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OAK Research says stablecoin revenue is surging, but little of it reaches public blockchains

OAK Research says stablecoin revenue is surging, but little of it reaches public blockchains

N
News Editor
2026-11-04 04:28:41
French crypto intelligence firm OAK Research published a report on Oct. 30 arguing that the rapid expansion of stablecoins has created a large and growing revenue pool, but that most of the economics remain with issuers rather than public blockchains. Written by Lilian Aliaga, the report says stablecoin market capitalization has climbed from $4 billion in January 2020 to about $298 billion, after peaking at $310 billion at the end of April. That scale now exceeds three times the total value locked across DeFi. OAK Research said Tether and Circle generated a combined $2.1 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2026, while the 13 blockchains tracked by the firm produced just $285 million in total fees over the same period. The report separates the two business models: issuers mainly earn from interest on reserve assets, while blockchains charge transaction fees and do not monetize the custody base itself. It also highlights issuer-level and chain-level data, including Circle’s reserve-heavy revenue mix, Tether’s estimated quarterly revenue, Ethereum’s large stablecoin custody base with relatively low fee capture, and Solana’s fee profile. The report also notes that stablecoins account for 28% of deposits on Aave, 37% on Morpho, and 84% on Hyperliquid.
StablecoinsOAK ResearchTetherCircleEthereumSolanaDeFiMarket Analysis

French crypto market intelligence firm OAK Research published a report on Oct. 30 titled Stablecoins generate massive revenue, but not for public blockchains. The report, written by Lilian Aliaga, says stablecoin market capitalization has risen from $4 billion in January 2020 to about $298 billion today. It reached $310 billion at the end of April and now stands at more than three times total DeFi value locked.

Issuer revenue far exceeds blockchain fee income

According to the report, Tether and Circle generated a combined $2.1 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2026. Over the same period, the 13 public blockchains tracked by OAK Research recorded a combined $285 million in fees.

The report compares the two sides by separating their revenue sources. Stablecoin issuers mainly earn interest on reserve assets. Public blockchains, by contrast, collect transaction fees, while the custody base itself does not directly generate revenue.

Circle and Tether revenue breakdown

OAK Research said Circle posted total revenue of $701.3 million in the second quarter of 2026. Reserve income accounted for 95% of that figure, or $667.7 million, up just 5% year over year. During the same period, USDC on-chain transaction volume rose 151% to $14.8 trillion, average supply increased 25%, and reserve yield fell by 66 basis points to 3.49%.

Tether’s average supply increased 10.6% year over year, while DefiLlama estimated its quarterly revenue at about $1.5 billion.

Ethereum and Solana data in the report

For the third quarter of 2026, Ethereum held an average of $146 billion in stablecoins but generated only $34.6 million in fees, the report said. Solana held less than $16 billion and generated $62.9 million in fees, of which only $6.7 million remained at the protocol level.

The report also compares Ethereum across periods. In the first quarter of 2024, Ethereum fees reached $1.17 billion, above the roughly $730 million in issuer revenue tied to the stablecoins it hosted. By the third quarter of 2026, issuer revenue had risen to about $986 million, while Ethereum fees had fallen to $34.6 million.

Stablecoin share in major protocols

OAK Research also said stablecoins currently account for about 28% of deposits on Aave, 37% on Morpho, and 84% on Hyperliquid.

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan.
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