In the third quarter of 2025, Hedera’s HBAR token witnessed a remarkable resurgence, with its market capitalization soaring by 43% to reach $9.1 billion. This surge was mirrored by a significant increase in the token price, which climbed 43.2% to $0.21. The boost in market dynamics can be attributed to heightened activity across decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, and enterprise-grade applications.
The growth was underscored by an impressive total value locked (TVL) within Hedera’s DeFi ecosystem, which rose by 53.4%, reaching $113.5 million. Notably, the decentralized exchange SaucerSwap continued to lead, accounting for over two-thirds of total liquidity. Additionally, daily active accounts on the network increased by 15.8%, with the creation of new accounts soaring by 178%, reflecting a significant uptick in user engagement.
Transaction fees also saw a notable rise, increasing by 3.2% when calculated in HBAR, and an even sharper 39.2% in dollar terms, driven by the growing token value. The Smart Contract Service emerged as the primary revenue driver for the network, contributing nearly half of its total income. Meanwhile, both the Token and Crypto Services demonstrated steady performance.
Hedera’s advancements extended beyond just metrics. The Wyoming Stable Token Commission identified the network as a candidate for the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) project, making Hedera the only additional blockchain under consideration for the first U.S. state-issued stable token. This recognition reinforces Hedera’s growing reputation for providing compliance-ready infrastructure suitable for regulated digital assets.
In another significant development, the South Korean trading application SALT launched on the network to facilitate DeFi and MemeFi activities. This application introduces features like smart routing, gamified rewards, and multi-party computation (MPC) wallets, aimed at enhancing Hedera’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Throughout the quarter, Hedera implemented several network upgrades, including versions v0.63, v0.64, and v0.65, which introduced enhancements in scalability, developer tools, and fee optimization. These upgrades are part of Hedera’s long-term strategy to transition from a permissioned model to a fully permissionless validator network.
With the total amount of staked HBAR now at 15.9 billion and an accelerating pace of ecosystem adoption, Hedera is positioning itself as a leading public ledger in the crypto market. If the current growth trajectory continues, HBAR could solidify its status as the preferred layer for enterprise-grade DeFi and institutional tokenization initiatives as the market moves into 2026.
