USDT Growth on Ethereum Fails to Translate to DeFi Activity

The growth of USDT (USDT) on Ethereum has been significant, with its supply expanding sharply through late 2024. However, this increase did not translate to a sustained rise in the share held by smart-contract accounts.

According to researchers Timothy Aerts, Ronald Heijmans, Jan Paulick, and Violeta Vuletic, smart-contract accounts initially held more than 20% of Ethereum's USDT but later settled at around 15-20%. This share then declined to 10-15% by late 2024.

The total supply series for USDT exceeded $180 billion in early 2026. On Tron, smart-contract accounts held approximately 1% of USDT throughout the period studied.