On May 31, Tether (USDT) tokens issued on the Tron blockchain reached another all-time high of $46 billion, compared to $36.8 billion for Ethereum, accounting for over 60% of USDT’s circulating supply. The milestone comes on the fifth-anniversary launch of the Tron mainnet.

Over the past five years, Tron developers claim that the blockchain has processed 5.6 billion transactions and currently has a total value locked of $5.7 billion. Tron’s creator, Justin Sun, said his 2023 goals include elevating the network’s on-chain stablecoin market cap to $100 billion and establishing Tron as a preferred choice for stablecoin users by positioning itself as “a more affordable and user-friendly version of Ethereum." Tron developers also said they have “promised full support” for Web3 development in Hong Kong.

Cointelegraph reported that Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission would begin issuing crypto exchange licensing applications for retail trading on June 1. A few days prior, Huobi, a cryptocurrency exchange under the de facto ownership of Sun, said it had begun offering crypto services to retail Hong Kong clients after submitting an application the same day. In April, Sun attended the annual Web3 Festival in Hong Kong, dispelling rumors that he had been arrested on arrival. 

In March 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Sun for the “orchestration of the unregistered offer and sale, manipulative trading, and unlawful touting of crypto asset securities” relating to Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens. The lawsuit is currently ongoing. 

Magazine: Bitcoin glory on Chinese TikTok, 30M mainland users, Justin Sun saga: Asia Express