Tether’s USDT Circulation Surges by $4.5 Billion within a Month
USDT, the largest stablecoin in the crypto market, reached a record-breaking market cap of $89 billion in November 2023. This surge in market cap was primarily driven by increased minting activity by Tether, the digital asset payment giant. According to on-chain analytics provider Arkham Intelligence, Tether minted a total of $4.5 billion in 30 days, with the majority of the new supply minted on Tron, a cryptocurrency network created by Justin Sun, the advisor of HTX and founder of Poloniex. Tether minted $3 billion on Tron, while the Kraken deposit wallet ‘TQef1’ received $2.5 billion. Within a week, $400 million worth of new Tether tokens were created.
Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, emphasized that the massive mints from the company’s treasury were intended to ensure liquidity on both Ethereum and Tron. Ardoino took over as Tether’s CEO after Jean-Louis van der Velde transitioned into an advisory role.
The increase in USDT’s market cap is typically associated with a bullish momentum in the stablecoin market, indicating a renewed demand for cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins, which are pegged to the U.S. dollar, serve as a means for traders to convert their digital assets into fiat currencies and vice versa.
While Tether’s market cap experienced significant growth, other stablecoins appeared to have stalled in terms of growth, as per data available on Coingecko. At the time of writing, USDT dominated the market, with its closest rival, Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), having a market cap of $24 billion, down from over $40 billion a year ago.
Circle reportedly faced challenges during the first half of 2023, when a U.S. banking crisis affected crypto-friendly financial institutions like Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate. However, USDC’s issuer remained optimistic about future operations.
Overall, the total market cap of stablecoins continues to grow, indicating a positive trend in the crypto market.
Note: The article has been rewritten creatively while retaining the general semantics and accuracy of the original content.
