How Tron dominated USDT volumes despite TRX’s slow moves

• The Tron network is dominating USDT payments, with Q2 settlement volumes hitting $1.25 trillion.
• TRX has seen relatively stable volatility this year amid declining Open Interest. 

Tron [TRX] is emerging as a major competitor to digital payments giant Visa, with USDT settlement volumes on the network in Q2 2024 reaching $1.25 trillion. 

According to Token Terminal, USDT volumes on the Tron blockchain hit a third of Visa’s annual settlement volumes. USDT transactions on the network have increased five-fold from around $25 billion in 2020. 

Source: Token Terminal

Tron’s rising network activity 

USDT volumes on Tron spiked from $4.2 billion to $16 billion in 2023, per AMBCrypto’s look at Dune Analytics data.

The total market cap for stablecoins on the network also stood at $60 billion, according to DeFiLlama, suggesting that the blockchain has become the defacto settlement network for USDT. 

Source: DefiLlama

Besides being the most preferred network for transactions, Tron was also emerging as a formidable rival in the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry. 

Tron is the second-largest blockchain after Ethereum [ETH] by Total Value Locked (TVL). Its TVL has increased from around 5 billion in August 2023 to $7.68 billion at press time, according to DeFiLlama. 

However, Tron’s network growth pales in comparison to Solana [SOL], which has seen its TVL grow over tenfold to $4.76 billion at press time from around $300M last year. 

Is TRX reflecting Tron’s growth? 

At the time of writing, TRX was up by around 20% year-to-date, having traded within $0.14 and $0.10 for most of the year. It has also moved within the Bollinger bands, pointing towards relatively stable volatility. 

Source: TradingView

The buying behavior also showcased moderate interest, with few instances of TRX being overbought or oversold.

A look at the short-term price action showed that the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has made a higher high and bounced, suggesting further gains. 

A key resistance level lies at $0.139, also the 0.786 Fib level. Hitting this target will pave the way for a rally to record highs. 

Realistic or not, here’s TRX market cap in BTC’s terms

Data from IntoTheBlock showed that 88% of TRX holders, equivalent to 125 million addresses, were “In the Money” at press time, suggesting an overall bullish sentiment. 

Source: IntoTheBlock

However, the Futures market showed skewed sentiment around TRX. The declining Open Interest explained the mild price volatility and a decline in overall market participation. 

Source: Coinglass