Stablecoins can live on almost any blockchain. Over the past 90 days, most of their volume still flowed through one family of networks.
According to a report from Ethereum Institutional dated October 15, 2026, $16.75 trillion in stablecoin transfer volume settled on Ethereum mainnet and its layer-2 networks between July 15 and October 12, 2026. That works out to 77% of the $21.55 trillion in stablecoin transfers recorded across all networks over the same stretch.
The data comes from Token Terminal.
Where the money actually moved
The most interesting detail sits inside the total, in the breakdown by network.
Ethereum mainnet settled $7.1 trillion in stablecoin transfers during the period. Base, the layer-2 network, settled $8.5 trillion. Optimism handled $0.8 trillion, and a collection of other Ethereum layer-2s accounted for the remaining $0.35 trillion.
Base alone accounted for more than half of the Ethereum ecosystem’s $16.75 trillion total. The report places that result within a broader mid-2026 pattern: users and capital drifting toward lower-cost layer-2 networks, with Base capturing larger slices of the stablecoin transfer market.
Not exactly your morning coffee
Ethereum Institutional says the volume is driven mainly by large institutional transfers and DeFi-related flows. That includes flash loans and liquidity provision, not pure payment activity.
The report also notes that no new protocol launches or issuer-specific announcements occurred during the period. The volumes reflect ongoing trends rather than a sudden change in market structure.
Why the share matters more than the size
A 77% share of transfer volume signals that Ethereum’s ecosystem remains the default venue for serious stablecoin flows. The remaining 23% of volume, spread across other networks, represents a meaningful amount of activity. Ethereum’s lead is substantial. It is not a monopoly.
What this means for investors and builders
The Base figure complicates the story in an interesting way. Value captured by layer-2 networks does not necessarily flow back to Ethereum mainnet in proportion to the activity. A trillion dollars moving on Base generates fees on Base first.
For builders, stablecoin users appear to care about cost, and they are willing to leave mainnet to save on fees while staying inside the Ethereum ecosystem. Applications that ignore layer-2 networks may be missing where a large share of the activity now happens.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.