Automated Trading Bots Handled 70% of Stablecoin Transaction Volume in 2024, Survey Reveals

A new survey by crypto exchange CEX.IO, which cited Allium's data, reveals that automated trading bots handled 70% of stablecoin transaction volume in 2024.

A recent survey by crypto exchange CEX.IO has revealed that automated trading bots were responsible for handling 70% of stablecoin transaction volume in 2024.

This finding is based on an analysis of blockchain activity across Ethereum, Base, and Solana, which was conducted using data from Allium.

On average, 77% of 2024’s total stablecoin transaction volume fell into the unadjusted category, which is largely driven by bot transactions.

This bot activity experienced a fourfold increase compared to 2023, increasing its share from 80% to 90% in the unadjusted category.

According to the exchange, this distilled figure means that "70% of stablecoin transaction volume in 2024 was related to bot transfers."

"USDC dominated the unadjusted category, making up over 65% of the volume. This underscores the fact that much of USDC’s transaction activity was driven by bots.”

CEX.IO highlighted the significant impact of bots on Coinbase’s layer-2 network, Base, which was propelled to handle more stablecoin transactions than Ethereum in the raw numbers.

"Networks such as Solana and Base, where USDC supply dominates, saw unadjusted transactions represent over 98% of stablecoin activity as of December 2024. Due to the bot activity, Base even managed to surpass Ethereum in total stablecoin transaction volume in Q4 2024.”

CEX.IO

The study also analyzed the stablecoin transaction landscape without considering bot activity.

It found that the adjusted stablecoin transfer volume doubled in 2024, although it "still lagged behind the growth of bot-driven activity," according to CEX.IO.

Tether's (USDT) stablecoin remained dominant for "organic" transactions, accounting for over 68% of adjusted volume.

Meanwhile, PayPal's (PYUSD) stablecoin showed the highest adoption growth, tripling its share in adjusted transactions, but still representing less than 2% of "organic" transaction activity.