USDT on TRON, Ethereum or Solana: Comparing Fees, Confirmation Time and Supply by Network
The same USDT circulates on several networks, with different costs and timing. See the public figures for TRON, Ethereum and Solana on February 23, 2026 and what matters when choosing the network for a payment.
Historical reference: February 24, 2026. Published on this site on November 2, 2026. Dates in the text identify the period covered.
In this article
Key points
- USDT exists on dozens of networks. On 02/23/2026, TRON (US$84.7 billion) and Ethereum (US$79.0 billion) held about 89% of the US$183.6 billion in circulation; Solana had US$3.1 billion.
- The cost of sending USDT is not fixed: on TRON it depends on energy and bandwidth; on Ethereum, on the gas price; on Solana, on a tiny base fee plus, sometimes, the cost of opening the token account.
- Block times range from under 1 second (Solana) to 3 seconds (TRON) and 12 seconds (Ethereum), but finality is a different measure: about 1 minute on TRON and close to 13 minutes on Ethereum.
- There is no public statistic on acceptance by suppliers. What decides it is the network the recipient specifies and the wallet they actually use. Sending on the wrong network can mean losing the funds.
Anyone paying an overseas supplier with USDT has to answer a question the bank never asks: which network should I send on? The token is the same, Tether is the same, but each network charges a different fee, confirms in a different time and has its own base of wallets and exchanges. This comparison gathers the public figures for TRON, Ethereum and Solana, with source and date consulted and no ranking among the networks. The choice depends on who receives the payment.
How much USDT circulates on each network
The distribution of USDT changes with Tether's issuance and redemption, which happen on each network. On February 23, 2026, the aggregator DefiLlama recorded US$183.6 billion of USDT in circulation. TRON had overtaken Ethereum in supply earlier in the month, between February 4 and 5, according to DefiLlama's own daily series.
- USDT on TRON, 46% of supply (DefiLlama, 02/23/2026)
- US$84.7 bn
- USDT on Ethereum, 43% of supply (DefiLlama, 02/23/2026)
- US$79.0 bn
- USDT on Solana, about 1.7% of supply (DefiLlama, 02/23/2026)
- US$3.1 bn
- USDT in circulation across all networks (DefiLlama, 02/23/2026)
- US$183.6 bn
High supply indicates depth: more wallets, more exchanges and more liquidity to get in and out of the token. It does not indicate security or speed. Nor is it the balance that a specific supplier accepts, which is why the data works as context, not as a decision.
How much a USDT transfer costs
The table below uses each network's rules and the prices of February 23, 2026, at 12:00 UTC (TRX at US$0.287; ETH at US$1,914; SOL at US$80, according to DefiLlama). The dollar values are illustrative calculations, not a published fee: the actual fee varies hour by hour.
| Network | How the fee is formed | Example calculation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRON (TRC-20) | Energy (100 sun per unit) and bandwidth (1,000 sun per unit), burned in TRX when the wallet has no frozen resources | About 6.4 TRX (about 64,000 energy) if the destination already holds USDT: roughly US$1.84. For a destination without USDT, about 13 TRX (about 130,000 energy): roughly US$3.74 | Those who freeze TRX or rent energy pay less. See the TRON energy guide |
| Ethereum (ERC-20) | Gas (computation units) multiplied by the gas price in gwei, paid in ETH | A transfer uses up to about 65,000 gas units. With 65,000, at 0.5 gwei: about US$0.06. At 1 gwei: about US$0.12. At 5 gwei: about US$0.62 | The gas price swings with demand; at peaks, it can be much higher |
| Solana (SPL) | Base fee of 5,000 lamports per signature, plus an optional priority fee | 5,000 lamports equal 0.000005 SOL, about US$0.0004. If the destination does not yet have a token account, a deposit of about 0.002 SOL (roughly US$0.16) is added | The deposit (rent) is returned if the account is closed |
Two points change how to read this. First, in the table's gas scenarios, from 0.5 to 5 gwei, an Ethereum transfer comes out cheaper for the sender, by calculation, than a TRON transfer that burns TRX; at demand peaks, gas can go far beyond that. Second, the TRON fee only reaches the table's value if the wallet has no energy of its own. Since proposal 104, in August 2025, an energy unit costs 100 sun, not 210. The effect is covered in TRON cuts the energy price, and the mechanics in TRON fees: energy and bandwidth.
The network fee is small next to the spread on the USDT purchase, the platform fee and the Pix exchange rate (Pix is Brazil's instant payment system). A difference of cents between networks rarely changes the cost of a payment of thousands of dollars, but the wrong network can cost the entire amount.
How long confirmation takes
Confirmation has two meanings. The first is block time, which is when the transaction enters the chain. The second is finality, when it can no longer be reversed. Platforms and suppliers usually require a minimum number of confirmations before releasing the goods or the credit.
| Network | Block time | Finality |
|---|---|---|
| TRON | 3 seconds | Block considered solidified after 19 confirmations, about 57 seconds |
| Ethereum | 12 seconds per slot | Finality in two epochs, about 12.8 minutes in the ideal case; in practice, 13 to 19 minutes |
| Solana | Under 1 second per slot (about 400 ms) | Seconds, according to the network's documentation |
In practice, a supplier that requires full finality on Ethereum waits more than ten minutes, while on TRON the same criterion closes in about a minute. Many recipients accept fewer confirmations than full finality. That is their policy, not the network's.
Supplier acceptance and the risks of each network
There is no public statistic on how many suppliers accept each network. What can be stated with data is each network's depth (the supply, above) and what each network asks of the recipient.
An Ethereum address sent by mistake over TRON, or the other way around, does not become a received payment: a confirmed transaction is irreversible and, depending on the platform, the funds cannot be recovered. Confirm the network and the address with the supplier, and send a test transfer.
Swapo converts reais received via Pix into USDT on the TRON network (TRC-20) and sends them to the wallet the customer specifies, usually the supplier's. So anyone paying through Swapo needs a TRC-20 address from the supplier. The transaction hash can be checked on a public explorer such as Tronscan, as the guide how to check a USDT transaction on Tronscan shows.
How to decide the payment network
- Ask the supplier which network it receives on and in which wallet or exchange. The network is theirs, not yours.
- Ask for the address in writing and confirm it through a second channel (a known phone number or a video call).
- Compare the total cost: purchase spread, platform fee and network fee, not just gas.
- Send a small test transfer before the full amount.
- Keep the hash and the receipt together with the invoice. They are proof of payment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between USDT TRC-20 and ERC-20?
It is the same Tether token on different networks. TRC-20 runs on TRON and the address starts with T; ERC-20 runs on Ethereum and the address starts with 0x. The two are not interchangeable: sending on the wrong network can mean losing the funds.
Which network has the most USDT in circulation?
On February 23, 2026, TRON, with US$84.7 billion, according to DefiLlama, ahead of Ethereum, with US$79.0 billion. Solana had US$3.1 billion. The numbers change every day and vary between aggregators and Tether's own transparency table.
Can I send USDT TRC-20 to an address on another network?
No. The address must be on the same network the transfer is sent on. In many cases the wallet or exchange does not even recognize the deposit, and a confirmed transaction cannot be undone. Confirm the network with the recipient.
Is the network fee the main cost of paying a supplier with USDT?
Generally not. The network fee costs cents or a few dollars, while the purchase spread, the platform fee and the Pix exchange rate weigh more on large amounts. Compare the total cost, not just the fee.
Found it useful? Share it with anyone who pays suppliers abroad.
Sources
- Séries históricas de USDT por rede (TRON, Ethereum, Solana e total), consultadas para 23/02/2026 · DefiLlama Stablecoins, Feb 23, 2026
- Paying for resources: Energy and Bandwidth burn rates · TRON Developer Hub, Feb 23, 2026
- TRON Network Transaction Fee Reduction Notice (proposta 104) · imToken, Aug 29, 2025
- Proof-of-stake e finalização (Gasper) · ethereum.org, Feb 23, 2026
- Transaction fees: taxa-base por assinatura e priority fee · Solana Docs, Feb 23, 2026
- How Fast is Tron Blockchain in 2025? · AMBCrypto, Jun 1, 2025
For information only, not investment advice. Third-party brands mentioned belong to their owners; the mention is journalistic and does not indicate a partnership or relationship with Swapo Finance.
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