Ethereum’s remarkable resurgence in DeFi can be largely attributed to the growing influence of automated trading bots. These bots, once criticized for contributing to miner extractable value (MEV) and sandwich attacks, are now being hailed for increasing the efficiency and liquidity of transactions within the Ethereum ecosystem.
According to a report from CEX.io released on June 4, bots played a crucial role in executing over 4.84 million stablecoin transfers on Ethereum’s Layer-1 network in May 2025. This was a significant factor in helping Ethereum process $480 billion in stablecoin volume, setting a new all-time high for the blockchain.
Automated bots facilitated 32% of Ethereum’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume in May, with USDC emerging as the most-traded asset. This surge reflects a shift toward utility-based DeFi, with stablecoins now being primarily used for payment-driven applications.
Ethereum’s return to prominence is also due to a reduction in gas fees during Q1 2025, making Ethereum more competitive against Layer-2 solutions and alternative chains.
Lower gas fees have encouraged liquidity providers to return to Ethereum’s mainnet, which was previously losing market share to Ethereum’s Layer-2 solutions (such as Optimism and Arbitrum) and other blockchains like Solana and Avalanche.
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