Tether’s stablecoin, USDT, has surpassed $1 billion in circulating supply on The Open Network (TON), according to data from Token Terminal, a crypto researcher.
The uptake underscores USDT’s dominance among United States Dollar-backed stablecoins and TON chain’s rising popularity despite setbacks to Telegram, the social media platform that created TON chain in 2018. Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested in August.
Tether’s USDT is the stablecoin of choice on many Telegram Mini Apps, which are applications that operate on Telegram’s messaging platform and settle on TON chain.
On Sept. 13, TON Foundation — which took over control of TON chain from Telegram in 2022 — announced a collaboration with Tada, a ride-hailing application in Singapore that will allow users to book rides and pay with crypto. Singapore’s Token2049 conference kicked off on Sept. 16.
USDT on TON chain has surpassed $1 billion. Source: Token Terminal
Related: Ride-hailing app Tada integrates TON crypto payments for Singapore rides
Of the $172 billion in US Dollar-backed stablecoins currently in circulation, approximately $118 billion comprise USDT, according to CoinMarketCap. Circle Internet Financial’s U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC), Tether’s closest rival, has a market capitalization of roughly $35 billion.
Stablecoin adoption has been gaining steam, with total active wallets more than doubling from 2022 to more than 20 million, according to a September report by investment managers Castle Island Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital.
Stablecoins settled transactions worth approximately $2.5 trillion in the first half of 2024, the report said.
Stablecoin active wallets roughly doubled since 2022. Source: Castle Island Ventures, Brevan Howard Digital
In 2023, Tether clocked some $6.2 billion in profits, surpassing the $5.5 billion earned by Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager. Like Circle, Tether swaps USDT for dollars and then invests the dollars in low-risk, yield-bearing assets, profiting from the interest.
Tether has been investing those profits in a diverse array of emerging technology companies. In April, Tether bought a $200 million stake in Blackrock Neurotech, becoming the largest shareholder in the brain implant company, according to Reuters.
The stablecoin issuer is also building a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. In March, Tether bought 8,888 BTC worth approximately $618 million at the time of purchase. Its total reserves exceed 75,000 BTC.
Circle has been aggressively competing for market share. On Sept. 17, Circle announced it was expanding USDC to Sui, a layer 1 blockchain network built using the Move programming language.
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