Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, claims that criminal cases involving Bitcoin are now on par with those involving altcoins. This sounds surprising, given the widespread belief that Bitcoin is utterly dominating the crypto market. Yet, it is time to say goodbye to the old prejudices. Altcoins are on the rise, whether you like it or not. Criminal world has spoken. This revelation comes from Europol latest Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA). The report, released on Monday, highlights a surge in crypto use for illegal activities. Altcoins, in particular, are gaining traction among criminals. Ransomware attackers still prefer Bitcoin for payoffs. It's easier to get hold of than other tokens. But some crooks are branching out. They're now demanding payments in coins like Monero. Europol tweeted about the report's findings. "In 2023, millions of victims across the EU were attacked and exploited online on a daily basis," they said. The crypto market's evolution is opening new doors for scammers. Europol warns that the growing number of crypto ETFs could be ripe for exploitation. Investment fraudsters are getting savvy. They're increasingly converting Bitcoin to stablecoins like Tether's USDT. Why? Stablecoins are less of a rollercoaster ride when it comes to price. Investigators have noticed something interesting about Tether. It's popping up more on the Tron blockchain than Ethereum. The likely reason? Lower transaction fees on Tron. Non-compliant services continue to be a thorn in the side of crypto investigators. Some companies are playing ball with law enforcement. But offshore services? They're still a headache, often leading to drawn-out legal procedures. Crypto laundering got a facelift in 2023. Swapping services are all the rage among criminals now. They're using these to cover their tracks, swapping to privacy coins for anonymity and stablecoins for stability. Last month, Europol raised another red flag. Crypto mining could be a new frontier for money laundering. Criminals can use it to hide dirty money and even turn a profit. The BitClub Network case is a prime example. It showed how mining pools can fuel Ponzi schemes, robbing victims of hundreds of millions of euros.

Tether's USDT on Tron has surpassed Visa's average daily trading volume. In a single day, USDT on Tron reached $53 billion in transactions. And that is remarkable. Visa, a traditional financial giant, averages $42 billion per day. USDT on Tron, however, hit $53 billion in just 24 hours. Visa is used all over the world as a traditional way of exchanging funds, while USDT is just a part of a fast evolving, yet very young and still maturing crypto market. Tron's achievement represents a significant shift in the financial landscape. It proves that digital currencies can compete with established financial systems. The victory over Visa, a payment industry leader, illustrates the rapid growth of digital currencies. The rise in transaction volumes on Tron is significant for the digital currency sector. Users are increasingly adopting TRC-20 wallets for various transactions. This trend suggests digital currencies are becoming integral to everyday financial activities, and the rate of this acceptance is becoming phenomenally fast. Even people who are not generally interested in crypto, are now more often using USDT for their financial needs. The extensive use of Tether (USDT) on Tron's network is driving on-chain activity. It demonstrates the efficiency of digital currencies for global transactions. This growth points to a future where digital money could outperform traditional payment systems in speed and cost-effectiveness. So, no matter how skeptical you might be, it is safe to say that digital currencies are no longer niche. They are emerging as serious competitors to established financial institutions. The latter are in a present and clear danger of becoming obsolete. TRON's dominance in the USDT market is truly remarkable. By Q1 2024, TRON held $59.3 billion, or 53.7%, of USDT's market cap. This surpasses Ethereum's share and underscores TRON's key role in the digital currency ecosystem.

Tron founder Justin Sun has announced a new stablecoin project. It is supposed to be a unique solution, aiming to eliminate gas fees for peer-to-peer transfers. The stablecoin will cover fees by itself. That sound a bit fantastic, yet there is a pretty plausible explanation. Sun revealed the plans in a July 6 social media post. He mentioned that the project targets implementation on the Tron blockchain this quarter. Expansion to Ethereum and other EVM-compatible chains will follow. Sun stated, "Transfers can be made without paying any gas tokens, with the fees being entirely covered by the stablecoins themselves." Specific mechanics of the system were not disclosed. Sun believes the innovation could boost corporate adoption of blockchain technology. "I believe that similar services will greatly facilitate large companies in deploying stablecoin services on the blockchain, elevating blockchain mass adoption to a new level," he said. Tron currently dominates the peer-to-peer stablecoin transfer market. Analytics firm Artemis reported on June 27 that Tron consistently processes two to three times Ethereum's volume. Over $50 billion of Tether's USDT circulates on Tron. This represents nearly half of USDT's $112 billion total market cap across all blockchains, according to DeFiLlama data. Tron's proposal may compete with existing solutions. PayPal's PYUSD offers free cross-border payments to certain U.S. users. Circle's USDC on Ethereum layer 2 Base also provides fee-less transfers via Coinbase Wallet. There might be a simple explanation of why Tron is so eager to develop such a stablecoin right now. Recent developments may have spurred Tron's initiative. Circle and Binance recently dropped support for USDC on Tron. This potentially created an incentive for Tron to develop its own solution. Tron is exploring additional blockchain integrations. The project is considering a Bitcoin layer 2 solution to support wrapped Tether. This could enable significant capital flow into the Bitcoin ecosystem. Currently, Tron utilizes existing cross-chain protocols. These bridge USDT and other tokens between Bitcoin and Tron networks.

The minting of USDT, the world's largest stablecoin by market capitalization, has dramatically declined on Ethereum and Tron networks. Over the past six months, issuance has fallen from $7 billion to just $1 billion. Sound like a catastrophy, yet it isn't. This sharp decrease coincides with a broader market contraction in June. It indicates reduced trading activity and waning demand for cryptocurrencies during this period. The question is, however, how serious this might be in a long-term perspective. An analyst on X highlighted this trend. And came up with a possible explanation, saying that the decline in minting activity reflects diminished blockchain utilization on both networks. Tron remains a preferred network for USDT minting despite Ethereum's dominance. It offers superior scalability and lower transaction costs. Ethereum has made strides in scaling. The emergence of layer-2 platforms like Base and Arbitrum has bolstered its ecosystem. Recent upgrades, such as Dencun, aim to reduce transaction costs on these layer-2 solutions. The drop in USDT minting suggests a broader decline in crypto demand. Historically, large-scale USDT minting has correlated with rising Bitcoin and crypto prices. Until minting activity resumes on these leading smart contract platforms, Bitcoin and major altcoin prices may remain suppressed. Tether, USDT's issuer, recently partnered with Uquid. The collaboration aims to modernize payments for the Philippines' Social Security System using the TON blockchain. Simultaneously, Tether announced the cessation of USDT minting on Algorand and EOS networks. Redemptions will continue for another year. USDT can still be minted on over ten platforms. The total USDT minted to date exceeds whopping $110 billion. Who says cryptocurrency isn't conquering the world right now?

Tether's USDT stablecoin on the TRON network has overtaken Visa's daily transaction volume. We've been waiting for this for quite a while. This marks a significant milestone in the cryptocurrency sector. Market intelligence firm Lookonchain reported the development on social media platform X. The 24-hour trading volume of USDT on TRON reached $53 billion earlier this week. That's 10% more than the previous day. Meanwhile Visa's average daily trading volume stood at $42 billion. In general, Visa processed $3.78 trillion in transactions during Q1 2024. Tether recently launched a new gold-backed stablecoin called aUSDT. The digital asset is backed by Tether Gold (XAUT), which is linked to physical gold reserves in Switzerland. Paolo Ardoino, Tether's CEO, commented on the launch: "While the stabilization mechanism is different compared to traditional options like USDT, this innovative solution marks an exciting milestone." Ardoino also revealed plans to incorporate this technology into Tether's upcoming digital asset tokenization platform. So it becomes clear that Tether's is going to try to keep its leadership in the stablecoin space. Not to mention that the surge in USDT's volume on TRON highlights the growing importance of stablecoins in the digital economy. A few years ago we would only laugh at people who could assume that stablecoins will overcome such a financial monster as Visa in volumes.