Ethereum stablecoin volume shattered its monthly record in April, thanks to DAI
Quick Take
- The total volume of stablecoins traded on Ethereum last month was significantly higher than any month previously, but the majority of volume was contributed by a single stablecoin: DAI.
- DAI has been increasingly involved in complex MEV transactions utilizing flash loans, seemingly accounting for the increase in volume.
After months of largely flat activity, total monthly stablecoin volume on Ethereum has increased for the past three months in a row, culminating in a record-breaking month for volumes in April.
This data point comes with an important caveat: flash loan activity is counted, rather than filtered out. Without flash loan activity, stablecoin volume still had a solid month, which saw 
FDUSD
-0.092%
have its best month on record, though the filtered stablecoin volume came in slightly below March's level.
But including flash loan activity in the data shows a record-breaking month for stablecoin volume, thanks to one stablecoin in particular: 
DAI
-0.11%
. DAI has increasingly been used in complex MEV transactions, The Block previously reported, often involving flash loans, where a large portion of DAI is minted and returned in a single transaction. One such transaction added almost one billion dollars of DAI volume alone.
DAI's volume in April, $636 billion, made up the majority of the total on-chain volume for Ethereum stablecoins, which came in at nearly $1.2 trillion for the month. DAI's April volume also more than tripled its total in March.
DAI's supply has also grown in tandem, adding around one billion dollars worth of tokens since Mar. 7, to reach a total current supply of 5.44 billion, according to The Block's data. While other stablecoins also increased in volume, DAI slightly increased its share of the total stablecoin supply over that period.
May could prove to be another significant month for DAI. Since May 1, the supply of DAI has increased by another $220 million, according to MakerBurn. However, competitors like Ethena's USDe and Ripple's teased upcoming stablecoin could complicate matters for DAI's supply in the future.
Despite the increase in DAI volumes, the price of Maker 
MKR
+2.82%
, the token of MakerDAO, the organization which supports DAI, largely fell over April before seeing a small uptick at the beginning of May.
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