The Rollup Stablecoins in 2025: The Breakout Year In Review (And What Comes Next...)
Dec 19, 2025
In this discussion, Piotr and Halko, co-founders of StableWatch with deep expertise in stablecoin research and risk management, dive into the explosive growth of stablecoins over the past year. They highlight the surge in yield-bearing models and the significance of tokenization in the crypto landscape. Their insights reveal which protocols are emerging as leaders, like Ethena and Sky, and they predict market trends for 2026. They also discuss the relationship between interest rates and DeFi growth, presenting a compelling case for the future of on-chain credit.
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Rapid 2025 Growth Drivers
- Yield-bearing stablecoins grew ~3x in 2025 from $7.5B to ~22B owing to tokenized yield products and investor demand.
- Bridge acquisition by Stripe and tokenized delta-neutral alphas (e.g., Ethena) accelerated interest and supply growth.
Copycats Flood Early Market
- Many new projects copied early models; StableWatch found 100+ by April and most were low-quality replicas.
- The category is early with room for tokenization of private credit and real-world assets (RWAs).
Host Missed Ethena Seed
- Robbie missed the Ethena seed and teased himself about FUD'ing them because he wasn't included.
- This personal investor note highlighted the social dynamics around hot early rounds.