Date: 04 March, 2024
Key Points:
- Tether (USDT) achieves a historic market cap of over $100 billion on March 4, marking a 9% year-to-date increase.
- Tether’s market cap surpasses USD Coin (USDC) by an impressive $71 billion, solidifying its dominance in the stablecoin market.
- Operating on 14 blockchains, Tether provides stability in the volatile cryptocurrency market, according to CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap data.
- Positioned as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Tether, backed by audited reserves, primarily in U.S. Treasury Bills, is crucial for traders seeking stability.
- Tether reports a record quarterly profit of $2.85 billion in Q4 2023, with $1 billion from its T-Bill holdings.
- Despite concerns about asset quality, Tether aims to reduce $4.8 billion in loans on its books to zero by 2024.
- Over half of circulating USDT is on the Tron blockchain, flagged by a UN report for potential cyber fraud and money laundering.
- Tether refutes UN allegations, emphasizing cooperation with law enforcement and the traceability features of its token.
- Tether’s market cap rivals major corporations like BP, surpassing Shopify, raising questions about its future impact on the broader financial landscape.
Tether (USDT), the world’s largest crypto stablecoin, has achieved a market capitalization exceeding $100 billion. The milestone, reached on March 4, marks a 9% increase year-to-date, solidifying Tether’s dominance in the stablecoin market and widening the gap between itself and its closest competitor, USD Coin (USDC).
Tether’s current market cap surpasses that of USDC by an impressive $71 billion, according to CoinGecko data. While CoinMarketCap reports Tether’s valuation at $99.583 billion, the stablecoin’s growing clout is undeniable. Tether operates on 14 blockchains and protocols, offering stability to crypto traders in the volatile cryptocurrency market.
Ranked as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Tether has become a vital asset for traders seeking stability. Each USDT token is purportedly fully backed by audited reserves, primarily yield-bearing U.S. Treasury Bills (T-Bills), positioning Tether as a major player in the global market for U.S. government debt.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Tether reported a record quarterly profit of $2.85 billion, with $1 billion generated from its T-Bill holdings. Despite concerns in the crypto community about the quality of assets backing USDT, Tether aims to mitigate risks and had $4.8 billion in loans on its books by the end of 2023, committed to reducing them to zero by 2024. Notably, more than half of the circulating USDT is on the Tron blockchain, a platform a January United Nations report flagged as a “preferred choice” for cyber fraud and money laundering activities in Southeast Asia. Tether has refuted these allegations, emphasizing its cooperation with law enforcement and the token’s traceability features.
As Tether’s market cap rivals that of major corporations like BP and surpasses Shopify, the stablecoin continues to play a crucial role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, raising questions about its future trajectory and impact on the broader financial landscape.
References
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-04/tether-s-usdt-stablecoin-tops-100-billion-in-circulation-for-first-time
https://www.coinspeaker.com/tethers-usdt-stablecoin-100b-valuation/