Tether’s Blockchain Wars: TRON Overtakes Ethereum in USDT Dominance

The stablecoin cold war escalates as TRON processes $18B more USDT transactions than Ethereum this quarter—proving speed (and lower fees) still trump decentralization purists.

Behind the numbers: Traders are voting with their gas fees. TRON’s 3-cent transfers undercut Ethereum’s $5+ L1 costs, making arbitrage bots and Asian markets flock to Justin Sun’s chain. Meanwhile, ETH maximalists cope by pointing to ’security tradeoffs’.

Reality check: When 80% of USDT’s $110B supply exists purely to move between exchanges, efficiency wins. The ’blockchain trilemma’ just became a duopoly—with Visa and Mastercard lurking.

In Brief

• Tether issued 1 billion USDT on Tron, reducing the gap with Ethereum to just 1.4 billion dollars.
• Tron could become the leading blockchain for USDT again, putting pressure on Ethereum, which is already declining.
• Stablecoins, expected to reach 2 trillion by 2028, are becoming a strategic stake between blockchains.

Tether Strikes Hard on Tron: Soon the Leader of Stablecoins?

Between July 2022 and November 2024, Tron was already dominating Ethereum in terms of USDT circulation. But a massive mint of 18 billion on Ethereum allowed it to regain the lead. Today, the trend seems to be reversing once again.

Indeed, the Tron network just received a major boost with the issuance of 1 billion dollars in USDT by Tether on May 5th, according to Arkham Intelligence. This operation brings the total Tether in circulation on Tron to 71.4 billion dollars, compared to 72.8 billion on Ethereum. The gap therefore narrows to only 1.4 billion, and the trend could soon reverse the hierarchy between the two rival blockchains.

Ethereum Under Pressure While ETH Falters!

Long considered an underdog, TRON could therefore take the lead in the stablecoin race again… unless Ethereum quickly strikes back to maintain its advantage. It could rely on:

• Its robust DeFi ecosystem;
• Its proven security;
• The growing institutional appeal of its network.

Furthermore, a new strategic mint by Tether or an improvement in fee efficiency via Layer 2 solutions could consolidate its dominance.

However, this new advance by Tron in the USDT race could increase downward pressure on Ethereum, which is already down nearly 3% over 24 hours, around 1,773 dollars. If investors perceive a loss of influence in the stablecoin ecosystem, it could slow demand for ETH, especially given the rise of Tron with its near-zero fees.

In a context where stablecoins already represent 8% of the crypto market, their strategic role continues to grow. The U.S. Treasury even anticipates a surge of stablecoins to 2 trillion dollars by 2028, provided clear regulation. In this race, each network – Tron or Ethereum – is playing its place in the future digital financial system.

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