Stablecoin transactions on Ethereum hit a record $2.82 trillion in October, up 45% from September’s $1.94 trillion. The spike came as traders sought yield during a broader market slowdown.

USDC led with $1.62 trillion in volume, followed by USDT at $895.5 billion. DAI ranked third at $136 billion, down from September’s $141.2 billion and far below May’s $470.7 billion peak.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

The volume spike coincided with major crypto price corrections, as bitcoin dropped 11.5% to $108,229 and ether fell 16.4% to $3,754. Vincent Liu from Kronos Research said traders were managing liquidity to capitalize on dips, using stablecoins as hedging and yield-generation instruments. Min Jung of Presto Research attributed growth to yield farming activity and innovative stablecoin concepts following the Circle IPO and the GENIUS Act passage.

Stablecoin issuers captured 65% to 70% of daily protocol revenue in October, outpacing exchanges, lending platforms, and infra providers. Nick Ruck of LVRG Research said the volume reflects a shift from speculation to payments and cross-border use.