Stablecoin rankings diverge when measured by holdings or transfers: Ethereum led DefiLlama’s network balances with $143.759 billion late Oct. 19, while TRON led a separate measure of transfer activity.
DefiLlama’s reading at 11:17 p.m. ET Oct. 19 (03:17 UTC Oct. 20) put Ethereum’s balance at 47.69% of the $301.435 billion stablecoin market it tracked. Tron was second with $94.870 billion, about 31.5% of the total. These balances count value held on each network at that moment.
The same data showed $163.015 billion in stablecoins issued on Ethereum, giving it about 54.1% of the tracked total on an issuance basis. That exceeded the amount held on the network by $19.256 billion. When a stablecoin is bridged, its original token can remain locked while a representation circulates on another network. The snapshot does not quantify how much of Ethereum’s gap resulted from bridging.
A CoinDesk Research report commissioned by Tron put TRON at about 73% of peer-to-peer stablecoin transfer value as of Sept. 30, 2026, compared with Ethereum’s 15%. Those shares describe September activity; DefiLlama’s balances capture a later point in time. TRON’s lead in the transfer measure does not change its second-place position in the balance reading.
An earlier EconoTimes snapshot of Tron stablecoins put the network’s balance at about $95 billion on Oct. 19. Tether USDt (USDT) represented roughly 98% of that earlier balance.
Concentration among stablecoins is another measure. A separate reading at 11:40 a.m. ET (15:40 UTC) Oct. 19 put USDT at 60.7% and USD Coin (USDC) at 23.9% of its tracked stablecoin market, or 84.6% together. That reading used different market coverage and preceded the network balance snapshot.
