Tether’s USDT, the largest stablecoin by market cap, plays a vital role beyond crypto markets, especially in countries grappling with inflation and weak financial infrastructure, according to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
Tether's USDT Reaches Beyond Crypto Markets, Says CEO Paolo Ardoino
In an interview with Bullish CEO Tom Farley, Ardoino highlighted that USDT has become the most widely used digital dollar globally and is proving to be significant outside the US.
Stablecoins like USDT are primarily designed to provide stability in volatile crypto markets by being pegged to real-world assets like the US dollar.
But Ardoino noted that in countries like Argentina and Turkey, where inflation is rampant, USDT offers a stable alternative to volatile national currencies. “Before USDT, people had to rely on the black market to buy US dollars,” Ardoino said.
“USDT works much better outside the US, where access to dollars is limited to local financial systems,” he added.
USDT's Global Dominance
Currently, USDT is the third-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) with a market cap of around $120 billion.
It dwarfs its closest stablecoin rival, Circle’s USDC, with a market cap of $35.6 billion. More than half of USDT’s supply is issued on the Tron blockchain ($61 billion), while Ethereum accounts for $54.3 billion.
*This is not investment advice.