Tether remains silent about potential USDT integration on Tron, neither confirming nor denying

Tether, the issuer of stablecoins, has not confirmed whether it will stop supporting the Tron network following Circle’s decision to halt the minting of its stablecoin on the blockchain. In response to inquiries about Circle and Tether’s plans, Tether stated that its tokens are issued on various blockchains, which act as transport layers. Tether retains the ability to freeze transactions on each supported transport layer to comply with regulations and ensures the safety of these layers. Tether is the largest stablecoin with a market capitalization of $97.7 billion, while Circle’s USD Coin trails behind at $28 billion. According to Tether’s transparency report, over 51.8 billion USDT tokens are on the Tron network, accounting for over half of the total tokens issued across multiple blockchains. Additionally, $76.2 million is reserved to provide liquidity for the token on the Tron network. Tether’s response comes after Circle announced the immediate discontinuation of USDC minting on Tron and a phased-out support for the network to maintain trust, transparency, and safety. In January, a United Nations report identified USDT on the Tron blockchain as a preferred choice for cyber fraud and money laundering in Southeast Asia. Tether rejected the report, emphasizing the traceability of USDT and its collaboration with law enforcement agencies. It mentioned freezing over $300 million worth of USDT used in criminal activities in recent months, including $225 million in November 2023 as part of a US investigation into a Southeast Asian human trafficking syndicate. The Tron network has faced scrutiny and legal challenges, with allegations of involvement in international law enforcement actions and the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against the Tron Foundation and Justin Sun for offering unregistered securities and manipulative trading.