Tether tops 2025 crypto protocol revenue rankings; stablecoin issuers account for more than 65% of income
Summary
- Tether ranked No. 1 in 2025, taking in about $5.2 billion in revenue and accounting for 41.9% of total protocol revenue.
- The top four stablecoin issuers generated about $8.3 billion in revenue—65.7% of the total—positioning them as the most stable source of earnings.
- No. 2 was Tron (Tron) with about $3.5 billion in revenue; its role as a core network for global Tether (USDT) transfers and high transaction throughput were cited as drivers of revenue growth.
Stablecoin issuers were found to have led the revenue structure across the broader crypto industry in 2025.
According to CoinGecko Research on the 25th (local time), among 168 crypto protocols in 2025, Tether posted about $5.2 billion in revenue, accounting for 41.9% of total protocol revenue—the highest figure for any single project.
In particular, the top four stablecoin issuers generated roughly $8.3 billion in revenue, equal to 65.7% of total protocol revenue. This suggests that the stablecoin issuance and distribution model has emerged as the most stable source of earnings, surpassing decentralized finance (DeFi) or infrastructure-focused protocols.
Second place went to Tron, which recorded about $3.5 billion in revenue. Tron is used as a core network for global Tether (USDT) transfers, and its high transaction throughput was cited as a key factor driving revenue growth.
CoinGecko Research assessed that stablecoins and transaction-focused protocols are driving cash flow in the crypto industry, and that revenue concentration remains pronounced compared with the application and infrastructure segments.
Suehyeon Lee
shlee@bloomingbit.ioI'm reporter Suehyeon Lee, your Web3 Moderator.
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