Tron’s USDT supply to surpass Ethereum’s with new $1B mint

Tether, the issuer of the USDt stablecoin, recently minted another $1 billion USDt tokens on the Tron network, surpassing Ethereum in authorized USDT supply. As of May 14th, Tron held $73.7 billion in authorized USDT, exceeding Ethereum’s $74.5 billion. The new minting pushed Tron’s authorized supply above Ethereum’s, although Ethereum still led in circulating supply until this latest development. Now, Tron boasts $73.6 billion in circulating USDT compared to Ethereum’s $71.8 billion.

Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, explained that these mintings replenish their USDT inventory across various blockchain networks. This strategic inventory management mirrors traditional business practices, ensuring sufficient supply to meet future issuance requests and facilitate chain swaps. The authorized supply on each network thus reflects Tether’s anticipation of future demand.

The competition between Ethereum and Tron for USDT dominance is ongoing. Tron led in circulating USDT from July 2022 to November 2024, but an $18 billion USDT mint on Ethereum in 2025 briefly shifted the lead. Tron’s recent minting has reclaimed the top spot. Solana and Avalanche follow with significantly smaller authorized USDT supplies, at $2.3 billion and $1.8 billion respectively. However, Avalanche’s circulating supply lags behind its authorized supply. Other networks like The Open Network, Aptos, Near, Celo, and Cosmos have even smaller USDT presences.

Tether’s overall USDT circulation hit a record high of $150 billion, a 9.4% increase since the start of 2025. This represents a substantial 61% market share of all USD stablecoins. Circle, Tether’s closest competitor, holds $60.4 billion in stablecoins, accounting for 24.6% of the market. This highlights Tether’s dominance in the stablecoin sector.