The Tron blockchain encountered a minor dip in Stablecoin Total Value Locked (TVL) during the initial part of the latter half of 2023 but eventually surged to achieve unprecedented highs, reaching approximately $48 billion, as disclosed in a recent Reflexivity report. The report highlighted that roughly 94% of this cumulative value was associated with USDT. Prioritizing USDT Reflexivity Research indicated that Tron has upheld its position as the foremost blockchain for USDT, surpassing the Ethereum mainnet by approximately 8% in terms of TVL. Tether, an early fiat-backed stablecoin in the crypto market, first launched on the Bitcoin Omni chain, expanded to Ethereum, and currently predominantly resides on Tron and Ethereum. A notable distinction lies in the composition of stablecoins on Ethereum, showcasing a more even mix of USDT and USDC on-chain. In contrast, the Tron ecosystem is overwhelmingly dominated by USDT. This dominance is particularly evident in Tron contracts, where the USDT Token contract utilizes the majority of on-chain energy, making up roughly 95.6% of all contracts. This implies that Tron is primarily utilized for USDT transactions with limited diversification. Navigating Challenges Despite a moderate increase in USDT volume in 2023, a noteworthy trend is the 130% growth in the number of USDT holders during the same period, according to TronScan data. The Tron ecosystem also faced consecutive exploits, with the Poloniex exchange, acquired by Justin Sun , being hacked in November of the previous year, resulting in the theft of nearly $125 million. Subsequently, crypto exchange HTX and blockchain protocol Heco Chain were also compromised, leading to a cumulative loss of $97 million in various digital assets. Despite these incidents, the decentralized finance sector for Tron managed to remain stable.
