Tether has not confirmed nor denied whether it will stop supporting the Tron network following Circle’s decision to halt minting its stablecoin on the blockchain.
In response to inquiries about Circle’s move and any potential similar actions from Tether, the stablecoin issuer stated that its tokens are issued on various blockchains, serving as transport layers. Tether maintains the ability to freeze transactions on each supported blockchain to fulfill compliance obligations and actively monitors their safety standards.
Tether holds the position as the largest stablecoin with a market capitalization of $97.7 billion, while Circle’s USD Coin trails at $28 billion. The Tron network hosts over 51.8 billion USDT, constituting more than half of the total nearly 101 billion USDT tokens issued across multiple blockchains.
Additionally, Tether has allocated nearly $76.2 million for near-term liquidity provision on the Tron network.
Circle’s announcement on February 20 stated its immediate cessation of USDC minting on Tron, gradually phasing out support for the network to maintain the trust, transparency, and safety of USDC.
Recent reports have associated USDT on the Tron blockchain with cyber fraud and money laundering in Southeast Asia, citing the ease, anonymity, and low fees of its transactions. Tether refuted these claims, emphasizing USDT’s traceability and its collaboration with law enforcement, including the freezing of over $300 million worth of USDT involved in illicit activities.
Campaign for Accountability has raised concerns about Tron’s involvement in international law enforcement actions related to organized crime and sanctioned entities. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also filed a lawsuit against the Tron Foundation and founder Justin Sun, alleging unregistered securities offering and manipulative trading, which Sun denies.
