TRON (TRX) achieved peak Tether (USDT) activity in 2024

TRON (TRX) achieved peak Tether (USDT) activity in 2024, roughly handling more than $17.9B per day in token transfers. Trading and DeFi volumes were even

TRON (TRX) saw peak Tether (USDT) activity in 2024. On average, the chain processed more than $17.9 million in daily token transfers. Trading and decentralized finance (DeFi) volumes were even higher, reaching $5.46 trillion.

Despite the drop in supply at the end of 2025, TRON remained one of the most active platforms for USDT transfers. However, the coming year is expected to be successful for all stablecoins. In the first days of January, the total supply of stablecoins reached a new record high of over $200.6 billion, out of which TRON held more than 58 billion tokens.

On average, the TRON network processed more than 2 million daily transactions, ranging across all sizes and categories. TRON facilitates both retail usage of USDT and its native forms of DeFi and centralized swaps. The ongoing activity made TRON the largest fee producer in early 2025. In the first week of the new year, TRON generated $43.74 million in fees, surpassing Ethereum’s $30.63 million.

The usage of USDT on TRON expanded until early December 2024, when daily transfers slowed down. The network also saw a portion of its USDT supply burned, as large exchanges rolled over their stablecoin holdings to Ethereum’s version of USDT.

TRON still dominates Ethereum in users and volumes

Despite rolling back some of the USDT issued on TRON, the chain still dominates over Ethereum in user count and the number of transfers. More than 83% of USDT users chose TRON’s TRC-20 version.

Those users produced up to 60% of daily transfers, with minimal competition from new arrivals like Celo. TRON transfers still have a smaller average volume per user. Ethereum is still the leader with more than $233,000 in volume per user. TRON transfers tend to be lower, at around $41,000 per user on average. However, those transfers are not equally spread, and TRON still hosts a significant portion of whale and professional transactions.

Ethereum’s supply of USDT expanded to $79.6 billion and is considered the most liquid and widely tradable version, though used only for entry and exit points. TRON’s token is also used for e-commerce and peer-to-peer marketplaces.

The TRON network hosts a much smaller DeFi sector, and USDT is not as widely used for collateral purposes. TRON hosts $7.66 billion in value locked, most of it tied to JustLEND.

TRON retains a different stablecoin usage profile

The rise of TRON-based USDT spending shows a different trend for the past year. The rise in TRON activity coincides with a similar expansion on BNB Smart Chain. Those two chains offer cheaper transactions, while also tapping into demand from the Asian crypto market.

Both senders and receivers grew on TRON and BNB Smart Chain, with 2 to 4 million daily active wallets.

TRON transactions under $100, however, have a smaller share, as small-scale users have shifted to BNB Smart Chain.

USDT on TRON retains its influence for professional-scale or large-scale transactions. TRON dominates for transactions in the $1,000–$10K range and in the $10K–$100K range. The activity suggests whale transfers between exchanges, decentralized exchange facilities, or storage wallets.

The Tether treasury holds around $2.1 billion in TRC-20 stablecoins, ready to be deployed if the market demand increases. The TRC-20 version is held in several top exchanges. Within the top 10 wallets, USDT is key for OKX, Gate.IO, Kraken, and Bitfinex. Both Kraken and Bitfinex are also among the most active traders of the TRC-20 token, establishing higher liquidity for Bitcoin (BTC) and other assets. Bybit also holds over 105 million TRC-20 USDT.

The usage of this stablecoin version faced a slowdown at the end of last year, as the European Union requirements for stablecoins excluded USDT due to it lacking cash reserves in a Euro Area bank account. The enforcement of MiCA regulations, however, has not diminished demand for other global transfers.

TRON-based stablecoins are also closely watched for potential crimes. The chain is monitored by the T3 financial unit, which collaborates with TRON to lock wallets for suspicious activity. Since August 2024, $100 million in assets have been locked, although this makes up a small fraction of the total TRC-20 stablecoin activity.