Tron strengthens grip on USDT, claiming nearly half of its $150B supply

Tether’s market cap just passed $150.66 billion, setting yet another record and extending its dominance over every rival combined.

Data from DeFiLlama showed USDT expanded by roughly $830 million in the past week and more than $5.5 billion since mid‑April. The headline total matters on its own, but the real insight lies in how the tokens are distributed: nearly half now sit on Tron, while Ethereum holds a slightly smaller share, leaving every other network, including BNB Chain, Solana, and Avalanche, with only single‑digit crumbs.

Tron’s grip on USDT has never been stronger. Data puts $73.7 billion of USDT on the network, equal to 46.8 % of all outstanding supply, up 2.47% in the past seven days. Low fees, simple account creation, and deep exchange support have kept Tron at the core of over‑the‑counter settlements and emerging‑market remittance corridors, where cents matter more than smart‑contract flexibility and network effects.

During the past week, Tron’s entire stablecoin base (including USDC, Dai, and smaller tokens) grew by $1.79 billion to $73.74 billion, showing that new flows head straight for the cheapest rails available.

Ethereum still hosts $66.22 billion in USDT, or 42.1% of the float, but the chain recorded a $1.38 billion net outflow across all stablecoins over the past three weeks and $746.5 million in the most recent seven‑day window. Elevated gas prices above two gwei seldom deter DeFi power users, yet they remain a hurdle for retail exchanges and cross‑border desks with thin profit margins.

Even so, Ethereum’s ecosystem continues to provide the deepest liquidity pools, the most active derivatives market, and critical integrations with tokenized real‑world assets, giving USDT holders a reason to stay en masse despite cheaper alternatives.

The split between the two chains creates a stark contrast in issuer concentration. USDT accounts for 99.25% of all stablecoins on Tron, meaning almost every dollar on the network relies on Tether’s banking relationships and risk controls. Ethereum, by comparison, offers more redundancy: USDT covers 51.23% of its $123.74 billion pool, while USDC, Dai, Ethena’s USDe, and a patchwork of newcomers share the rest. That mix cushions Ethereum users if any single issuer hits turbulence and explains why sophisticated DeFi strategies keep a large presence on the chain despite higher fees.

Circle’s USDC remains the second‑largest stablecoin at $60.79 billion. The gap between the two majors is now close to $90  billion, widening from $80 billion only a month ago as Tether continued minting faster and USDC plateaued. Weekly USDC issuance slipped 1.58%, and its one‑month expansion stands at a modest 1.23%. Europe’s incoming MiCA regime may hand Circle a compliance edge later this year, but the numbers show that regulatory clarity in Europe has yet to convince traders to switch.

Smaller stablecoins paint a mixed picture. DAI jumped 8.97% in seven days and 12.07% in a month to $4.48 billion after MakerDAO voters raised the Savings Rate and attracted capital with an on‑chain yield north of 11% at one point. Ethena’s synthetic USDe nudged up 1.08% on the week yet sits 5.19% below its April reading at $4.65 billion, showing a slightly reduced hedge demand after funding spreads on perpetual futures compressed. BlackRock’s pilot BUIDL, with a tokenized US Treasury backing, rose 19.30% in a month to $2.89 billion; still tiny by Tether standards but notable for its speed.

BNB Chain appears to be the only secondary network making material progress on the USDT front. It absorbed a 5.79% daily influx worth roughly $300 million, lifting its tether stash to $5.48 billion, the largest single‑day addition since February. Solana’s $2.39 billion hoard was flat, and Avalanche gave back 2.74% of its $1.87 billion supply despite a double‑digit monthly increase. All told, networks outside Tron and Ethereum hold slightly more than $10 billion of Tether, less than the total minted in April alone, showing how deeply liquidity has clustered on the two leading chains.

The preference for Tron stems from straightforward math. At half a cent per standard transfer, a desk moving $100 million pays only $50 in fees on Tron versus roughly $30,000 on Ethereum at 50 gwei. Bridges and wrappers allow near‑instant migration to exchanges that list TRC‑20 USDT pairs, notably Binance, OKX, and HTX, reducing the need for costly and sometimes slow L1 settlements. Ethereum cannot match that cost profile, but its entrenched position in DeFi, institutional custody, and high‑value NFTs keeps large balances anchored even when idle capital seeks cheaper homes.

Concentration carries well‑known hazards. Should regulators target Tron, throttle Tether’s access to it, or restrict US banks from servicing exchanges that rely on TRC‑20 liquidity, nearly half of all USDT could become harder to redeem or move. That risk explains why some treasurers follow a barbell approach, parking working capital on Tron while holding strategic reserves on Ethereum or even in staked T‑Bills such as BUIDL. This approach mirrors fiat treasury segmentation, with checking accounts for day‑to‑day flows and separate custody for longer‑term allocations.

Another question concerns the pace of issuance. Tether added almost $19  billion in the first four months of 2025, sprinting past the entire 2024 print run before May even began. If that tempo holds, USDT could finish the year north of $200 billion, a level that would equal roughly 20% of Bitcoin’s current market value. Such a scale will force exchanges, prime brokers, and insurers to revisit counterparty exposure limits, upgrade collateral policies, and map dependency scenarios across chain failures or banking interruptions.

For now, the data shows liquidity is concentrating on the cheapest venues, and traders accept the single‑issuer exposure because the alternative is slower settlement or higher fees. USDC offers a compliance‑first path, DAI provides a fully collateralized model, and newer tokens experiment with yield or real‑world backing, yet none capture share at a pace that dents Tether’s lead. The $150 billion milestone is not just a big, round number; it represents a market structure where two chains and one issuer set the tempo for crypto‑denominated commerce.

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