Tether’s USDT, the largest crypto stablecoin, recently celebrated its 10th year in the industry. The company’s growth has been impressive, thanks to its steady user base, holdings that include $97 billion in US government bonds, and its plans to partner with US law enforcement agencies to strengthen its brand.
Now, the team behind Tether can find another reason to celebrate: data suggest that Tether’s USDT user growth recorded its best quarter in Q3 by adding 36.25 million new users. The company added that its quarterly user data has increased by 9% on average over the last 12 months, giving it enough cushion as it expands its use cases and applications.
USDT price action in the last 24 hours. Source: CoinMarketCap
On-Chain Tether USDT Users Drive Growth
In a post at Tether.io, the company boasts of an increasing adoption of its stablecoin, reporting over 330 million in-chain wallets and accounts. The company clarified that these refer to users who have received the stablecoin by the end of the third quarter.
Source: Tether
This number excludes users who use the coin in centralized platforms such as Binance and Coinbase, which also numbers to several million. An October 16th report indicated tens of millions of Tether customers on these exchanges and off-chain venues.
According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, most users are from developing countries. He explained that the majority of users buy USDT to hedge against inflation and their country’s weak monetary systems.
As of today, the market cap of cryptocurrencies stood at $2.26 trillion. Chart: TradingView.com
Tether’s USDT Also Gets Help From Ethereum L2s And TON
Part of Tether’s success in the industry is its support of tier 1 blockchains like Ethereum and the Binance Smart Chain. According to the company, Ethereum-based layer-2 networks contributed the most users this quarter. Last year, Arbitrum and Polygon added the most users to Tether’s pool.
Source: Tether
Telegram’s The Open Network (TON) was also instrumental in growing Tether’s user base. According to Philip Gradwell of Tether, TON added 3.3 million users in six months, which accounts for 1% of all on-chain accounts.
Tether: The Road Ahead
As Tether continues to pick up millions of new users, the company is looking for ways to expand its reach. According to reports, the company is studying ways to enter traditional finance through lending. The company has also invested in a few startups, like Bitdeer, a crypto mining company, and Blackrock Neurotech.
However, its most exciting move this year relates to image-building. In a Fox Business interview, Ardoino shared that collaboration with US law enforcement agencies is doing well. If Tether improves its image, we can see more significant user growth in the next few quarters.
Featured image from Forkast News, chart from TradingView
