Long-Termism in the Cryptocurrency Space Through Stablecoins

Tether took 11 years to make USDT the dominant stablecoin, with a current issuance exceeding $157.9 billion and cumulative transaction fees of $4.9 billion, averaging $445 million annually, making it one of the most profitable projects in blockchain.

From the earliest Omni USDT to multi-chain expansion, from regulatory challenges in 2021 to global adoption and compliance processes, the stablecoin track where USDT resides determines that it is highly likely to pursue a path of long-termism, not a quick and easy approach, but slow and steady.

A few days ago, I saw @justinsuntron share that the issuance of TRC20-USDT has surpassed 80 billion, with TRON's USDT growing from zero to 80 billion in seven years, also a shining example of long-termism practitioners and beneficiaries.

Some new friends in the space may not be too familiar, so here’s a summary 👇

◍ 2019.04: TRC20-USDT officially launched

◍ 2021.04: Circulation surpassed 23.9 billion, first exceeding ERC20-USDT

◍ 2022.10: Established as legal digital currency by the Commonwealth of Dominica

◍ 2024.01: Issuance surpassed 50 billion

◍ 2024.07: Issuance surpassed 60 billion

◍ 2025.04: Issuance surpassed 70 billion

◍ 2025.04: Issuance once again exceeded ERC20-USDT after a six-month interval

◍ 2025.06: Issuance surpassed 80 billion, accounting for 51.5% of total USDT issuance

TRC20-USDT can be considered one of the fastest-growing projects in blockchain development. In contrast, the growth rate of ERC20-USDT on Ethereum is noticeably slower, with only a 5.8% increase in the second quarter of 2025, while TRON saw growth exceeding 10% during the same period.

After seven years of refinement, USDT has brought enormous benefits to TRON, a fruit of long-termism; recently, TRON's native token TRX will be adopted by the Nasdaq-listed company SRM as a strategic reserve asset, which may be another strategic move by Justin Sun. It might be worth looking back at today in seven years; I wonder what the scene will be like.