Stablecoin Giant Tether Sets New Record as USDT Market Cap Hits $40 Billion

World's largest stablecoin Tether has recorded a significant milestone as its market cap grew six percent from last month. The company announced on its issuer's transparency page that it had surpassed $40 billion in market capitalization.

Massive Growth From Last Year’s $4.6B

This latest milestone makes Tether (USDT) the third-largest digital asset behind only Bitcoin [coin_stats_table symbol="BTC"] and Ethereum [coin_stats_table symbol="ETH"]. Tether's market capitalization had skyrocketed from its $4.6 billion one year ago. It had also reached $30 billion less than two months ago. Compared to Fortune 500 companies, Tether’s market cap matches eBay and is on its way to surpass the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation's market cap. Tether's $40 billion mark was driven by the growing interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) and OTC desks that use the token to settle block trades over-the-counter. Commenting on the latest development, Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer at Tether, expressed his excitement. He noted,

"Crossing $40 billion represents an important milestone for Tether. Our growth reflects the pivotal role Tether plays in the overall digital token ecosystem. People like using Tether. Whether you are a trader, developer, or part of the growing numbers using Tether for payments and remittances, there are myriad benefits to using the most liquid, stable, and trusted stablecoin."

Tether's new feat reflects the remarkable progress in the cryptocurrency market. The combined value of all cryptocurrencies surpassed $1 trillion in January for the first time before hitting $1.8 trillion earlier this month, with Bitcoin and Ethereum taking the lead.

Tether’s Legal Woes With NYAG

Tether works across different blockchains like Algorand, Bitcoin Cash's SLP, Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Omni, Solana, and Tron. The stablecoin has been an object of scrutiny due to its affiliation with cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. Tether previously had a case where the company was alleged to have misrepresented the degree to which (USDT) coins were backed by fiat collateral. The Stablecoin issuer was charged for allegedly attempting to hide financial losses. The company admitted to no wrongdoing. As part of the case settlement, Bitfinex and Tether were told to report their current reserve status and budget. Both companies are also to report and any transactions between them and provide public reports for the specific composition of their cash non-cash reserves. This is required to be done each quarter for the next two years. The companies were ordered to pay $18.5 million as part of a settlement and were barred from operating in New York. Meanwhile, the second-largest stablecoin, Circle's USD Coin (USDC), recently exceeded $10 billion in total supply for the first time. USDC is the 12th largest cryptocurrency by market cap at press time.