Surge in ‘dust’ micro stablecoin transfers on the Ethereum network… beware of security attacks

Micro-value stablecoin transfers on the Ethereum network are rising rapidly. As lower transaction costs have boosted network usage, some transfers could be exploited for security attacks, prompting calls for caution.

According to Cointelegraph on the 3rd (local time), blockchain data analytics firm Coin Metrics estimated that micro stablecoin transfers on Ethereum account for about 11% of all transactions and as much as 26% when measured by active addresses.

Coin Metrics analyzed 227 million balance-change events for Circle’s U.S. dollar stablecoin USDC and Tether’s dollar stablecoin USDT on Ethereum from November last year to January 2026. Of these, 43% were transfers under $1, and 38% were under $0.01—transactions with virtually no economic meaning. Coin Metrics classified these micro transfers as “dust.”

The share of micro stablecoin transfers is up 2–3 times compared with levels before the Fusaka upgrade late last year. Still, 57% of all stablecoin transactions exceeded $1, suggesting a substantial portion of network growth is underpinned by normal economic activity.

The security industry warned that micro stablecoin transfers can be used in attacks that trick users into sending assets to the wrong address. The method involves sending a tiny amount from an address that closely resembles the victim’s real wallet address, leaving a transaction record and then prompting the user to copy it. Losses tied to such incidents have already been tallied in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Coin Metrics said that while broader real-world usage of the Ethereum network is positive, the rise in micro stablecoin transfers can distort network activity indicators, so caution is needed when interpreting the data.