Anika Begay
Tether’s USDT has crossed another major milestone in market capitalization, surpassing the $115 billion mark. This milestone is evidence that stablecoins are gaining tremendous traction in the market, especially during times of high volatility when users rush to safer crypto assets.
USDT has become an indispensable part of the digital asset ecosystem, finding mainstream use for trading and as an outlet for investors in times of market uncertainty.
Source: IntoTheBlock
Resilience in the cryptocurrency market
Cryptocurrencies have shown excellent resilience in the market lately, with some of the largest in the market being Bitcoin and Ethereum. Currently, Bitcoin accounts for about 54.4% of the market, while Ethereum holds about 17.8%.
The combined market of all these digital assets is estimated at $2.11 trillion; USDT ranks third among digital assets. This kind of increase makes clear the growing relevance of Tether and the trust that traders and investors have in the stablecoin.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, was proud to reach this milestone. He said that USDT has come a long way from where it started. Just to gauge how much the asset class has grown, it was able to generate a net profit of $5.2 billion in the first half of the year, which it achieved with significantly less manpower than large exchanges like Coinbase and Binance. All thanks to a well-considered strategic investment portfolio, as well as adapting to the rapidly evolving norms of digital finance.
115
— Paolo Ardoino 🤖🍐 (@paoloardoino) August 8, 2024
Expansion and compliance
Building on its recent success, Tether has outlined the expansion of its workforce to 200 employees by mid-2025. The headcount increase is aimed at ensuring better compliance with regulatory bodies and improving operational efficiency.
According to Ardoino, the increase in headcount would be done with a lean structure, although some staff would be brought into the finance and compliance areas. He is also building some advanced tools to track illicit activity with USDT to demonstrate transparency and compliance.
Tether has been criticized for its stablecoin being used for illicit activities. The company has decided to take action voluntarily and has frozen 50 million USDT that were directly related to transactions that were flagged as suspicious.
In the context of increased transparency and security, Tether has also partnered with blockchain data protection company Chainalysis. The goal is to develop secondary market protocols that will enable surveillance. This effort will further strengthen Tether’s war against all forms of fraud and scammers, which ensures a secure platform.
1.3B $USDT was transferred from #TetherTreasure in trading after the market crash of August 5th! photo.twitter.com/BYtMqgVRyZ
— Look at Chain (@guardareachain) August 9, 2024
USDT: Innovation and Investment
Looking ahead, Tether is firmly focused on market growth and innovation. This includes investing over $2 billion in startups over the past two years in areas such as artificial intelligence and telecommunications.
Meanwhile, as part of a broader cryptocurrency market boom, blockchain specialist Lookonchain noted that $1.3 billion in USDT has been transferred to centralized exchanges including Kraken, OKX, and Coinbase.
Ardoino hinted that Tether’s self-investment will likely continue on this aggressive trend to drive emerging technologies and new trends in the digital landscape. Such a proactive approach not only solidifies Tether’s position as a leader in the stablecoin market, but also secures its position as a major player in the rest of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
