Poloniex Exit Leaves stUSDT Stranded on Ethereum Network

The utilization of Staked USDT (stUSDT), a protocol that claims to invest in U.S. Treasury securities to provide yields to users who ‘stake’ their tether tokens, has plummeted on Ethereum following the exit of Poloniex from its position, according to on-chain data.

Historically, stUSDT has been exploited by entities and wallets associated with Justin Sun, constituting the majority of tether reserves at HTX, a cryptocurrency exchange he oversees.

Moreover, on the Ethereum blockchain, significant portions of this token were held by the address 0x176F3DAb24a159341c0509bB36B833E7fdd0a132, which was formerly identified as “Justin Sun 4” on Etherscan but is now rebranded to “Poloniex 9.”

Read more: WBTC supply contracts this month following Justin Sun custody drama

Poloniex’s outright refusal to conduct a proof-of-reserves, despite Sun’s persistent assurances about its significance, complicates the determination of whether this address is primarily managed by Poloniex or Sun, if such a distinction exists.

At times, this address held up to 96% of the total supply of stUSDT on Ethereum.

However, about three months prior, the exchange seemed to have initiated a withdrawal of approximately $30 million worth of the token. This was followed just two days ago by a withdrawal of around $11 million worth, and another $9.4 million today.

These withdrawals have nearly left the token deserted on Ethereum, with the largest current holder, 0x9FCc67D7DB763787BB1c7f3bC7f34d3C548c19Fe, possessing only $1.7 million worth of this token — roughly 90% of the total supply.

In comparison, the largest token holder on Tron, TDToUxX8sH4z6moQpK3ZLAN24eupu2ivA4, an HTX address, continues to hold a significantly higher value of $195 million, accounting for approximately 85% of the supply on Tron.

Protos has reached out to Poloniex to verify its control over this address, but as of press time, no response has been received.

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