TRON Surpasses Ethereum as Top USDT Chain in Q3 2026
KuCoin
Summary:
Ethereum lost its lead as the top USDT chain in Q3 2026, as TRON emerged as the new champion. According to Token Terminal’s Q3 report, TRON averaged a staggering $92.25 billion in stablecoin supply, outpacing Ethereum’s $87.73 billion.
Key Takeaways:
- Dominant Supply: TRON's USDT averages hit $90.75 billion, giving it a $3.02 billion lead over Ethereum for the quarter.
- Market Share Growth: TRON's share of the total native stablecoin supply across 12 chains rose to 30.93%, an increase of 1.96 percentage points from Q2.
- Total Supply and Activity: TRON finished September with $93.88 billion in total native stablecoins outstanding, and has seen its average stablecoin supply increase for three straight quarters.
Timing and End-of-Quarter Snapshot:
The shift in leadership began in July, with TRON reclaiming the top spot on July 16 and maintaining it throughout the quarter. At the end of September, TRON held $92.35 billion in USDT compared to Ethereum’s $86.69 billion.
Holder Activity and Transfers:
- TRON had nearly double the combined holder addresses of Ethereum and Solana, representing 40.45% of holders across 45 tracked chains.
- Transfer volume across all tracked chains totaled a significant $2.18 trillion for Q3, with TRON's network experiencing 1.08 billion transactions.
Network Performance:
Despite higher transaction counts, TRON's network revenue decreased due to a reduction in transaction fees implemented through TRON Proposal 104 in August 2025. Average throughput was 135.76 transactions per second.
User Activity and Market Access:
Monthly active addresses on TRON averaged 17.81 million in Q3, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 21.86%.