Token Takeaway: TRX;
With hundreds of millions of accounts and billions in transactions, Tron is one of the largest public blockchains in the world. It facilitates trillions in annual payment volume, supports a thriving DeFi ecosystem, and is arguably one of the most efficient Layer-1 networks in operation today. While on-chain activity remains robust, token burning has begun to slow, and inflation is making a return, something the TRX token hasn’t seen in years. This Token Takeaway dives into the broader payments landscape, unpacks Tron’s architecture and on-chain metrics, and examines the fundamentals of TRX.
Introduction
Launched in July 2017 by Justin Sun, Tron is an open-source, EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain designed for scalable smart contracts and decentralised applications (dApps). Its mainnet went live in May 2018, and despite navigating years of controversy, particularly around its founder, it has quietly matured into one of the most important infrastructure layers in crypto. We covered many of the early controversies in our previous Token Takeaway on Tron.
Today, Tron supports over 318 million accounts, with 186 million holding TRX, the native asset. It has processed more than 10.8 billion transactions, with $19.6tn in cumulative on-chain volume, which is largely driven by over 1 million daily active accounts moving USDT across the network.
Total TRX Holders
While Tron’s DeFi ecosystem is sizable, its most headline-grabbing stat is over $22bn in daily average USDT transfer volume, settled seamlessly, without the congestion or cost typical of other blockchains.
Before we explore how Tron came to dominate the stablecoin settlement space, let’s first zoom out and examine the broader stablecoin landscape.
Stablecoin/Payments Market
Since the start of the year, stablecoins and crypto payments have emerged as the hottest themes in the digital asset space. The total stablecoin market cap has grown astronomically since 2024, surpassing $241bn, which not only reflects growing adoption but also increased acceptance and institutional interest.
Stablecoin Market Capitalisation
Stablecoins are quickly becoming one of the most transformative innovations in global finance. Stripe recently identified stablecoins, alongside AI, as one of the two primary forces shaping the future of the internet economy. Following its acquisition of Bridge, Stripe launched stablecoin-powered business accounts.
Meanwhile, PayPal has rolled out its stablecoin, PYUSD, across both PayPal and Venmo wallets. With nearly $1bn in market cap, PYUSD is now usable for retail transfers and payments and benefits from PayPal’s massive distribution.
On the regulatory front, the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) recently passed the U.S. Senate with a 67–27 majority, laying the groundwork for clearer compliance and issuance standards. At the same time, Circle, issuer of USDC, launched its IPO on the NYSE at $31 per share and opened at $69 before rapidly soaring to $300 and now stabilising near $200, a sign of market-wide conviction in the stablecoin sector.
Even President Trump has joined the wave, backing a new stablecoin called USD1 under the World Liberty Financial initiative, which has already struck deals in the Middle East and launched on Tron.
USDT Still Dominates
While the overall stablecoin market is flourishing, Tether’s USDT remains the undisputed leader, with a market cap exceeding $160bn, commanding 66.4% of the sector. Of the total, more than $80.7bn resides on Tron, surpassing Ethereum’s $74.8bn.
USDT Supply: Tron vs Ethereum
But it's not just supply; USDT volume tells an even more powerful story.
USDT Volume on Tron and Ethereum
Tron handles over $21bn in daily USDT volume, compared to Ethereum’s $8.5bn, almost 150% more transactional activity. This is real monetary value moving through the network every day.
Tron vs PayPal and Stripe
To put things into perspective, traditional fintech giants like Stripe and PayPal, valued at $91.5bn and $72.7bn, respectively, handled massive payment volumes in 2024. Stripe processed around $1.4tn for the year (roughly $3.8bn per day), while PayPal’s volume reached $1.68tn, averaging $4.6bn daily.
Now compare that to a decentralised blockchain network with a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of just $27.6bn. Tron regularly settles over $21bn in value every single day, more than five times Stripe’s daily throughput and four times PayPal’s.
Unlike traditional platforms, Tron operates with no central authority, open access, and no gatekeepers. It’s a striking example of how on-chain infrastructure is not just scaling but outpacing some of the largest centralised payment rails in the world, quietly proving that blockchain isn’t future infrastructure; it’s already here.
These figures are nothing short of remarkable, especially as countless Layer-1s launched around the same time as Tron, many with similar claims of low fees and high throughput. Yet none of them have captured the stablecoin payments market like Tron has.
That raises the question: Why Tron?
How Tron Became the Top Network for USDT Transfers
Several key factors have contributed to the explosive growth of USDT on the Tron network; some technical, some strategic and others driven by market dynamics.
USDT initially thrived on Ethereum, and Tron’s EVM-compatibility played a crucial role. Since the Tron Virtual Machine (TVM) was forked from Ethereum’s EVM, there was already natural compatibility with Ethereum-based assets and tooling. In fact, TRX, Tron’s native token, began as an ERC-20 token before migrating to its own mainnet, easing the transition for early Ethereum-based USDT holders and developers. This EVM alignment made it simple to bridge USDT functionality onto Tron without requiring complex rewrites or major infrastructure changes.
Binance also played a pivotal early role. As one of the first major exchanges to list TRX and conduct the TRX token ICO, Binance helped build early liquidity and legitimacy for the Tron ecosystem. Over time, Tron reportedly became the default blockchain for USDT deposits and withdrawals on Binance, giving it a massive head start in transactional volume. While the exact terms of any potential arrangement between Justin Sun and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao remain speculative, this exchange integration became a major driver of USDT flows to Tron.
The network’s rapid rise was further accelerated by emerging markets, where stablecoins serve as a critical bridge to financial services. Binance has a deep penetration in regions such as Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, which are areas with high demand for low-cost, reliable dollar-denominated transfers. For many users in these markets, USDT on Tron became the de facto choice for cross-border transfers, deposits, and remittances, due to its low fees and instant settlement.
Meanwhile, Justin Sun’s aggressive expansion strategy can’t be ignored. As an investor at Huobi (now HTX) and Poloniex, Sun had significant influence over key trading venues in Asia and beyond. His involvement allowed Tron to be heavily promoted and prioritised across these platforms, giving it a distinct edge in stablecoin adoption.
Finally, the fundamentals of the Tron network itself, ultra-low fees, high transaction speed, and stable infrastructure, created the perfect environment for stablecoin activity to flourish. Tron provided a consistently frictionless experience for moving digital dollars.
Together, these factors created a flywheel effect, positioning Tron as the dominant settlement layer for USDT, not just by supply, but by actual utility.
How Does Tron Work?
Tron operates on a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to validate transactions and secure the network. At the heart of this system are Super Representatives (SR), also known as block producers or validator nodes, who are elected by the community to produce blocks and process transactions.
Anyone can apply to become an SR candidate by paying 9,999 TRX, but only the top 27 candidates, as determined by vote, are selected as active Super Representatives. Voting rights, referred to as Tron Power (TP), are earned by staking TRX; 1 staked TRX equals 1 TP. TRX staking not only grants voting power but also unlocks critical network resources via Tron’s unique Resource Model.
Tron Resource Model
Unlike Ethereum, where users pay gas fees in ETH for all on-chain actions, Tron uses two separate resources: Bandwidth and Energy.
- Bandwidth is consumed for standard transactions (e.g., sending TRX or USDT).
- Energy is used when executing smart contracts.
Each account receives 600 free Bandwidth units per day. If a transaction falls within this free allowance, it incurs no cost to the user. If not, additional Bandwidth (earned through staking TRX) is used. If both the free and staked Bandwidth are insufficient, the required Bandwidth is paid for by burning TRX, at a rate of 0.001 TRX per unit. The same logic applies to Energy; If the smart contract call exceeds the Energy earned via staking, TRX is burned at a rate of 0.00021 TRX per Energy unit to complete the transaction.
Daily Bandwidth Consumed
Daily Bandwidth consumption has shown slow but steady growth since early 2024, signalling a consistent uptick in network usage. While the amount of Bandwidth obtained through TRX burning has remained relatively flat during this period, it doesn't suggest stagnant activity. Instead, it indicates that many transactions are still being covered by free or staked resources, highlighting the efficiency of Tron’s resource model even as overall usage climbs.
In Q2 2025 alone, Tron processed 500 million transactions at zero cost to users, with no TRX burned. This highlights just how efficient and cost-effective the network has become, a potential factor behind its massive adoption for stablecoin transfers and DeFi expansion.
Daily Energy Consumed
Daily Energy consumption on Tron has also increased, reflecting broader growth in network activity. However, the majority of this Energy is being sourced through TRX staking, rather than TRX burning. While the overall rise in Energy usage signals increased engagement, the gradual decline in Energy consumed via burning suggests a shift in activity. Specifically, it points to stronger demand for basic transactions like USDT transfers, rather than an uptick in smart contract or dApp usage. This highlights Tron’s growing role as a payment-focused network, rather than a hub for complex decentralised applications.
TRX Tokenomics
TRX is the native utility token of the Tron network, playing a central role in governance, staking and resource earnings. Beyond that, TRX also serves as collateral for minting Tron’s native decentralised stablecoin, USDD. I will cover USDD in more detail in a separate section below.
As outlined earlier, the amount of TRX burned for on-chain resources like Bandwidth and Energy has been declining, resulting in an overall slowdown in TRX burning, a trend clearly visible in daily on-chain data.
Daily TRX Burning
Daily TRX burn has been on a downward trajectory for quite some time. In fact, on multiple days this year, the amount of TRX generated exceeded the amount burned, making TRX inflationary on those individual days. However, on an annual basis, the token remains deflationary overall.
TRX Circulating Supply
One noticeable spike in circulating supply occurred in April 2025, when USDDOLD, the older version of Tron's stablecoin, was scrapped in favour of USDD 2.0. The shift released a substantial amount of previously locked TRX into circulation. While this may appear to be a supply shock, it did not increase the total TRX supply, which is the metric most relevant for assessing long-term inflation.
Total TRX Supply
In fact, the total TRX supply has been consistently decreasing since October 2021. As of now, it stands at around 94 billion TRX, with an annual inflation rate of -1.74%, making TRX one of the few major deflationary tokens in the market.
Staking TRX currently yields approximately 3.4%, and when factoring in deflation, the real yield climbs to 5.14%. Despite the recent slowdown in burn activity, TRX tokenomics remain strong.
TRX in USD
Thanks to its robust tokenomics and growing utility, TRX has delivered consistently strong performance over an extended period. It currently holds a 5-star ByteTrend score against USD and a 4-star score against BTC, reflecting both price strength and strong technical momentum. The price action remains bullish, with TRX continuing to trend upward and showing resilience across market conditions.
USDD Stablecoin
USDD originally launched as an algorithmic stablecoin, mimicking the now-defunct TerraUSD (UST) model, but has since evolved. The new version, USDD 2.0, has abandoned the algorithmic mechanics in favour of a more secure and proven structure, mirroring the overcollateralised design of DAI, MakerDAO’s stablecoin.
Today, USDD is backed by TRX, sTRX (staked TRX) and USDT, making it a multi-asset overcollateralised stablecoin. With a market cap of $433m, USDD is a decent-sized player in the decentralised stablecoin space.
To encourage adoption, TronDAO launched a temporary promotional yield program offering up to 20% APY for the first 50 million USDD deposited, fully subsidised by the DAO. While this may raise eyebrows due to its resemblance to Anchor Protocol’s infamous 20% UST yield, there are important differences.
USDD Yield Guidelines
The high-yield offer is strictly capped at 50 million USDD and is available only for a limited duration, from 21 June 2025 to 19 July 2025. This is very different from Anchor, which offered 20% APY on all UST (around $20B) without limits or sustainable backing. Instead, USDD’s rewards are short-term and targeted, making them more of a user acquisition campaign than a systemic design.
USDD Vaults
Additionally, borrowing USDD comes with a stability fee of 0.5%–1%, comparable to DAI but still notably lower. The low stability fee is reduced from the original 3-7%, which will likely increase down the line to sustainably fund a more realistic USDD savings yield. The collateralisation ratio also varies based on the asset:
- 105% for USDT-backed USDD
- 130–150% for TRX or sTRX collateral
These safeguards, combined with yield ceilings and collateral diversity, aim to mitigate and eliminate all systemic risks associated with the original USDD stablecoin.
Future
Tron’s growth trajectory looks increasingly robust as the global demand for stablecoins and real-world blockchain payments accelerates. With massive stablecoin volume, Tron has carved out a clear niche as the go-to settlement layer for on-chain dollars. As regulatory frameworks around stablecoins mature and players like PayPal, Stripe, and Circle deepen their involvement, Tron is well-positioned to capture even greater volumes, serving as the invisible backbone of the digital dollar economy.
A recent strategic move also points to a more institutional future for Tron. Plume Network, a US-based purpose-built Layer-1 for real-world assets (RWA), recently announced a major integration with Tron to launch SkyLink, its RWA yield distribution protocol. This partnership will allow Tron users to access tokenized U.S. Treasuries, private credit and other real-world financial products, all within a permissionless and decentralised framework. On top of being a payment rail, this collaboration positions Tron as a bridge between DeFi and traditional financial yield.
Tron Inc. Venture
Public company interest in crypto treasuries remains a strong trend in 2025. The Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment has entered into a $100m private equity investment agreement to fund its Tron (TRX) Treasury strategy. They also announced that the company will rebrand to Tron Inc. and that Justin Sun, founder of Tron, will join as an advisor. An SEC filing further revealed that Weike Sun, Justin’s father, will take the role of Chairman, alongside other key figures from the Tron ecosystem joining the board.
The treasury will hold up to $210m in TRX, which will be staked to earn yield on the Tron blockchain. The generated yield will be distributed to stakeholders as dividends. While this is just a holding company strategy and adds no intrinsic value to the blockchain, it highlights the growing interest in Tron.
Conclusion
Tron has quietly established itself as one of the most significant infrastructures in the blockchain space, outpacing PayPal and Stripe in payment volumes by a wide margin. What began as a controversial project has evolved into a high-performance, globally adopted payments layer that powers real-world value transfer. With a deflationary supply, attractive real staking rewards, and new integrations, Tron and TRX’s long-term potential looks promising.
Although token burning has slowed significantly, the network’s overall activity is undeniably growing. As stablecoins go mainstream, aided by new legislation, and on-chain finance matures, Tron isn't just keeping pace; it's leading from the front. While TRX is an attractive token with strong tokenomics, an increase in burning might just propel it into new all-time highs.
