Despite the volatility in the crypto market, driven by global economic conditions and technological innovations, numerous crypto projects continue to strive to increase their value and expand their usage.
This makes September 2025 a particularly interesting month. While some claim that September is historically the worst month for the crypto market, is that really true?
In this article, let's examine the top 10 crypto projects that generated the highest revenue and the reasons behind their success.
Number 1. Tether - The King of the Stablecoin Market
Tether(USDT), the world's leading stablecoin issuer, secured the number one spot this month with revenue exceeding $646.5 million. Tether's advantage lies in being a safe-haven asset for investors during periods of market instability.
Tether's primary revenue comes from earning interest on over $100 billion invested in U.S. government-backed securities and short-term Treasury bills. Furthermore, fees generated from minting and redeeming USDT continue to grow, indicating a persistent, strong demand for stablecoins.
Number 2. Circle - A Formidable Competitor
Circle,the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, took second place with $225 million in revenue. Similar to Tether, Circle's income is largely derived from interest on its reserve holdings. However, USDC's distinguishing feature is its strict adherence to regulatory compliance.
Circle provides monthly attestation reports of its reserves from renowned auditing firms and maintains a clear separation between reserve funds and operational capital. This transparency has made it a trusted choice for institutions and investors seeking stability, and its adoption continues to grow as major financial entities increasingly embrace USDC.
Number 3. Hyperliquid - A Leader in the Perp-DEX Market
Hyperliquid,a decentralized crypto futures exchange (Perp-DEX), earned $90.65 million in revenue from trading fees on its platform.
Hyperliquid's strength is offering Perpetual Futures contracts with the ease of use of a centralized exchange (CEX), while allowing users to maintain self-custody of their assets in a decentralized manner.
Number 4. Pump.fun - The King of the Meme Coin Market
Pump.fun,a platform on the Solana network that makes it easy for users to create and trade meme coins, generated $60.15 million in revenue from fees associated with new coin creation and trading.
The project's key advantage is its simplification of the token creation process, enabling anyone to launch their own meme coin within minutes.
Number 5. Axiom Pro - Another Perp-DEX Competitor
Axiom Pro is another Perp-DEX on the Solana chain.Although it receives less media attention, it is a highly functional project. It earned $46.86 million this month, demonstrating its strong revenue generation.
Number 6. Jupiter - The King of Liquidity Aggregators
Jupiter,a top-tier liquidity aggregator on the Solana network, earned $24.18 million. Its main advantage is its ability to instantly find the best prices by aggregating liquidity from all decentralized exchange (DEX) platforms.
Number 7. EdgeX
EdgeX is another high-performance Perp-DEX that earned$20.46 million in September. A distinctive feature of this project is its reward system designed to incentivize continued user participation.
Number 8. Sky - The Birth of a New Legend
Sky is the new identity of the established DeFi project MakerDAO,which earned $19.54 million in revenue this month. Its goal is to provide a wide range of decentralized finance (DeFi) services.
The project's revenue streams come from various services like lending, savings, and staking. Its strength lies in being an all-in-one platform that caters to diverse investor needs.
Number 9. Phantom - A Wallet That Exceeds Expectations
Phantom,a popular crypto wallet on the Solana network, earned up to $18.22 million. Its revenue stems from being an all-in-one application that integrates a wallet, DEX, NFT marketplace, and DeFi protocols into a single interface.
Number 10. Aerodrome - A New Star on the Base Chain
Aerodrome is a leading Decentralized Exchange(DEX) on the Base Network, earning $15.67 million. Its uniqueness comes from being a rapidly growing platform and a crucial component of the Base ecosystem. It features strong trading volume and attractive fee structures that draw in significant investment.
Conclusion
This top 10 list highlights new shifts within the crypto space. The projects listed here are not merely riding market trends; they are surviving and thriving by providing genuinely needed products for crypto users.
Tether and Circle's market dominance shows that the stablecoin business remains the most robust "money printer" in crypto. Furthermore, Hyperliquid's rise to the number 3 spot indicates that the Perp-DEX market is growing rapidly and is a sector to watch closely.