Poloniex Exits stUSDT Position, Collapsing Its Utilization on Ethereum

Staked USDT (stUSDT), a protocol that supposedly invests in US Treasury securities to pay yields to users who ‘stake’ their tether tokens, has seen its utilization on Ethereum collapse as Justin Sun-owned Poloniex has exited its position, according to onchain data.

Staked USDT (stUSDT) utilization on Ethereum has sharply declined as Justin Sun's Poloniex has withdrawn its large holdings of the token, onchain data shows.

stUSDT is a token that has been largely utilized by entities or wallets closely connected to Sun, notably comprising a majority of all tethers in the reserves of HTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that he advises.

Moreover, on Ethereum, a vast portion of this token was controlled by 0x176F3DAb24a159341c0509bB36B833E7fdd0a132, an address previously labeled “Justin Sun 4” on Etherscan but now showing as “Poloniex 9.”

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Poloniex’s persistent refusal to complete a proof-of-reserves—despite Sun’s repeated promises and insistence on its importance—makes it more difficult to ascertain whether this address is predominantly controlled by Poloniex or Sun, to the extent that the two can be meaningfully separated.

At times, this address held as much as 96% of the total stUSDT supply on Ethereum.

However, roughly three months ago, the exchange appears to have initiated a withdrawal request for approximately $30 million of the token. This was followed two days ago by a withdrawal of about $11 million and another $9.4 million on Monday.

These withdrawals have left the token largely abandoned on Ethereum, with the largest remaining holder, 0x9FCc67D7DB763787BB1c7f3bC7f34d3C548c19Fe, holding only $1.7 million of the token—about 90% of the total supply.

In contrast, the largest token holder on Tron, TDToUxX8sH4z6moQpK3ZLAN24eupu2ivA4, an HTX address, still holds a much larger $195 million, representing roughly 85% of the supply on Tron.

A request for comment from Poloniex on whether it controls this address was not returned by press time.

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