Cryptocurrency volumes on institutional trading desks extended upward momentum seen in the final quarter of 2024, catapulted by market enthusiasm from a regulatory shift in the U.S. and growing confidence in stablecoins, per a Q1 report from Finery Markets.
The study, based on analysis from two million institutional spot trades between January and March, found that over-the-counter volumes jumped 141% YoY while stablecoin activity increased 158% YoY.
Crypto-to-stablecoin transactions recorded the best growth rate during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days. This sector increased 5x in 2025’s first three months against Q1 2024, as American policymakers advanced stablecoin rules through the Senate and House of Representatives. Crypto-to-crypto volume nearly tripled in second place with a 189% YoY rise while crypto-to-fiat swaps are up just 35% YoY. Overall, 95.3% of trades involved bitcoin (7% YoY), ether (36% YoY) or stablecoins, indicating that firms haven’t broadly adopted altcoins yet.
“The differential between transaction types suggests a clear institutional preference for stablecoins, likely driven by their enhanced utility in bridging TradFi and the crypto space,” Finery analysts wrote.
Stablecoins are digital representations of fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar on blockchains. These assets predominantly form one-half of crypto transactions and allow users to deploy regular cash onchain. USD-pegged products from issuers like Tether and Circle boast the biggest market share according to The Block’s stablecoin data.
Q1 2025 ushered in shifts within the global stablecoin landscape. Tether’s USDT market capitalization swelled to a new $144 billion high, but the company’s European presence diminished. Several crypto exchanges like Binance, Coinbase and Kraken delisted USDT — along with a basket of other stablecoins — in Europe to comply with the EU trading bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
Conversely, Tether’s biggest competitor, Circle, secured the first MiCA license for fiat-pegged crypto coins. Circle aims to go public in the U.S., tapping JPMorgan Chase and Citi for its initial public offering planned for late April. However, critics warned that IPO plans may hamstring the firm’s bottom line.
© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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