Tether neither confirms nor denies plans to phase out USDT on the Tron network
Tether has not clearly stated whether it intends to discontinue its support for the Tron network following Circle’s decision to move away due to security concerns. The stablecoin issuer, Tether, provided no definitive answer regarding whether it will cease support for the Tron network after its competitor, Circle, stopped its stablecoin mining on the blockchain on Tuesday, February 20th. In a statement to Coin Telegraph responding to inquiries about Circle and whether Tether is considering a similar move, Tether mentioned that its tokens are issued on multiple blockchains, serving merely as transfer layers for such tokens.
Tether maintains the capability to conduct transactions on any directly supported transport layer to fulfill its compliance duties. However, Tether actively monitors the safety of each supported transport layer to ensure the highest standards for its community. According to CoinGecko data, Tether is the largest stablecoin by market cap at $97.7 billion, followed by Circle’s USD Coin at $28 billion.
As of February 21st, according to Tether’s transparency report, the Tron network holds over 51.8 billion USDT, accounting for more than half of the roughly 101 billion USDT tokens issued across several blockchains. An additional $76.2 million has been set aside for short-term liquidity provisioning for the token on the Tron network. Tether’s comments came in response to Circle’s announcement on February 20th, revealing that it would immediately cease USDC mining on Tron and gradually phase out support for the network, stating that the decision aligns with efforts to ensure USDC remains compliant, trustworthy, transparent, and secure.
In January, a United Nations report declared that USDT on the Tron blockchain has become a preferred choice for cyber scams and money laundering in Southeast Asia due to its ease, anonymity, and lower transaction fees. Tether refuted this report, highlighting the UN’s overlook of USDT tracking and the company’s law enforcement collaboration history. The statement emphasized that over $300 million of USDT used in crimes has been blocked in recent months, including $225 million blocked in November 2023 as part of a U.S. investigation into a human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia.
The Ethics Watchdog, Campaign for Accountability, wrote to U.S. Senators in November 2023, alleging that Tron has been mentioned in several international law enforcement actions involving billions of dollars in transactions by groups accused of organized crime and sanctioned entities. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the Tron Foundation and founder Justin Sun in March 2023, alleging unregistered securities offerings and manipulative transactions, which Sun denies.
