Tron, the stablecoin chain, has become significantly popular in emerging markets and developing countries, especially in Latin America and certain parts of Asia.
Tron’s on-chain USDT has exceeded 56 billion, surpassing Ethereum. The number of active addresses on Tron also surpasses those on any other blockchain.
Let’s take a closer look at the on-chain statistics.
Tron ranks third in total stable coin transactions, following Solana and Etheruem.
The number of active addresses on Tron remains consistently high, even during a bear market.
DeFi activity is currently minimal. Of the 8B TVL, 80% (or 6.5B) is locked in JustLend. However, only 100M is borrowed against this, indicating low utilization.
The volumes for NFT and trading are also rather low, almost insignificant.
Final thoughts: Despite high gas fees, which can range from 1 to 3 USD for a USDT transfer, Tron is expected to remain the dominant chain for daily payments in developing countries due to its existing network effects. However, the increasing gas fees may prompt some users, particularly those making retail payments, to switch to other lower-fee chains chains like Solana and L2s.
This article is part of a series created to understand where Chains Fit.