Tether Initiates $1 Billion USDT Mint for 'Inventory Replenish' | Blockster

Tether, the powerhouse behind the world's largest stablecoin, USDT, recently executed a substantial minting, creating an additional billion USDT labeled as "authorized but not issued," as revealed by CEO Paolo Ardoino. The news surfaced on December 25, stating that Tether Treasury had minted $1 billion worth of USDT.

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Ardoino took to the Whale Alert's X thread to address the community, clarifying that the transaction was a strategic move for "inventory replenish" on the Ethereum blockchain. He emphasized that this particular transaction, despite being authorized, had not been issued, signifying its role as part of Tether's treasury inventory for upcoming issuance requests and chain swaps.
"In traditional finance, inventory replenishment involves ordering stock from suppliers to meet customer demand and avoid stock shortages without accumulating surplus inventory. In Tether’s terms, inventory replenishment is the process of creating new USDT stored in Tether’s treasury inventory as 'authorized but not issued' USDT."

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether
Tether's FAQ further clarifies that these tokens are not factored into the total market capitalization of USDT since they have yet to be issued or released into circulation.

As of December 26, 2023, Tether's Transparency page indicates that $925 million in USDT remains "authorized but not issued" on Ethereum. This latest move echoes a similar one in September 2023, where Ardoino clarified that the USDT transaction was an authorization, not an actual issuance, intended for future issuance requests and chain swaps on the Tron network.

However, Ardoino's recent announcement faced some skepticism and criticism regarding the transparency of Tether's authorized but not issued transactions. Online observers questioned the lack of clarity and expressed interest in examining the document or agreement associated with such transactions.

The skepticism extended to suspicions about the potential impact of this USDT mint on the price of Bitcoin (BTC), as previous instances of Tether's USDT minting have been linked to BTC price surges. Some comments directly speculated that the minting was aimed at boosting BTC prices.

Tether has experienced remarkable growth throughout the past year, with its market capitalization reaching new all-time highs in 2023. Since January, Tether's market value has surged by almost 38%, climbing from $66 billion to $91 billion, according to CoinGecko data.

Furthermore, Tether has actively entered the realm of Bitcoin-related activities, revealing plans to acquire Bitcoin to manage its reserves and launching multiple Bitcoin mining operations earlier in 2023.