TRON processed $2.1 trillion in Tether (USDT) transfers during the second quarter of 2026, extending the network's dominance in stablecoin settlement volume, particularly for cross-border flows.
The network's stablecoin market capitalization reached a record $89.2 billion by the end of Q2, according to an Aug. 10 report from Messari. USDT alone represented $87.9 billion of that total, or 98.5 percent, putting TRON ahead of Ethereum's $78.7 billion USDT balance over the same period.
Average daily USDT transfer volume rose 4.3 percent from the prior quarter to $22.8 billion, reversing a Q1 decline. Total stablecoin capitalization grew 4.1 percent during Q2, with TRON holding 47.6 percent of the tracked USDT supply at June's end.
The growth extended past the quarter. TRON's official milestone page records USDT circulation on the network surpassing $90 billion by July 9, continuing a trend of TRON widening its USDT lead over Ethereum.
Q2 also brought broader U.S. institutional and retail access to TRX. Binance.US restored spot trading for TRX on April 16, offering TRX/USD and TRX/USDT pairs along with native deposits and withdrawals—reversing its 2023 delisting of the asset. Bitnomial introduced spot TRX trading during Q2, then launched exchange-traded TRX futures on July 27. Canary Capital continued development on a proposed staked TRX exchange-traded product.
Bitnomial president Michael Dunn said six months of regulated futures history meets a key milestone for potential further listings. The CFTC-regulated contracts allow eligible U.S. traders and institutions to hedge or gain exposure to TRX. Anchorage Digital opened institutional staking access for TRX after the quarter closed.
Network usage remained elevated, with TRONSCAN reporting an average of 12.07 million daily transactions over the latest 30-day period. Lifetime transactions on the network surpassed 15 billion in early August. Daily active users averaged 3.5 million in Q2 2026, up from 3.2 million in Q1.
TRON generated $699.4 million in network fees during Q2, a 15.9 percent increase in dollar terms. Fees measured in TRX rose 2.1 percent to 2.10 billion TRX. Messari identified this as the first quarterly fee increase since an August 2025 governance change reduced the network's energy unit price. The average transaction cost rose 5.4 percent to $0.65.
Higher fees did not push TRX into net deflation during the quarter. Circulating supply increased by about 87 million TRX to 94.85 billion as token creation outpaced burns. Total staked TRX decreased 0.9 percent to 45.7 billion, and the staking rate fell to 48.2 percent.
That inflationary pattern continued into August. TRONSCAN data from Aug. 10 showed total supply at approximately 94.898 billion TRX. On that day, about 3.92 million TRX were generated against 3.32 million burned, a net increase of roughly 598,000 TRX. Daily figures vary, but supply remains above its Q2 closing level.
