In the broadening blockchain sector, the Ethereum network remains a dominant force, heavily utilized and constantly selected by crypto players to carry out their on-chain operations. A recent report shows that Ethereum is transitioning from blockchain to the big league, as the network overtakes dollar-denominated transactions across digital payments.

A Leader In Dollar Transactions

With a surge in stablecoin transfer volume, Ethereum is no longer only a rival in the cryptocurrency space. In a post on the X platform, Leon Waidmann, a market expert and head of research at On-Chain Foundation, reported that ETH is currently surpassing some of the largest traditional payment networks in the world in terms of raw transaction volume.

Data from the post reveals a surge in dollar-denominated transactions on Ethereum, which has triggered new conversations about its increasing prominence as a layer of global settlement. This spike shows that the blockchain’s changing role in finance is becoming more difficult for institutions to ignore as volumes surge past expectations.

With one month remaining in the year, the amount of ETH stablecoin transfers in Q4 has already exceeded that of Q3. According to the data, the leading network has recorded nearly $6 trillion in stablecoin volume in the fourth quarter of this year alone, reflecting its growing demand for payment settlement.

When it comes to dollar-dominated transaction volume, the blockchain has already outpaced both Visa and Mastercard transaction volumes in the current quarter. Given the surge in stablecoin transfer volume, Ethereum is gradually becoming the major settlement layer for digital dollars.

Waidmann stated that the size makes early Decentralized Finance (DeFi) activity appear insignificant by comparison. In the meantime, the conventional financial infrastructure is being surpassed by the on-chain economy.

Ethereum Network’s Throughput Exhibiting Robust Growth

As demand for Ethereum as the main settlement layer grows, the network is also quietly entering a new phase of its evolution. This change is one that is characterized by accessibility, efficiency, and quickness rather than traffic jams and soaring costs.

Waidmann highlighted that ETH scaling is rising, alongside growing throughput and declining transaction costs. With transaction prices continuously declining and network throughput surging, the blockchain is demonstrating concrete evidence that its long-promised scaling vision is coming to pass.

As a result, Ethereum will be able to handle an increasing amount of activity over time. However, the network’s usage cost continues to decline, drawing close to zero. Currently, Layer 2s take care of the heavy execution while the mainnet settles the valuable transactions. Should these two lines continue to move in opposite directions, ETH is scaling just as planned.

At the time of writing, the price of ETH was still holding above the $3,100 level despite recording a more than 1% decline in the last 24 hours. Its trading volume has also witnessed a bearish action, dropping by over 4% in the past day.

Bitcoin’s on-chain activity has shown a sharp slowdown since spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) launched. While institutional inflows into these products have accelerated, the number of active BTC addresses has declined. As Wall Street embraces BTC exposure, the network’s grassroots participation appears to be undergoing a significant transformation.

In an X post, the CEO of SwanDesk, financial analyst Jacob King, pointed out that Bitcoin active addresses have been in a steady decline since the US spot BTC ETFs launched in January 2024, and the irony is obvious.

Why Retail Participation Shows Signs Of Fatigue

 For years, BTC maximalists have pushed for Wall Street adoption, believing institutional involvement would unlock the next wave of mass usage. Instead, on-chain participation has dropped sharply as retail lost interest.

King noted that these Bitcoiners have piled into the ETF for a quick, early FOMO bump, and then bailed, leaving behind a market where the asset is increasingly traded by proxy. According to King, ETF investing kills BTC’s core principles. While investors no longer hold or control their own assets as banks do, which is the very system BTC was designed to challenge, greed always beats ideology.

Market watcher Crypto Seth has revealed that the net inflows into BlackRock and Fidelity’s spot BTC ETFs have been relatively subdued since October 10, when the largest liquidation events happened. Seth believes that this might turn into a momentum reversal soon, as the US stock market is at 1% below new highs despite retail sentiment remaining stuck in extreme fear.

Seth also pointed out that the macro backdrop is shifting in BTC’s favor. This is because the Federal Reserve ended its Quantitative Tightening (QT) program on December 1, 2025, wrapping up a multi-year effort that shaved nearly $3 trillion from the balance sheet since 2022. 

Since the US Fed rate is still at 4.00%, more interest rate cuts are on the horizon, which is higher than both Europe and China. The BlackRock iShares BTC Trust (IBIT), which was launched in January 2024, is currently the firm’s most profitable exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on annual fee revenue, despite being less than two years old.

Unlocking Bitcoin Without Compromising Its Core Principles

Bitcoin is seeing key initiatives that improve its ecosystem. Every market cycle that has promise to unlock Bitcoin for decentralized finance (DeFi), RioSwap is one of the few products built on infrastructure that was capable of unlocking it in a truly decentralized way. 

According to Mintlayer, this was powered by Mintlayer’s native HTLC architecture, as RioSwap introduces a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) that allows BTC to move directly into decentralized markets without wrapping, unbridging, and is fully in the user’s control. With the RioSwap testnet now live, Mintlayer sees this as the start of a new liquidity phase for BTC where the asset will become an active participant in the decentralized market on its own terms.