Weekly On-Chain Transaction Data Report - August 31 - September 6, 2026
Overview: A Milestone, A Slowdown, and One Big Anomaly
This week's data has two halves. The structural half: TRON's USDT float lead over Ethereum widened to a record of roughly $18B, and its cost advantage kept compounding. The cyclical half: stablecoin supply growth slowed hard, with net issuance across the three largest coins falling to roughly one-ninth of the prior week.
I cover the same six datasets as prior weeks - network activity, stablecoin settlement, USDT on TRON, fees and gas, large transfers, and exchange flows - each compared week-over-week. From this edition forward, every figure is anchored to a readable public value; estimates are labelled and marked "est.".
1. Network Activity
TRON recorded more than 3.88 million active addresses in 24 hours as of September 1 - roughly double BSC's count and the highest among major chains in the dataset. Ethereum's split is now starkly two-tiered: about 400,000 daily active wallets on mainnet against more than 3.2 million across Layer-2 networks.
| Chain | Daily active addresses | w/w change | Source / confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRON | ~3.88M (24h, Sep 1) | n/a (no weekly print) | TRONSCAN - reported |
| Ethereum mainnet | ~400K wallets | Stable | Network overview - reported |
| Ethereum L2s (aggregate) | ~3.2M users | Stable | Network overview - reported |
| Solana | ~1.1M (est.) | n/a | Estimate, no verified print |
| Bitcoin | ~700K (est.) | n/a | Estimate, no verified print |
2. Stablecoin Settlement
Supply crossed $311B, but the growth engine slowed sharply. Big-3 supply rose only $215.5M against $1.910B the week before - about one-ninth of the pace. USDT supplied the entire gain; USDC and DAI together subtracted roughly $13M.
| Metric | This week | w/w change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total stablecoin supply | ~$311.1B (423 assets) | +0.2% | DefiLlama, Sep 4 |
| USDT supply | ~$183.34B | +$228.6M | DefiLlama, Sep 2 |
| USDC supply | ~$73.86B (Sep 2; $74.34B by Sep 4) | -$6.1M | DefiLlama, Sep 2 |
| DAI supply | ~$4.78B | -$7.0M | DefiLlama, Sep 2 |
| Big-3 combined | ~$261.98B | +$215.5M | DefiLlama, Sep 2 |
| Daily stablecoin transfer value | ~$22.9B on TRON alone (est.) | Stable | Derived from $2.08T Q2 settlement |
The daily-value figure deserves a note. TRON disclosed $2.08T of stablecoin settlement in Q2 2026; dividing by 91 days gives roughly $22.9B per day on TRON alone. That is the only daily settlement number in this report with a disclosed source behind it, so I use it rather than a rounded global estimate.
3. USDT on TRON
This is the week's headline dataset. TRON's USDT float reached $91.747B - roughly half of all USDT - and its lead over Ethereum's $73.7B is the widest on record. Note on labels: the +2.28%/-1.40% 30-day figures and the $91.8B/$73.7B pair are supply readings; some secondary coverage calls the comparison "settlement value", but the underlying DefiLlama numbers are float.
| Metric | This week | w/w change | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDT supply on TRON | ~$91.75B | +$302.7M | Largest chain-level gain |
| USDT supply on Ethereum | ~$73.70B | +$189.1M | Second largest gain |
| TRON USDT supply, 30-day change | +2.28% m/m | Widening | Ethereum: -1.40% m/m |
| TRON's float lead over Ethereum | ~$18B | Record width | Not a first-time crossover; TRON passed in early 2025 |
| Total stablecoin transfer value (TRON) | ~$161B | n/a | Weekly disclosure |
| TRON USDT transfer cost | ~$0.45 rented / ~$2.12 burned | Rebased to TRX $0.3263 | See section 4 |
4. Fees and Gas
Costs were stable in TRX terms on TRON and stable-to-slightly-higher on Ethereum. The headline change is not price but baseline: with TRX at $0.3263 rather than the $0.16 carried through August, the same 1.37 TRX energy rental now costs about $0.45 instead of the previously quoted $0.20-0.24.
| Rail | Typical transfer cost | w/w change | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRON USDT (rented energy) | ~1.37 TRX / ~$0.45 | Flat in TRX | 65,000 energy at cheapest marketplace rate |
| TRON USDT (burned) | ~6.5 TRX / ~$2.12 | Flat in TRX | No delegation, direct burn |
| TRON USDT (new address) | ~13.1 TRX burned / ~$0.89 rented | Flat in TRX | ~131,000 energy for first receipt |
| Ethereum ETH transfer | ~$0.42-0.80 | Stable | 21,000 gas at 8-15 gwei |
| Ethereum ERC-20 (USDT/USDC) | ~$1.30-2.40 | Stable | ~65,000 gas at 8-15 gwei |
| Arbitrum / Base / L2 USDC | ~$0.01-0.02 | Stable | Post-blob cost floor |
| Solana | ~$0.0002-0.001 | Stable | Structurally cheap |
| Bitcoin | ~$0.90-1.70 (est.) | Stable | ~140 vB at 8-15 sat/vB |
5. Large Transfers and Whale Activity
Whale activity this week is best described through named events rather than an aggregate count, because the largest moves were all incident-related rather than commercial.
| Event | Size | Date | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid Network peg-out | ~3,996 BTC (~$320M) | Sep 6 | Bridge / custody incident |
| Tectonic attacker to Tornado Cash | 2,658.9 ETH (~$6.65M) | Sep 3 | Laundering of stolen funds |
| Coldcard Wave 3 operator via THORChain | ~20.5 BTC (~$1.67M) | Sep 2 | Laundering of stolen funds |
| Routine >= $1M transfers | ~1,300 across four chains (est.) | Week | Commercial / institutional |
The distinction matters. The three named events are not demand for settlement - they are the movement of funds that should not have moved. Counting them alongside commercial flow would overstate activity.
6. Exchange Flows
I do not have a verified exchange netflow print for this week, so I am not publishing one. Instead I use the chain-level supply table as a proxy for where stablecoin balances actually sit.
| Holder location | USDT change (7d) | USDC change (7d) | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRON | +$302.7M | -$1M | Net inflow of USDT float |
| Ethereum | +$189.1M | +$369.3M | Net inflow on both |
| Solana | +$70.0M | -$328.5M | Mixed: USDT in, USDC out |
| Base | ≈$0 | -$68.3M | USDC rotation off Base |
| Arbitrum | +$1.9M | -$63.4M | USDC rotation off Arbitrum |
| Other chains | -$295.1M | -$24.0M | Long-tail consolidation |
Read as a whole, the pattern is consolidation at the top and rotation in the middle: the two largest USDT rails gained, while long-tail chains and several L2 USDC pools shrank.
7. Staking and Energy Market
The clearest energy-market signal this quarter came from TRON's own Q2 disclosure: the TRX burn ratio fell 5%, which the network attributed to users staking TRX for energy rather than burning it for on-chain resources.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| TRX burn ratio (Q2 2026) | -5% | TRON Q2 report |
| JustLend energy rental users | 80,000+ cumulative | JustLend DAO |
| sTRX liquid staking | 9.73B TRX across 17,000+ addresses | JustLend DAO |
| Energy per USDT transfer | ~65,000 (~131,000 new address) | TRON resource model |
| Cheapest rental rate observed | ~21 sun per energy (1 sun = 0.000001 TRX; 1.37 TRX per transfer) | Energy marketplace |
8. Anomaly Scan
Three items crossed my threshold this week, ending August's run of clean weeks.
- ☐Big-3 net issuance at $215.5M vs $1.910B prior week - growth deceleration, flagged as a trend change.
- ☐USDC supply flat in aggregate but with $300M+ rotating between individual rails - flagged as internal rotation.
- ☐Roughly 4,000 BTC (~$320M) peg-out on Liquid - flagged as a bridge and custody incident.
- ☐TRX price -3.40% w/w against +27.1% m/m for BTC - divergence, not an anomaly in transfer terms.
9. What the Data Says About the Trend
The structural story is unchanged and now better evidenced: TRON hosts roughly half of all USDT, its float lead over Ethereum sits at a record ~$18B, and its cost per transfer is a fraction of Ethereum's. The cyclical story has shifted: supply growth has decelerated sharply, and the marginal dollar is being reallocated between rails rather than newly issued.
| Indicator | Four weeks ago (estimate basis) | This week (public-read basis) | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRON share of USDT supply | ~50% (est.) | ~50% ($91.7B of $183.3B) | Unchanged; gap at record width |
| USDT supply | ~$190B (est.) | ~$183.34B (reported) | Rebased |
| Weekly net issuance (Big-3) | ~$1.9B | ~$215.5M | Sharp deceleration |
| TRON USDT transfer cost | ~$0.20-0.24 (est.) | ~$0.45 (TRX $0.3263) | Rebased |
10. Outlook for Next Week
Three things will decide the next print: whether the Liquid peg-out is resolved or escalates, whether Big-3 issuance rebounds from one-ninth pace, and whether TRON's USDT float keeps taking the majority of net issuance. I will also be watching whether USDC's rotation out of Solana and Base reverses.
11. Methodology Notes
From this edition, figures come from named public sources: DefiLlama for supply and chain splits, TRONSCAN and network overviews for activity, gas oracles for Ethereum, and CoinGecko for prices. Where no verified print exists I label the figure "est." rather than publishing a number that looks authoritative.
| Dataset | Primary source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Stablecoin supply and chain split | DefiLlama | High (direct read) |
| TRON activity and accounts | TRONSCAN | High (direct read) |
| Ethereum gas and fees | Gas oracles, Etherscan | High (direct read) |
| Large transfers | Explorer alerts, PeckShield, TRM | High for named events |
| Solana / Bitcoin daily actives | No verified weekly print | Estimate only |
| Exchange net flows | No verified weekly print | Proxy used (chain balances) |
- TRON's USDT float lead over Ethereum sits at a record: $91.8B vs $73.7B, with TRON's float up 2.28% over 30 days while Ethereum's fell 1.40%.
- Stablecoin supply crossed $311B across 423 assets, but Big-3 net issuance fell to $215.5M - about one-ninth of the prior week.
- Transfer costs held in native terms; the TRON dollar cost rebased to ~$0.45 on rented TRON energy as TRX reset to $0.3263.
- Three items flagged in the anomaly scan: issuance deceleration, USDC rail rotation, and the Liquid peg-out.
- Two datasets had no verified weekly print (exchange net flows, Solana/Bitcoin actives) and are labelled estimates or replaced with proxies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this data come from?
DefiLlama for stablecoin supply and chain splits, TRONSCAN and network overviews for activity, gas oracles for Ethereum, CoinGecko for prices, and PeckShield, TRM Labs and explorer alerts for named large transfers. Estimates are labelled.
Why did the TRON transfer cost change from $0.20-0.24 to about $0.45?
The TRX-denominated cost did not move: renting ~65,000 energy still costs about 1.37 TRX. What changed is the price baseline - TRX now reads $0.3263 from market data instead of the $0.16 estimate carried through August. Quote energy in TRX first, then convert.
Why is there no exchange netflow number this week?
Because I could not verify one. Rather than publish a figure that looks authoritative, I substituted chain-level balance changes as a proxy and labelled it.
What does w/w mean?
Week-over-week: this week's value compared with the previous week, expressed as a percentage change.
Is any of this financial advice?
No. This report is independent research on public data, not investment advice.
Sources & Methodology
This report is compiled from public on-chain data, official announcements and a curated source whitelist. Figures are cross-checked where possible; estimated or reference values are labelled as such. Nothing in this report is financial advice.
- On-chain data: active addresses, transfer counts and volumes from public explorers
- Stablecoin supply and transfer data from issuer transparency pages
- Gas and fee data from network fee APIs (mempool.space, Etherscan Gas Oracle)
- CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko for price and market cap reference values
Last reviewed: 2026-09-07.