What the TRON network and the TRC-20 standard are: why so much USDT circulates on it and how to read an address
TRON holds almost half of the USDT in circulation and competes with Ethereum for the token's lead. See how the network works, what TRC-20 means, what a transfer costs, the risks, and how to read an address before sending money.
Historical reference: November 26, 2024. Published on this site on November 2, 2026. Dates in the text identify the period covered.
In this article
Key points
- TRON is a public blockchain launched in 2017 and live since 2018. TRC-20 is the contract standard that allows tokens to be created on it, such as USDT.
- USDT began circulating on TRON in 2019. In November 2024, Ethereum and TRON together held about 89% of USDT, and Ethereum retook the lead on November 21, for the first time since August 2022.
- A USDT transfer on TRON consumes energy and bandwidth. Without its own resources, the network burns TRX, the native coin: about 13.5 TRX when the recipient already holds USDT, with energy at 210 sun.
- TRON addresses have 34 characters and start with T. The network is concentrated in a few validators and is also used in fraud, so the address must be checked before every transfer.
Anyone who receives a USDT payment instruction usually sees an address like TR7N… followed by a note: TRON network, or TRC-20. For someone coming from banking, the choice of network looks like a detail. It is not. Sending USDT over a different network from the one the recipient uses can make the money disappear, and the network sets the cost, speed and risks of the operation. This text explains what TRON is and why it became the most used network for moving digital dollars.
What TRON is
TRON is a public blockchain, a ledger shared by many computers, created in 2017 by entrepreneur Justin Sun. The main network went live in May 2018. Its native coin is TRX, used to pay fees and to vote in governance.
The network uses delegated proof of stake: TRX holders vote for 27 “super representatives”, companies and entities that take turns producing blocks about every three seconds. This explains the speed, but also the main criticism: a few validators concentrate the operation, unlike more distributed networks.
TRON runs smart contracts, programs that execute rules on their own on the blockchain. One of them creates a token. The standard for this is called TRC-20.
What TRC-20 means
According to TRON's official documentation, TRC-20 is “a set of contract standards for issuing fungible assets” on the network. Any contract that implements the required functions (balance, transfer, approval) is a TRC-20 token, and wallets and exchanges can handle it without special integration. It is the equivalent of ERC-20 on Ethereum.
USDT has been a TRC-20 token since 2019, when Tether began issuing it on TRON as well. The official USDT contract on the network has the address TR7NHqjeKQxGTCi8q8ZY4pL8otSzgjLj6t. Tokens with the same name and a different contract are not Tether's USDT.
Why so much USDT circulates on TRON
USDT exists on several blockchains. TRON led the token's supply from August 2022 to November 2024, thanks to a combination of predictable cost, fast confirmation and wide acceptance at exchanges, OTC desks and wallets.
- Total USDT supply on Nov 26, 2024, a record (Cointelegraph)
- US$132.9 bn
- USDT on TRON, 43.7% of the total (DefiLlama, via Cointelegraph, Nov 26)
- US$58.1 bn
- USDT on Ethereum, 45.4% of the total (DefiLlama, via Cointelegraph, Nov 26)
- US$60.3 bn
- Interval between blocks on TRON
- ~3 s
The race is tight. On November 21, Ethereum retook the lead for the first time since August 2022, according to DefiLlama data cited by Cointelegraph. On the 23rd, Tether issued US$2 billion in USDT on Ethereum and US$1 billion on TRON. The Block, with its own data series, recorded US$66.9 billion on Ethereum against US$61.8 billion on TRON on November 25. The numbers vary by data provider, but the picture is the same: the two networks together hold about 90% of the USDT in circulation.
What it costs to transfer USDT on TRON
TRON does not charge a fixed dollar fee. Each transaction consumes two resources. Bandwidth covers the size of the transaction, and each active account receives 600 free units per day, which renew every 24 hours. Energy covers the processing of the smart contract and has no free quota.
A USDT transfer uses about 345 units of bandwidth and about 64,000 of energy when the recipient already holds USDT in the wallet. For an address with no balance, energy use doubles, to about 130,000. Anyone without their own energy (obtained by freezing TRX or renting it) pays by burning TRX. With the price at 210 sun per unit of energy, in effect since September 2024 (1 TRX equals 1 million sun), the bill comes to about 13.5 TRX for a recipient who already holds USDT and about 27.4 TRX for one who does not. The value in reais depends on the TRX price that day. That is why the wallet or platform should show the fee before confirmation.
The network fee is paid in TRX, not in USDT. A wallet with USDT and no TRX (or no energy) may be unable to send. Platforms usually handle this on their own, but anyone using their own wallet needs to keep a small TRX balance.
Network risks: concentration, illicit use and human error
Brazil still has no specific rule for the operation itself. In November, the Central Bank opened public consultations on virtual asset service providers, but the final rules depend on the analysis of the contributions.
How to read a TRON address
A TRON address has 34 characters, mixes letters and numbers and always starts with the letter T. Underneath, it is a 21-byte value (prefix 0x41) written in Base58Check, a format that includes typo checking. That is why swapping one character usually invalidates the address, but it does not stop the money from going to another valid address.
| Network | Format | Example start |
|---|---|---|
| TRON (TRC-20) | 34 characters, starts with T | TR7NHq… |
| Ethereum (ERC-20) | 42 characters, starts with 0x | 0xdAC17F… |
| Bitcoin | 26 to 35 characters if it starts with 1 or 3; 42 or 62 if it starts with bc1 | bc1q… |
- Confirm with the recipient, through another channel, that the network is TRON (TRC-20) before copying the address.
- Check the whole address, not just the beginning and the end: scammers create addresses with the same first and last characters.
- Send a small test amount before the main payment.
- Keep the transaction hash and look it up on the public Tronscan explorer to see the status and the destination.
The blog's articles about the network, from fees to checking transactions, are gathered in the TRON category.
Frequently asked questions
Are TRC-20 and ERC-20 the same thing?
They are equivalent standards on different networks. TRC-20 is TRON's token standard and ERC-20 is Ethereum's. A TRC-20 USDT cannot be sent to an Ethereum address, and the reverse also holds: the network chosen when sending must be the same as the recipient's.
How can I tell if an address is on the TRON network?
TRON addresses have 34 characters and start with the letter T. Ethereum addresses have 42 characters and start with 0x. If the format does not match the agreed network, do not send.
Why does most USDT circulate on TRON and Ethereum?
Because both networks have liquidity, wallets and exchanges ready for the token. In November 2024 they together held about 90% of the USDT supply. TRON attracts users with predictable cost and speed; Ethereum, with its decentralized financial ecosystem.
How much does it cost to send USDT on the TRON network?
With energy at 210 sun, the price in effect since September 2024, about 13.5 TRX when the recipient already holds USDT and about 27.4 TRX when they do not, if the fee is paid by burning TRX. Anyone with their own or rented energy pays less. The value in reais depends on the TRX price.
Do I need TRX to send USDT?
Yes, or equivalent energy. The network fee is paid in TRX, which is burned when the account does not have enough energy or bandwidth. Many platforms include this cost in the operation.
Found it useful? Share it with anyone who pays suppliers abroad.
Sources
- Resource Model (largura de banda e energia) · TRON Developer Hub
- TRC-20 Protocol Interface · TRON Developer Hub
- Proposta 95: preço da energia de 420 para 210 sun · TRON (registro on-chain no Tronscan), Sep 16, 2024
- Ethereum surpasses Tron as the blockchain with the most USDT supply · Cointelegraph, Nov 26, 2024
- Ethereum reclaims USDT dominance, overtaking Tron for first time since 2022 · The Block, Nov 25, 2024
- UN report: stablecoins, especially Tether on Tron, preferred by Southeast Asian crime networks · Cointelegraph, Oct 7, 2024
- TRON, Tether, and TRM Labs establish first-ever private sector financial crime unit · The Block (conteúdo patrocinado), Sep 11, 2024
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