With Bitcoin breaking previous highs and briefly surpassing $70,000, the bull market appears to have officially returned. Stimulated by significant wealth effects, external capital has begun to accelerate its flow into the cryptocurrency world. DefiLlama data shows that as of March 20, the total market value of stablecoins has reached $147.52 billion, with a weekly increase of 1.05%. Among them, USDT's total market value has broken through the $100 billion mark, maintaining its top position in the sector with a market share of over 70%.
Delving into the issuance status of USDT, the TRC-20 version of USDT issued on the TRON network now accounts for nearly half (49.84%) of the total market share, almost equaling the sum of shares on all other chains combined.
Compared to networks like Ethereum, TRON demonstrates significant advantages in transaction costs, making it the only blockchain network that achieves both "scale and efficiency." It is regarded as the preferred solution for cryptocurrency settlement layers. With the seamless services provided by TRON, users have little incentive to change their existing usage habits, further solidifying TRON's leading position in the settlement layer.
In late February, Justin Sun mentioned on X that TRON's ultimate vision is to become the world's largest and most prosperous decentralized financial protocol, emphasizing that "a decentralized world inevitably requires decentralized assets."
Today, as the largest issuance base for USDT, TRON has initially taken shape as the value settlement layer of the decentralized world. Its high-performance, low-cost blockchain platform provides a stable and efficient settlement system for cryptocurrency transactions, greatly facilitating the circulation and trading activities of cryptocurrencies. As more users choose to conduct transactions on TRON, its value in the crypto industry will become increasingly prominent, providing strong support for the development of the entire cryptocurrency sector.
The Data Behind TRON's Dominance in the Settlement Layer
As Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks mature and interoperability between chains improves, their fundamental capabilities as underlying networks to support application layers have become relatively homogeneous. However, due to factors such as performance differences, development timelines, and strategic focuses, the ecological performance of various Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks varies significantly.
Taking asset settlement as an example, TRON has strategically focused on this direction. With its extremely fast confirmation speeds and low transaction costs, TRON is not only the largest issuance network for USDT but also the underlying network with the largest user base and the most frequent value flows for USDT.
The chart below provides a detailed data comparison of USDT supply and circulation parameters between TRON and other Layer 1 networks like Ethereum and Solana, as well as Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum and Optimism. Data is sourced from mainstream blockchain explorers such as Tronscan and Etherscan, as well as data aggregation platforms like Dune and GasFeesNow.
From a quantitative perspective, only Ethereum can currently rival TRON in terms of USDT supply. However, Ethereum lags behind TRON in terms of the number of token-holding addresses (representing transaction activity) and related transaction volumes, with a significant disadvantage in transaction costs. From a cost perspective, while Solana and Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum and Optimism can offer fees equivalent to or even lower than TRON, they fall short by more than an order of magnitude in terms of supply, number of token-holding addresses, and transaction volumes.
In summary, TRON is currently the only blockchain network that achieves both "scale and efficiency," making it the de facto choice for the cryptocurrency settlement layer. As mentioned earlier, given the homogeneous trends in the basic capabilities of Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, TRON's first-mover advantage and performance make it difficult for other ecosystems to catch up. Under the "comfortable" services provided by TRON, users have little "incentive" to change their usage habits, which will further consolidate and even amplify TRON's lead in the settlement layer.
Of course, as a representative of the industry's settlement layer, TRON does not limit its focus to the relatively small circle of cryptocurrencies. Instead, it aims to leverage technological innovation to address existing pain points in the financial industry.
Currently, traditional banking still relies on SWIFT, established in 1973, to handle international banking settlements. For years, SWIFT's processing efficiency of 3–5 working days and its expensive commission mechanisms have been widely criticized.
In contrast, on-chain settlement services represented by TRON have demonstrated advantages such as permissionless access, transparency, low fees, and high efficiency. However, due to the limited acceptance of blockchain technology in the traditional financial world, on-chain settlement services have not yet achieved widespread adoption in traditional finance in the short term. As public awareness of blockchain and cryptocurrencies continues to increase, these advantages will become more apparent. Therefore, we remain optimistic about the long-term development trend of on-chain settlement services in the financial industry.
👉 Explore advanced settlement solutions
Current Ecosystem Status: Rising TVL and Record-High Protocol Revenue
During the explosive growth of public chain market value in early 2021, we published an observational article on the ecological development of TRON. In that article, we concluded that TRON was the external public chain that benefited the most from the value overflow of the Ethereum network since the DeFi boom.
Three years later, we can use factual performance to support this conclusion. Tronscan data shows that as of the time of writing, the total value locked (TVL) in TRON's DeFi protocols has reached $23.3 billion, ranking second among all Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, behind only Ethereum. In terms of trends, the TVL of the TRON ecosystem has maintained steady growth.
Currently, TRON has built a comprehensive ecosystem around various application directions such as stablecoins, lending, DEXs, LSDs, and gaming. It is attracting a large number of active users with its diverse application types.
As of March 20, some data provided by Tronscan can intuitively reflect the current ecological activity of the TRON network:
- The total number of accounts on the TRON network has exceeded 218 million, with over 2.34 million active addresses in the past day.
- The cumulative number of transactions on the TRON network has exceeded 7.3 billion, with over 4.76 million new transactions in the past day.
- The daily contract call count on the TRON network exceeds 2.3 million.
The active ecological conditions are bringing substantial returns to TRX stakers. **Earlier this month, TRON's daily protocol revenue once reached 16,800,159 TRX, worth approximately $2,286,203, setting a historical record.** According to Tronscan data, TRON's total protocol revenue over the past year has reached $458 million.
Stimulated by substantial returns, the staking rate of the TRON network is continuously increasing. As more users choose to stake their TRX, the TRON ecosystem is expected to enter a positive value cycle: Increased staking rate reduces circulating TRX — improved network security and decentralization, reduced market selling pressure — a more stable ecosystem, amplified potential for price appreciation — increased user activity, potential for higher yields — further increase in staking rate...
Of course, this will not be a perpetual cycle, but it may allow TRX's staking rate and price performance to find balance at a higher level. In this process, all participants in the TRON ecosystem will benefit.
👉 View real-time staking tools
The Second Half of Public Chain Competition: TRON Is Half a Step Ahead
Over the past few years, on-chain ecosystems have experienced an explosion at the application layer. With application directions such as DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi, a large number of public chains including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, and Avalanche have engaged in fierce competition. TRON has consistently participated in this competition and maintained its position in the first tier. Justin Sun has also frequently participated in multiple DeFi projects within TRON and external ecosystems, directly supporting the development of many early projects with his actions.
In October of last year, when discussing the future of public chain development, Justin Sun mentioned that the biggest advantage of blockchain is its ability to provide global services. TRON was developed to serve everyone around the world.
In our view, the competition among public chains has only completed the first half. With the approval of ETFs, cryptocurrencies have begun to step out of their small circle and gradually approach the traditional world, thereby connecting to everyone around the globe.
Looking ahead, the true integration of cryptocurrencies into the traditional world should not only involve being included in institutional investment portfolios as assets but also leverage their iterative technological advantages to solve some inherent problems faced by traditional finance. This inevitably involves the settlement efficiency issues we mentioned earlier. In this regard, TRON has demonstrated sufficient advantages compared to its competitors.
In the future, TRON may cooperate with international banks to establish cross-border payment gateways, using TRC-20 USDT as a settlement tool to achieve fast, low-cost cross-border payment services, similar to Ripple's cross-border payment solutions with some banks. Meanwhile, TRON may also collaborate with financial institutions to issue digital bonds based on the TRON network, using smart contracts to automate interest payments and bond trading settlements. Alternatively, similar to Alipay's smart contract payment solutions, TRON could partner with payment service providers to use smart contract technology for automated settlement and payment services.
In the second half of the competition, TRON is already half a step ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes TRON the preferred network for USDT transactions?
TRON offers significantly lower transaction costs and faster confirmation speeds compared to other major networks like Ethereum. Its scalability and efficiency have made it the top choice for issuing and transacting USDT, capturing nearly half of the total USDT market share.
How does TRON's transaction cost compare to other blockchains?
TRON's transaction fees are among the lowest in the industry, often fractions of a cent. This is substantially lower than Ethereum's gas fees and competitive with even Layer 2 solutions, making it ideal for high-frequency and micro-transactions.
What is the significance of TRON's high staking rate?
A high staking rate indicates that a large portion of TRX is locked in staking contracts, reducing circulating supply. This can enhance network security, decrease selling pressure, and potentially support higher token values due to increased scarcity and ecosystem engagement.
Can TRON be used for purposes beyond cryptocurrency transactions?
Yes, TRON's high throughput and low-cost structure make it suitable for various applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi), cross-border payments, digital asset issuance, and smart contract-based solutions like automated payments and settlements.
How does TRON contribute to decentralized finance (DeFi)?
TRON hosts a robust DeFi ecosystem with protocols spanning lending, decentralized exchanges, liquidity pools, and more. Its high performance and low fees provide a user-friendly environment for DeFi activities, attracting substantial total value locked (TVL) and active participation.
What are the future prospects for TRON in traditional finance?
TRON is exploring integrations with traditional finance through potential partnerships with banks for cross-border payments and digital bond issuance. Its efficiency and transparency could help address existing inefficiencies in traditional financial systems.