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Ethereum has extended its dominance in decentralized finance lending, with active loans surging past $28 billion—roughly ten times larger than any competing blockchain network.
The milestone, recorded in January 2026 by Web3 analytics firm Token Terminal, underscores where institutional-grade borrowing is actually occurring at scale and why Ethereum continues to serve as crypto’s primary settlement layer.
Ethereum loans now represent the largest concentration of active borrowing in the crypto market. Token Terminal reports that active loans on Ethereum-based protocols including Aave, Compound, Morpho, and similar platforms have surpassed $28 billion. Active loans track the value of assets currently borrowed and accruing interest, offering a clearer picture of real economic activity than total deposits alone.
“Active loans across lending platforms on @ethereum recently surpassed $28 billion, up ~10x from January 2023 lows,” — Token Terminal, Web3 analytics platform, wrote in a post shared on X.
This growth means Ethereum loans have not only recovered from prior market downturns but have also accelerated far beyond competing networks. Token Terminal data shows Ethereum maintaining roughly a tenfold lead over runner-up blockchains in onchain lending volume.
Analysts say this gap reflects deep liquidity, mature infrastructure, and user trust that has been built over several market cycles.
Unlike short-term speculative metrics, Ethereum loans highlight sustained usage. Borrowers are actively paying interest, and protocols are generating consistent revenue, reinforcing Ethereum’s role as the core hub for DeFi lending rather than a transient beneficiary of market hype.
The expansion of Ethereum loans is happening alongside strong performance from stablecoin issuers that use Ethereum as their primary settlement layer. Token Terminal estimates that stablecoin issuers generated around $5 billion in revenue last year from stablecoin supply deployed on Ethereum.
Over the same period, stablecoin supply on Ethereum reportedly grew by about $50 billion, surpassing $180 billion by the fourth quarter. As supply increased, issuer revenue climbed steadily, reaching roughly $1.4 billion per quarter by Q4. This revenue is largely driven by yield earned on the reserve assets backing stablecoins.
“Ethereum consistently hosts the largest share of stablecoin supply for most major issuers,” — Token Terminal, Web3 analytics platform, said, adding that the network “functions as a neutral settlement layer that enables financial products to reach Internet scale.”
For the DeFi ecosystem, this relationship is mutually reinforcing. Ethereum loans benefit from abundant stablecoin liquidity, while issuers benefit from Ethereum’s security, composability, and institutional credibility. Together, they form a financial stack that supports lending, payments, and settlement at scale.
Beyond retail users and DeFi-native participants, financial institutions are increasingly gravitating toward Ethereum. Banks, asset managers, and other financial players continue to select Ethereum as a base layer for settlement, despite the emergence of faster or cheaper alternatives.
Market participants point to Ethereum’s reliability, neutrality, and security as decisive factors. The network’s deep liquidity, large developer ecosystem, and extensive tooling make it suitable for institutional-grade finance. Layer-2 scaling solutions further enhance throughput without sacrificing the security guarantees of the base layer.
Ethereum’s design philosophy also appeals to long-term planners. Ongoing upgrades and modular architecture signal adaptability, a trait institutions value when considering infrastructure meant to last decades.
While competitors such as Solana may offer lower fees or higher raw speed, they have yet to match the breadth and maturity of Ethereum’s ecosystem, particularly in areas like Ethereum loans.
The conversation has also expanded to future risks, including quantum computing. Some industry observers believe Ethereum is taking proactive steps that could further strengthen its position.
“Ethereum will be the global quantum-resistant settlement layer for all types of value,” — Sassal, Ethereum educator and commentator, wrote on X.
Over the weekend, Ethereum named a Post-Quantum team, a move that reflects growing awareness of long-term cryptographic threats. As institutions assess which blockchains can withstand future technological shifts, Ethereum loans and settlement activity may benefit from this forward-looking posture.
Taken together, the data suggests Ethereum loans are more than a temporary spike. They represent a concentration of trust, liquidity, and real economic usage that competitors have struggled to replicate.
With $28 billion in active loans, booming stablecoin revenue, and increasing institutional participation, Ethereum continues to play what many describe as the “long game.”
While market conditions and technological innovation will continue to evolve, Ethereum loans remain a key indicator of where decentralized finance is actually functioning at scale today and where much of its future may still be heading.
