct machine-to-machine payments for compute, data, and services.
New smart account controls allowed spending limits and permissions at the wallet level. ERC-8004 moved closer to production as a standard for agent discovery and reputation, with thousands of agents already registered on test networks.
Ethereum’s Role Expands Beyond Finance as On-chain Use Grows in 2025
Beyond the corridors of finance, the platform supported disaster relief donations, global aid programs, and community-led initiatives. Pop-up cities such as ETH Enugu used the network’s infrastructure for funding as well as other key operations.
Bhutan migrated its national digital identity system to Ethereum, anchoring more than 200,000 citizen IDs on a public blockchain and improving individual control over credentials. Proof-of-personhood systems advanced, supporting more reliable voting and funding processes.
Several key shifts from 2025 stood out:
- Ethereum’s community remained global through hackathons and local events.
- Developer participation reached record levels during the year.
- More than 32,000 developers were active across the Ethereum ecosystem.
- The blockchain recorded 88 million deployed smart contracts and 1.74 million daily transactions.
Decentralized apps on the network posted over 244 million unique active wallets in 2025. Ethereum also led trends in the NFT sector, with higher volume and creator royalties. After a decade of uninterrupted operation, Ethereum stands as a trusted infrastructure shaped by sustained real-world use.