According to analytics firm TRM Labs, the Tron blockchain is responsible for a whopping 45% of illegal cryptocurrency transactions in 2023, the South China Morning Post reports.
The blockchain, which is associated with controversial entrepreneur Justin Sun, is becoming increasingly popular with drug traffickers, but Bitcoin still maintains the lead there.
Tron has emerged as an increasingly attractive option for criminals due to its speed and low transaction fees.
The report states that Tether, the top stablecoin, accounted for more than $19 billion of illegal transactions. Roughly 1.6% of the stablecoin's total volume was linked to criminal activities.
The Tron-based USDT token, which was introduced back in March 2019, has now become the primary choice for terrorism financing, according to TRM Labs.
Alex DovbnyaAs per data provided on Tether's website, Tron-base USDT has a market cap of $54 billion, which makes it the top stablecoin on the blockchain. The Ethereum-based token comes in second place with $49 billion.
Tether believes that the volume of illicit transactions that involved its flagship stablecoin has been exaggerated, according to a statement made by the company's spokesperson.
A recent UN report has also singled Tron as the preferred choice for bad actors. However, Tron DAO said that such an allegation was inaccurate in its statement, arguing that it is "actively engaging" with blockchain forensics companies. It added that it was "flawed" to assume that we could exercise direct control over those who use the technology.
As reported by U.Today, the Tron founder was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last March.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov