Key Points
A recent survey by CEX.IO using Allium’s data disclosed that trading bots were behind 70% of the stablecoin transaction volume in 2024. This was determined by examining blockchain activity across Ethereum, Base, and Solana.
Bot Activity in Stablecoin Transactions
The exchange reported that on average, 77% of the total stablecoin transaction volume in 2024 was unadjusted, mainly due to bot transactions. This bot activity saw a significant increase from the previous year, rising from an 80% share to 90% in the unadjusted category. This implies that 70% of the stablecoin transaction volume in 2024 was associated with bot transfers.
USDC was the primary stablecoin in the unadjusted category, accounting for over 65% of the volume. This highlights that a significant portion of USDC’s transaction activity was bot-driven.
Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 network, was most affected by bot activity. It surpassed Ethereum in raw numbers, according to the survey report. Networks like Solana and Base, where USDC supply is dominant, saw unadjusted transactions account for over 98% of stablecoin activity as of December 2024. Base even managed to surpass Ethereum in total stablecoin transaction volume in Q4 2024 due to bot activity.
The study also discovered that the stablecoin transaction landscape would be drastically different without bot activity. Adjusted stablecoin transfer volume doubled in 2024, but it still trailed behind the growth of bot-driven activity.
Tether’s (USDT) remained the leading stablecoin for organic transactions, making up over 68% of adjusted volume. PayPal’s (PYUSD) showed the highest growth in adoption, tripling its share in adjusted transactions. However, it still accounted for less than 2% of organic transaction activity.
