Nearly half of Ethereum stablecoin transfers now qualify as “dust,” Coin Metrics finds

[kevin1]

An analysis of 227 million USDC and USDT balance updates on Ethereum between November 2025 and January 2026 shows a sharp rise in low-value transfers, according to Coin Metrics. The report found that 43% of stablecoin transfers were under $1, with 38% worth less than a single cent.

These tiny amounts have little economic purpose and are commonly associated with wallet seeding and address poisoning tactics. Coin Metrics observed a rapid increase in wallets holding “dust” balances — amounts greater than zero but less than one native unit.

Before the Fusaka upgrade, dust accounted for just 3–5% of transactions. Post-upgrade, that figure has jumped to 10–15%, driven largely by cheaper gas fees.

[chainsniff]

under one cent transfers making up almost 40% is insane. at that point it’s basically just onchain junk mail.