Tether Provides Clarification On $2 Billion USDT Mint

Tether CEO Explains Recent USDT Minting on Ethereum

Tether CEO, Paolo Ardoino, recently addressed the latest on-chain data released by Whale Alert, which reported that the Tether Treasury had minted and added 2 billion USDT on the Ethereum blockchain in a single transaction. He explained that the notification was delayed and pointed out that the transaction was part of a larger strategy.

Ardoino also referenced a recent post on X, which outlined the company’s coordination with a prominent third-party exchange to perform a chain swap. This swap involved transferring part of the company’s cold wallets from various blockchains to Ethereum.

The company will, therefore, retire USDT from several low-activity blockchains, consolidating those tokens on Ethereum via several significant wallet transfers. This move would be part of the consolidation effort to swap the external tokens back to the Ethereum network for better asset management with increased liquidity.

To avoid market confusion, Ardoino gave notice that such token movements would occur and underlined the procedural nature of the change as part of regular issuance operations. This primary issuer consolidation strategy is mostly about reacting to shifting user demand and focusing resources where the token activity was at its greatest. Recently, the company said it recorded a group net profit of $2.5 billion in the third quarter of this year. The stablecoin issuer has also recorded a profit of $7.7 billion over the first nine months of this year.

Swapping USDT Across Different Blockchains

Tether announced it will soon initiate a large chain swap with a leading exchange to migrate part of its reserves from several blockchains to Ethereum. This involves converting tokens held in cold wallets on TRC20, AVAX, NEAR, CELO, and EOS into Ethereum-based USDT.

A chain swap is a process where cryptocurrencies are transferred from one blockchain to another. The process enables traders to extend the use of their digital assets to various blockchains that support the cryptocurrency owned.

For instance, the token is available on several blockchains: Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and Liquid, among others. Using a chain swap, clients can access any of these networks using their USD₮. A trader can “swap” the blockchain on which their USD₮ is operating. For instance, it can move it from a blockchain such as Tron onto another such as Ethereum. It enables the end-user to utilize different blockchain ecosystems. It does that by further extending the liquidity and usability of their digital assets.

The total supply of USDT issued by Tether will not increase. Still, its balance  across different networks will be rebalanced because of increasing market demand for Ethereum-based token.

Specific figures, according to the post, entail the swap of 1 billion USDT from TRC20. There is also a swap of 600 million from the Avalanche-Chain, 300 million from NEAR, 75 million from CELO, and 60 million from EOS.

This is part of a broader strategy by the company to optimize its liquidity across different blockchain ecosystems. Strategy? To make USD readily available to users where demand for it is most robust. It routinely performs such chain swaps to enhance its users’ usability and flexibility. It does that while maintaining a stable total supply across all networks.

The Dominance Continues Despite Supply Reduction

The token supply decreased from 120.7 billion to 120.4 billion and remained the largest liquidity supply source on market. When regular trading occurs, roughly 85% of the total available USD supply is utilized. The rest will be inoperable.

The recent Bitcoin (BTC) rally to new all-time highs made mass usage of USDT shoot well over $160 billion in trading volume in one day. That’s fully 132% of its circulating supply.

That was a significantly more significant spike in turnover compared with USDC, which recorded just 47% of its market cap in volume-though it did grow on chains like Base. However, USDC has not entirely usurped the top position that USDT enjoys in every use case.

Stablecoin expansion in 2024, combined with the bull market for BTC, seems to have made it possible for issuers to keep pulling in heavy earnings, such as Tether. It remains overcollateralized with fiat and fiat-like assets, though there were concerns about its reserves, further cementing its leading role in the crypto ecosystem.