While USDT continued to dominate the Tron network in 2024, there was a notable increase in decentralized trading and meme coin generation.
TRX, the network’s native currency, and WTRX, its packaged version, saw significant adoption due to decentralized finance (DeFi). This was especially seen on Tron-based decentralized exchange (DEX), SunSwap, which led to an influx of new tokens and increased transaction activity, which in turn helped Tron diversify beyond stablecoin transactions.
Tron’s shift beyond stablecoin transactions
According to the latest analysis from CryptoQuant, the activity of the Tron network remains heavily influenced by USDT, whose supply increased from $48 billion to $62 billion in 2024. During the same period, the value of USDT transfers increased from $362 billion to $576 billion. This was accompanied by an increase in monthly transfers from 55 million to 62 million. USDT continues to dominate as the most transferred asset, accounting for 99% of token activity.
However, Tron reached a turning point in DeFi activity last year, with SunSwap taking the lead as the network’s most active decentralized exchange. By August, monthly transactions on SunSwap had increased to 4 million, of which 97% were WTRX. From August through December, total swap transactions rose to 8.3 million, reflecting growth in DeFi engagement.
More than 80% of these transactions involved WTRX, whose swap volume skyrocketed from 4.2 billion to 20 billion units, or $4.1 billion, by the end of the year. The launch of SunPump, the meme coin generator, further fueled network activity by simplifying the creation of meme coins, resulting in the introduction of 94,000 new tokens and an increase in transaction volume.
In another milestone, Tron also overtook Bitcoin as the most used payment blockchain, ultimately securing 31.5% of all transactions. But the developments failed to increase the price of TRX.
TRX’s short-lived recovery?
TRX saw a resurgence last year, climbing back to 10th in market cap as it inspired new confidence. However, subsequent market corrections pushed the asset’s price to $0.225, marking a drop of almost 50% from the recent all-time high of $0.43. Hopes for a local bottom also proved short-lived as TRX fell below the $0.23 threshold.
