Tether Continues to Break Records with $20 Billion Market Cap Increase in 2023

Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market value, has been making headlines throughout 2023 as its market capitalization has increased by at least $20 billion this year. According to data from the blockchain data provider Whale Alert, Tether has minted 22.75 billion USDT so far in 2023, with 4 billion USDT being issued in the past four weeks alone.

Starting the year with a market cap of roughly $66 billion, Tether USDT has been steadily gaining momentum. In April 2023, its market value surpassed $80 billion, and on November 14th, it briefly hit a market cap of $87 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.

A spokesperson for Tether has attributed the ongoing growth of USDT to two key factors. The first is the growing interest in Bitcoin from institutional investors, driven by the excitement around the possibility of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) being approved. The second factor is the increasing demand for USDT in emerging markets, where it has become the de-facto digital dollar.

“There are many countries suffering from the devaluation of their national currencies compared to the dollar, hence all the communities living in those countries are seeking protection… USDT is the most trusted asset for them,” said the Tether representative.

Tether highlighted that USDT accounts for 80% of all crypto transactions in Brazil, citing public information from the Brazilian government. The spokesperson also noted that this pattern is similar in many other countries.

While Tether has experienced this surge in growth, other major stablecoins like Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) have struggled to gain momentum in 2023. USDC’s market capitalization peaked at $55 billion in June 2022 but has gradually declined since then. In 2023 alone, USDC has lost $20 billion in market value, representing a decline of about 45%. At the time of writing, USDC’s market cap stands at $24 billion, according to CoinGecko.

As Tether continues to break records and solidify its position as the largest stablecoin by market value, it remains to be seen how other stablecoins will adapt and compete in the evolving cryptocurrency landscape.

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