Tron flips Ethereum in USDT supply amid growing on-chain activity

Tron has officially surpassed Ethereum in total circulating USDT, marking a major shift in the stablecoin space.

According to a May 12 post by CryptoQuant contributor Maartunn, on May 6, Tron’s (TRX) USDT supply reached $73.8 billion, exceeding Ethereum’s (ETH) $71.9 billion. Tron is now leading in USDT issuance for the first time after almost two years of steady growth, propelled by cheap fees, quick settlement times, and a stable network.

Since mid-2023, Tron’s growth has been consistent. The TRC-20 network has become the preferred choice for large-scale Tether (USDT) transactions, with more than $14 billion worth of new USDT being minted on the network in just the first half of 2025. It has gained popularity among decentralized finance users, traders, and businesses due to its low transaction fees, quick block finality, and reliable uptime. 

In contrast, Ethereum’s USDT growth has stabilized. Users are now switching to less costly options like Tron or Layer-2 solutions because of high gas prices and slower settlement. As a result, even though Ethereum was the original home of USDT, it has begun to lose ground in the stablecoin space.

Beyond stablecoins, Tron’s ecosystem is thriving. With a daily transaction volume of over 8.4 million, the network recently surpassed 10 billion total transactions. Tron’s decentralized exchange volume increased from $3.4 billion to $4.9 billion in April, a 40% rise from the previous month. Additionally, its total value locked has risen to more than $5 billion.

Adding to the momentum, on May 1, World Liberty Financial announced the integration of its USD1 stablecoin onto the Tron network. At TOKEN2049 in Dubai, Tron also revealed a new Gas Free feature, allowing users to pay fees without holding TRX.

At the time of writing, TRX, is trading at $0.2618, up over 6% in the past week. Tron founder Justin Sun has revealed that he expects TRX to hit a new all-time high this quarter, citing growing network activity and its increasing correlation with Bitcoin (BTC).