Asia AM Briefing: Tron’s IPO Could Be the ‘Visa Moment’ for Stablecoin Adoption, Say Investors

Tron Inc. Eyes NASDAQ Listing in Potential Breakthrough for Stablecoin Infrastructure Investors

As the crypto landscape continues to evolve, Tron Inc. may soon become the first public-market vehicle giving investors direct equity exposure to the infrastructure behind stablecoin transactions—a market quietly booming across emerging economies.

Early Tuesday in Asia, Tron DAO’s TRX token held steady, up 1%, with traders largely unfazed by the announcement that Tron is effectively going public via a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment, a small-cap toy company that will be rebranded as Tron Inc. This new entity is expected to adopt a TRX treasury strategy and represent the blockchain’s interests on the U.S. stock exchange.

While the market reaction has been muted, the implications could be significant. Tron’s blockchain currently hosts 30% of all stablecoin transaction volume globally, per DeFi Llama data, and is home to nearly half of all circulating USDT, Tether’s dollar-pegged stablecoin.

Unlike Circle, which issues USDC and derives revenue from reserve management and compliance, Tron controls the underlying infrastructure, enabling it to capture on-chain transaction fees and user activity directly. This structural difference gives Tron a more vertically integrated position in the stablecoin ecosystem.

Recent on-chain data from CryptoQuant highlights Tron’s outsized role in large-scale USDT usage, noting that 59% of May’s volume came from transactions exceeding $1 million—largely driven by institutional and high-net-worth users.

More importantly, Tron has become the de facto stablecoin network for underbanked populations across the Global South, with growing usage in Lebanon, Argentina, and Brazil, where public distrust in traditional banking runs deep. In these markets, users aren’t speculating on blockchain tech—they’re accessing dollars directly through Tether on Tron, bypassing local currencies and financial systems.

For investors, the listing evokes parallels to earlier fintech inflection points. The Visa and Mastercard IPOs in the 2000s offered exposure to the payment infrastructure of the developed world. Today, some are positioning Tron Inc. as a potential proxy for the digital dollar rails of the emerging world.

In Asia, this mirrors the long-unrealized hopes around Ant Group’s delayed IPO and the lack of a public offering from UnionPay, China’s state-controlled payments giant. While some believed China’s digital yuan could lead emerging-market financial infrastructure, that narrative has faded. Instead, stablecoins—especially USDT over Tron—are now filling that gap.

If Tron Inc.’s listing proceeds and demand for stablecoin rails continues to grow in underserved regions, the firm may become the closest thing to a public-market stablecoin infrastructure play—a “Visa moment” for the decentralized finance era.

Additional Market Highlights

🏢 Hong Kong’s First Solana Treasury Allocation via OSL
In a first for Hong Kong-listed equities, MemeStrategy (2440.HK), a digital asset venture backed by 9GAG, acquired 2,440 SOL (~$370,000) through OSL’s institutional platform, marking the debut Solana treasury allocation by a listed company in the region. OSL provided execution, settlement, and custody services.

📈 Weekly Crypto Fund Inflows Hit $1.9B, Setting 2025 Record

Institutional interest in digital assets remains strong, with $1.9 billion flowing into crypto investment products last week, bringing year-to-date inflows to a record $13.2 billion, according to CoinShares.

Bitcoin led with $1.3 billion in net inflows, ending a short streak of outflows.
Ethereum followed with $583 million, its highest weekly tally since February.
XRP reversed outflows, bringing in $11.8 million, while Sui attracted $3.5 million—signs of select altcoin accumulation.

U.S. investors dominated inflows, while Hong Kong (-$56.8M) and Brazil (-$8.5M) posted notable outflows, underscoring uneven global adoption.

🔍 Market Overview

Bitcoin (BTC) surged past $108,000, up 3.6%, as low exchange reserves and strong volume created bullish technical momentum.
Ethereum (ETH) rallied 6.9% to $2,671, backed by $3.8B in whale accumulation and 16 consecutive days of spot ETF inflows.
Gold dropped to $3,383, with traders focused more on U.S. debt ceiling concerns than Middle East conflict.
Nikkei 225 rose 0.21%, as investors await signals from the Bank of Japan.
S&P 500 climbed 0.94% to 6,033.11, aided by easing oil prices and signs of regional de-escalation.