{"id":6394,"date":"2025-07-31T16:02:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T16:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/tron-becomes-primary-settlement-layer-for-tethers-usdt-data-show\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T16:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T16:02:09","slug":"tron-becomes-primary-settlement-layer-for-tethers-usdt-data-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/tron-becomes-primary-settlement-layer-for-tethers-usdt-data-show\/","title":{"rendered":"TRON becomes primary settlement layer for Tether\u2019s USDT, data show"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">TRON has pulled ahead of Ethereum in stablecoin activity, processing nearly seven times more daily Tether transactions and surpassing $80 billion in supply by mid-2025. The growth appears to be fueled by gasless transactions and low fees, though concerns persist.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_0e554bf833fd1bc86da065e5647097c2\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>TRON now handles nearly seven times more daily USDT transactions than Ethereum, with total USDT supply on the network reaching $80.8 billion in H1 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Its rise is fueled by gasless transactions, allowing users to avoid fees through staked resources or app-level sponsorship.<\/li>\n<li>While stablecoin use is surging, TRON\u2019s centralized governance and limited DeFi complexity raise questions about long-term sustainability.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>TRON (TRX), once seen as an underdog in the battle for blockchain utility, is now seems to be pulling ahead of Ethereum. At least in one critical metric: stablecoin activity.<\/p>\n<p>A recent report from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoquant.com\/applied-research\/6879da9bed3b8d78b4e87ef6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">suggests<\/a> that TRON has cemented its role as a leading settlement layer for Tether\u2019s USDT (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market capitalization.<\/p>\n<p>The network processed 2.3-2.4 million daily USDT transactions in the first half of 2025, nearly seven times the number handled by Ethereum (ETH), according to the report. TRON\u2019s total USDT supply surged to $80.8 billion, surpassing Ethereum\u2019s $73.8 billion for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTRON positioned itself as the preferred network for the use of USDT for day-to-day and P2P transactions due to its high throughput and low transaction cost. This is why there is higher USDT transfer activity on TRON than on Ethereum,\u201d said Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, in a statement to crypto.news.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<p>TRON\u2019s success may hinge on a design decision that many other chains have avoided: gasless transactions, where users don\u2019t pay fees because costs are covered by staked resources or app-level sponsorship. According to CryptoQuant, 75% of all TRON activity in H1 2025 was fee-free for the user, up from 60% in late 2023. The model, which allows dApps, wallets, or exchanges to subsidize transaction costs via TRX staking or sponsorship, has apparently played a vital role in driving user adoption.<\/p>\n<p>That bet seems to be paying off. TRON processed 273 million transactions in May, the second-highest in its history, while active addresses reached 28.7 million in June, a level not seen since mid-2023. More than that, the average user made 10.5 transactions per month, the highest in two years.<\/p>\n<p>Despite most users paying nothing, the network still generated $308 million in fees in June \u2014 a record high \u2014 suggesting enterprise users or dApps with higher resource needs may be making up the difference.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stablecoin machine<\/h2>\n<p>TRON\u2019s grip on the stablecoin market appears stronger than ever as USDT alone accounted for 98% of the top 10 token transfers on TRON during the first half of 2025, totaling 384 million movements.<\/p>\n<p>Moreno noted that the vast majority of USDT on TRON is held off centralized exchanges, with the CEX supply share falling from 46% in early 2023 to just 13% today. \u201cUsers increasingly leverage TRON for DeFi protocols, lending\/borrowing, cross\u2011border remittances or P2P payments rather than merely parking funds on centralized venues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><picture decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-14401403\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" ><\/source><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">USDT on TRON: Total Supply of TRX on CEXs vs non-custodial CEXs | Source: CryptoQuant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>TRON\u2019s dominance in stablecoin usage may also reflect a more practical focus. Unlike Ethereum, which is often used for complex smart contracts and experimentation, TRON has found its niche in fast, low-cost transfers, especially in emerging markets and informal finance.<\/p>\n<p>Still, dominance in transfer volume doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to network health as much of the usage may come from repetitive or automated transactions rather than active, diverse engagement.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DeFi expands, but slowly<\/h2>\n<p>Although TRON\u2019s decentralized finance is still far from levels seen on Ethereum, activity is still showing signs of maturity. SunSwap, its decentralized exchange, saw monthly wTRX swap volumes top $3.8 billion in May, with transaction counts significantly higher than 2024 averages. The platform also saw a diversification in trading pairs, as wTRX\u2019s dominance in swaps fell from 98% to 70%, making way for stablecoin- and memecoin-based activity.<\/p>\n<p>JustLend, TRON\u2019s lending protocol, also saw a 23% rise in borrowing transactions, driven largely by stablecoins, while daily deposit volumes on JustLend tripled since January, peaking at $740 million in April, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>These developments suggest TRON\u2019s ecosystem is expanding beyond simple transfers. Still, as noted above, TRON\u2019s DeFi landscape remains smaller and less complex than Ethereum\u2019s or Solana\u2019s, and critics <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.financemagnates.com\/cryptocurrency\/news\/tron-is-a-highly-centralized-project-ex-cto-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">have pointed<\/a> to the outsized role of centralized governance in TRON\u2019s architecture.<\/p>\n<p>While the data points to what seems to be real traction, the story of TRON\u2019s USDT dominance isn\u2019t one of pure technological superiority; it\u2019s also about tradeoffs: low fees and gasless transactions have made the network attractive, especially for stablecoin users in regions with limited access to traditional banking.<\/p>\n<p>But whether TRON can sustain that growth without leaning heavily on USDT remains uncertain. Its broader ecosystem \u2014 governance, developer activity, novel dApps \u2014 still trails behind Ethereum and other platforms.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TRON has pulled ahead of Ethereum in stablecoin activity, processing nearly seven times more daily Tether transactions and surpassing $80 billion in supply by mid-2025. The growth appears to be&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6395,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6394\/revisions\/6395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}