Tron Surges to Second-Largest USDT Supply, Trailing Only Ethereum in 2026 Stablecoin Race
Move over, legacy chains—Tron just grabbed the silver medal in the USDT arena.
The New Number Two
Forget the also-rans. The latest on-chain data reveals a clear hierarchy: Ethereum sits at the throne, but Tron has decisively leapfrogged every other network to secure the second-largest supply of the world's dominant stablecoin. It's a reshuffling of the deck that highlights where the real transactional volume is migrating.
What's Driving the Shift?
It boils down to friction—or the lack thereof. Lower transaction fees and faster settlement times are pulling users and capital toward alternative layers. While Ethereum remains the undisputed hub for decentralized finance's most complex machinery, the sheer movement of value is finding more efficient pathways. It's a classic case of infrastructure adapting to demand, bypassing congestion and cost barriers that once seemed inevitable.
The Bigger Picture
This isn't just a technical footnote. The distribution of a multi-billion dollar stablecoin supply acts as a real-time map of liquidity and user preference. Securing the number two spot signals robust network effects and solidifies Tron's role as a major liquidity layer. Watch where the money flows—it's often smarter than the analysts tweeting about it.
So, while traditional finance debates quarterly earnings, crypto's plumbing just got a major upgrade. The race to move value is on, and the leaderboard is being rewritten in real-time.
Tron ranks second behind Ethereum in terms of the largest USDT supply
Tether’s transparency page indicates that the stablecoin issuer has a total authorized USDT of $81.485 billion and $307 million authorized but not issued, resulting in a net USDT circulation of $81.179 billion on the tron network. Tron has the second-largest USDT net circulation after Ethereum.
The data show that Tether has a net USDT circulation of $100.882 billion, out of which $1.809 billion has been authorized but not issued, resulting in a total authorized USDT supply of $ 102.691 billion. solana claims the third position with an authorized supply of $2.74 billion and a net circulation of $2.19 billion. Aptos trails Solana with an authorized USDT supply of $1.23 billion and a net supply of $808.7 million in circulation.
The mint comes amid a growing stablecoin ecosystem. Lookonchain reported that Circle minted 500 million USDC on November 20 and another 750 million USDC on November 17. During the 1011 market crash, Tether and Circle cumulatively minted $15 billion in stablecoins.
Tether’s USDT leads the stablecoin market with a market capitalization of $186.966 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $70.971 billion, according to real-time data from crypto data aggregator Coingecko. Circle’s USDC follows with a market capitalization of $74.850 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $11.684 billion.
Despite Tether’s dominance in the stablecoin market, Circle’s USDC outgrew USDT in 2024 and 2025. A previous Cryptopolitan report noted that analysts credited USDC’s growth to the ongoing developments in the stablecoin ecosystem. The observers noted that USDC has benefitted from regulatory developments unfolding in the U.S., making it a top alternative for institutions to explore stablecoins.
The evolution of regulations has led to a rising demand for stablecoin usage by institutions and organizations following reforms by Trump’s pro-crypto administration. The U.S. government passed the GENIUS Act in July last year, which allowed institutions to interact with stablecoins in a regulated environment.
Circle’s USDC market cap grows more than USDT in 2024 and 2025
Circle Internet is regulated in the U.S. and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). On the other hand, Tether is registered in El Salvador following its migration from the British Virgin Islands and is not fully regulated.
As a result, USDC’s market capitalization grew by 73% in 2025 to $75.12 billion, beating that of USDT, which grew by 36% to $186.6 billion. In 2024, Tether’s USDT recorded a 50% growth in market capitalization while USDC logged a 77% growth in the same year. Circle has been a go-to company for asset management firms. Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood frequently bought the company’s shares last year. As of January 8, the asset manager now holds 2,494,932 Circle shares valued at more than $200 million.
While the U.S. continues to embrace digital assets and stablecoin developments, other countries believe governments should closely monitor stablecoins. On December 12, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India T. Rabi Sankar stated that India needed to be cautious regarding stablecoins. He urged that the fiat pegged crypto assets pose significant macroeconomic risk and serve no additional purpose that fiat money cannot.
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