In an exciting turn of events, Tether (USDT), the world’s leading stablecoin, briefly hit a historic $100 billion market capitalization on Monday, highlighting its unrivalled supremacy in the stablecoin sector.
The dollar-pegged stablecoin’s growth coincides with a meteoric rally in Bitcoin and the general crypto market this year. The top cryptocurrency has been on a tear in recent weeks in the aftermath of spot Bitcoin ETFs launch on Jan. 11. The flagship cryptocurrency sprung back above the $65,000 region early Monday morning, coming just 6% shy of its all-time high price of $69,044 it set on November 10, 2021.
USDT’s Stability And Market Dominance
Tether’s market cap recently surpassed the coveted $100 billion mark momentarily thanks to a fresh billion-dollar minting, further fortifying its position as the leading stablecoin.
According to data from CoinGecko, Tether’s market cap has increased from roughly $91 billion on Jan. 1 to over $99.7 billion at press time, up circa 9% year-to-date. USDT is currently more than $71 billion ahead of its closest competitor, USD Coin (USDC), which trails far behind in the seventh place with a market cap of $28.9 billion.
USDT is the third-biggest crypto by market value behind Ethereum (ETH), and it plays an important role as a blockchain-based option for investors seeking a safe harbor from price volatility. What sets it apart from its rivals is its steadfast stability, holding a constant value of approximately $1.
One catalyst for USDT’s expansion is Tether’s strong financial performance. Tether reported nearly $3 billion in profits in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a large part of the profits coming from the rise of the company’s U.S. Treasuries, Bitcoin, and gold investments.
Tether’s growth can also be attributed to the integration with the TRON network. Currently, data from DefiLlama shows that more than $50.28 billion USDT is circulated on Tron, outpacing the $40.28 billion on the Ethereum network.
Tether’s remarkable achievement of hitting the $100 billion market cap has sparked discussions among industry pundits and investors, as an increase in USDT supply typically signifies bullish market sentiment and has been a harbinger of a significant Bitcoin price appreciation.
