Circle Ends USDC Support on Tron Blockchain Amid Risk Management

On Tuesday, February 20th, Circle, the second-largest stablecoin operator, made the decision to discontinue its support for the USDC stablecoin on the Tron blockchain. However, this transition will not occur abruptly but will instead be phased out gradually. Circle has stated that it will assist Circle Mint customers in transferring their USDC to other blockchains until February 2025

Circle Cites Risk Management

In its blog post, the stablecoin operator stated that its decision to cease minting USDC on the Tron blockchain stems from a comprehensive risk management framework that evaluates the suitability of all blockchains for the stablecoin.

This measure is part of their ongoing commitment to uphold the trustworthiness, transparency, and security of USDC. Additionally, this move aligns with Circle’s efforts to ensure the safety and integrity of the stablecoin. It’s worth noting that TRX, the token associated with the Tron blockchain, has been embroiled in fraud allegations.

Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against TRX’s founder, Sun, and his companies, alleging market manipulation to inflate the token’s trading activity. Sun has refuted these allegations, stating that the lawsuit lacks merit. However, the stablecoin operator Circle also added:

“Our commitment to growing USDC remains steadfast. We will continue to expand USDC’s reach to additional blockchains to deliver the widest access, broadest developer choice, and most secure user experience of any dollar stablecoin in the world”.

USDC Present on Tron Blockchain

According to data from DefiLlama, the total market value of stablecoins on the Tron network is currently standing at $51.5 billion, with the vast majority of this attributed to USDT, the largest stablecoin in the crypto market. USD Coin (USDC) makes up a smaller portion of this figure, amounting to $314 million.

In recent developments, Circle, the company behind USDC, announced its confidential submission of plans for an initial public offering (IPO) last month. This move comes after Circle abandoned its previous attempt to go public through a blank-check deal over a year ago.

USDC’s circulation, which once reached as high as $56 billion, has experienced a gradual decline. This downward trend started after Circle disclosed its $3.3 billion exposure to the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank in March of last year. During this period of banking turmoil in the US, the token briefly deviated from its peg.