Tether thinks beyond USDT, ‘builds for the apocalypse’
Tether launched the USDT stablecoin in 2014. It soon became the biggest stablecoin issuer, while USDT grew into one of the five biggest cryptocurrencies in market cap.
At one point, USDT was a leading token in terms of trading volume. At different times, it was accountable for 50% to 80% of all Bitcoin trades.
Moreover, USDT plays a vital role in cryptocurrency onboarding, as many crypto exchanges don’t have fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat pairs. USDT is a USD substitute, providing a predictable trading instrument aligned with the USD value.
Companies also execute cross-border payments using USDT, which is backed by the U.S. Treasury bills. And Tether holds most of them. Last year, Tether bought $33.1 billion worth of the U.S. Treasury securities. It made the company the seventh biggest foreign net buyer, surpassing Mexico, Canada, Taiwan, and many other countries.
