Regarding whether it intends to discontinue support for Tron in the wake of rival Circle abandoning the network due to security concerns, Tether remained silent.

After competitor Circle stopped minting its stablecoin on the blockchain on Tuesday, stablecoin maker Tether remained evasive when asked if it would stop supporting the Tron network.

When questioned about Circle and whether Tether was thinking of doing anything similar, Tether responded in a statement to Cointelegraph, saying, “Tether tokens are issued on several blockchains, which are simply transport layers for such tokens.”

To fulfill its compliance obligations, Tether is still able to freeze transactions on every transport layer that it directly supports. To maintain the highest standards for our community, Tether actively monitors the security of every supported transport layer, the company stated. According to CoinGecko data, Tether USDT tickers down $1.00, which is the largest stablecoin with a market value of $97.7 billion, followed by Circle’s USD Coin USDC $1.00 at $28 billion. As per Tether’s transparency report dated February 21, the Tron network is home to more than 51.8 billion USDT, which is more than half of the almost 101 billion USDT tokens created across several blockchains. To give the token on the Tron network short-term liquidity, an extra $76.2 million has been set aside.

Tether’s remarks followed Circle’s announcement on February 20 that it would promptly cease minting USDC on Tron and progressively discontinue support for the network. Tether stated that this move was in line with its “efforts to ensure that USDC remains trusted, transparent, and safe.”

Due to the “ease, anonymity, and low fees of its transactions,” a United Nations assessment from last month stated that “USDT on the Tron blockchain has become a preferred choice” for cyber fraud and money laundering in Southeast Asia.

Tether rejected the assessment, claiming that the UN had disregarded USDT’s traceability and the company’s track record of working with law enforcement.

It stated that it had frozen more than $300 million in USDT used for illegal activities “within the last few months,” including $225 million frozen in November 2023 as part of an American investigation into a human trafficking organization operating in Southeast Asia.

In a November letter to Congress, the ethics watchdog group Campaign for Accountability said that Tron “has been named in multiple international law enforcement actions involving billions of dollars in transactions by alleged organized crime groups and sanctioned entities.”

In March 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Justin Sun, the creator of the Tron Foundation, claiming that Sun engaged in manipulative trading and marketed unregistered securities. Sun disputes these claims.

Conclusion

While the validity of this particular rumor remains unverified, the mere contemplation of such a strategic shift beckons broader discussions about the future of stablecoins, blockchain partnerships, and the evolving nature of the cryptocurrency industry. As the digital asset space continues to mature, keep an eye on potential developments between Tether and Tron—one never quite knows where the subsequent groundbreaking alliance might lead in this ever-advancing crypto universe. So, let’s stay tuned and see where this potential collaboration takes us. The possibilities are endless!