Ethereum isn’t just the biggest smart contract platform. It’s the financial plumbing underneath most of what actually matters in onchain finance, and Grayscale’s research team now has the receipts to prove it.
Grayscale Research, led by Zach Pandl, has published findings quantifying Ethereum’s grip on the three pillars of onchain finance: stablecoins, decentralized finance, and tokenized real-world assets.
The numbers behind Ethereum’s lead
The Ethereum ecosystem, including its growing constellation of Layer 2 networks, holds over 50% of all stablecoin balances as of mid-2025. The ecosystem also handles roughly 45% of stablecoin transactions measured by dollar value.
Ethereum commands approximately 65% of total value locked across decentralized finance protocols. That means roughly two out of every three dollars parked in DeFi lending, borrowing, and trading protocols sit within Ethereum’s orbit.
