As the CTO of Tether, please tell us about Tether
Tether is the preeminent stablecoin with the biggest market capitalization, surpassing that of all rival offerings combined. Created in October 2014, Tether has grown to become the most traded cryptocurrency. Tether is disrupting the legacy financial system by offering a more modern approach to money. By introducing fiat currency-digital cash to the bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Omni, Tron, Algorand, and Solana blockchains, Tether makes a significant contribution to a more connected ecosystem. Tether combines digital currency benefits, such as instant global transactions, with traditional currency benefits, such as price stability. With a commitment to transparency and compliance, Tether is a fast and low-cost way to transact with money.
Is Tether truly a stablecoin?
Tether is the pioneer of stablecoin technology. Tether is the first to introduce the concept of stablecoins in 2014 with a very simple idea: which is to use the blockchain with the same technology that powers Bitcoin to move currencies in a transparent, efficient, and decentralised way. Tether is the pioneer of stablecoin technology. Tether is the first to introduce the concept of stablecoins in 2014 with a very simple idea: which is to use the blockchain with the same technology that powers Bitcoin to move currencies in a transparent, efficient, and decentralised way.
Tether’s stability is evident being the first among its peers to bring transparency into the stablecoin market with the release of its reserve compositions and regular attestations for the consumption of its customers and the broader public audience. The success of Tether comes also through word of mouth and a dedicated community that recognizes its innovation and utility. Tether is used to move quickly and efficiently in and out of positions, which is why Tether’s utility has become increasingly more popular as the cryptocurrency industry continues to grow.
Tether holds a strong, conservative, and liquid portfolio with an emphasis on safeguarding those reserves. Most importantly, it has never refused redemption to a customer—not once. This stress-testing of Tether is not hypothetical. In March 2020, bitcoin dropped by half in a couple of days. Just two months ago we had one of the worst days in bitcoin’s history, with prices falling by 30% in a few days in May. During those events, the Tether peg remained solid, all redemptions were honoured, and even the price on exchanges remained stable. Tether has been stress-tested multiple times and passed with flying colours.
In May of 2022, Tether successfully processed $7bln of USD₮ redemptions for verified individuals. Every redemption request submitted was redeemed in full. In fact, the size of USD₮ redemptions over the previous months, rivals the size of the largest banking withdrawals in history. This record is held by requests for $16.7 billion in withdrawals over 10 days from Washington Mutual. This represented redemption requests for 11% of the bank’s assets, less than the amount Tether processed with ease. Unlike Washington Mutual, which was shut down and seized by regulators, USD₮ has maintained a stable value and highly liquid markets. This year alone, Tether was also able to fulfill 12% of its outstanding liabilities within a week. No bank in the world could process the withdrawal of 12% of its outstanding liabilities within a week.
Tether leads the industry in both transparency and security, never wavering and providing a safe haven for all.
Why do you think USDt, being a stablecoin, is as popular as it is, and has become one of the most important tokens?
Tether USDT has grown massively into an important alternative form of payment.
Stablecoins have become a viable medium of exchange for e-commerce and have proven to be a resource for businesses looking for a more economical and more efficient way for payments to be made among buyers and sellers.
Stablecoins have also found significant use cases for migrant workers making remittances across international frontiers. Currently, these workers have to send remittances through businesses like Western Union to get money back to their families and loved ones. This is a slow and costly process, where families end up losing a big chunk of their funds to high fees. Stablecoins eliminate the broker from this equation, allowing these families to retain more of their wealth.
How has Tether gained an edge and preference over the traditional financial system?
Tether was the first to navigate the complex banking systems as a truly unique financial innovation that the world has never seen before and learned a valuable lesson. Today, I am glad to say Tether has disrupted the traditional financial system being the pioneer of financial freedom and innovation, and has since inception grown to become the most traded and trusted cryptocurrency in the world. Aside from the fact that Tether has gained the trust of its customers because of its transparency in the stablecoin market with the release of its reserve compositions and regular attestations for the consumption of its customers and the broader public audience, Tether has made the traditional financial system outdated.
In Africa for example, lots of individuals and businesses face problems such as high fees from banks on domestic and international payments, long processing times, limited international reach, lack of fee transparency, payment security, and lack of automation. With the introduction of Tether stablecoins, all these major problems have been resolved to make businesses more profitable, drastically reducing credit card frauds, streamlining and reducing errors in transactions, and making borderless transactions easier, inexpensive, faster, and much more.
Who are Tether’s customers?
Tether is widely used by tens of thousands of traders daily across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe simply because it makes trading and arbitrage, among other things, more efficient.
Tether tokens are used across a wide range of ages and occupations and are the product of the minds of bitcoiners that have inclusivity and democratisation of access to finance at their core. Therefore, Tether is a product meant to offer a safe harbour for the unbanked. Tether is also extremely popular in emerging countries, where the population is experiencing devaluation of national currencies and cross-border transaction constraints. Due to its unique qualities, stablecoins, and specifically, Tether tokens are capable of solving real problems around the world.
USDt provides users with a way to escape some inflating currencies, access financial services, preserve wealth, and efficiently transfer value. Our customers continue to place their trust and confidence in Tether, as exhibited through our growth. In doing so, they are telling us and the market that our disclosures are sufficient to make well-informed decisions.
What unique advantages does Tether have that differentiate it from others?
Out of all the stablecoins, Tether has the highest trading volume and liquidity. It was also the first stablecoin, has withstood multiple black swan events in crypto, and has never refused a redemption in its history, making it the largest and most trusted stablecoin in the world. Tether can easily be transferred between exchanges or people, instead of transferring money through banks. It is easy to buy and sell and is available at the place you buy your cryptocurrencies (exchanges).
Tether is often used to hold money on exchanges when traders feel the market is extremely volatile. Tether also supports transfers on a larger and more diverse list of blockchains including but not limited to Solana, Ethereum, and TRON.
What are Tether customers using Tether for?
Tether makes the crypto economy much more efficient by putting dollars on a blockchain and is being used to disrupt everything from the digital payment space to e-commerce purchases and even facilitate transactions within decentralised finance ecosystems. Currently, Tether is the most used stablecoin in the ecosystem among crypto traders and completes a minimum of 60 billion, and up to 120 billion, transactions per day.
It is also being used to facilitate cross-border trade and remittances to emerging markets. Tether provides a stable and efficient way of transmitting dollars. It is widely used by tens of thousands of traders daily across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, simply because it makes trading and arbitrage, among other things, more efficient.
The main purpose of Tether is to make trading cryptocurrencies more accessible and cheaper. As of 2021, more than 75% of Bitcoin trading is done in Tether. Although some people invest in Tether, it is mostly used for liquidity and to hedge against volatility when trading other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
How can users invest in Tether?
Tether tokens are not an investment; they are utility tokens for engaging in Internet commerce. Tether tokens can be obtained through a variety of different channels, including many of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges. Tether tokens can be securely stored, sent, and received across the blockchain and are redeemable for the underlying asset, subject to the terms of service and fee schedule.
Meanwhile, Tether offers Tether Gold (XAUT), a product for those wanting a stablecoin that is based on a commodity that is scarce and expensive to mine. As such, Tether Gold allows holders to self-custody their gold-backed crypto. It is the leading asset that provides the security of a digital asset and the safety of being pegged to physical Gold. XAU₮, which is available as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and as a TRC-20 token on the Tron blockchain, can be transferred to any on-chain address from the purchasers’ Tether wallet. Furthermore, Tether Gold (XAU₮) is the only product among the competition that offers zero custody fees and has direct control over the physical gold storage, safely held in a Switzerland vault, adopting best-in-class security and anti-threat measures. Exchanges and platforms where you can invest in and store Tether Gold (XAUt) tokens are : Bitfinex, Ledger, BTSE, BigOne, Gate.io, OKX, BitcoinVN, and Huobi.
Can you explain the life cycle of Tether, most especially in Africa?
There is no mystery behind why or how Tethers are created. It’s quite simple, actually. Tethers are created based on market supply and demand. Authorised Tethers are created on a blockchain and represent inventory that is on a shelf awaiting purchase. People can exchange fiat for Tethers using exchanges that support this capability.
For many who have entered into crypto recently (or those new to covering the industry), the history of Tether has become somewhat of an affixed fascination. Tether is a company built on firsts, that is, it was the first to introduce the concept of stablecoins in 2014, with a very simple idea: use the blockchain—the same technology that powers Bitcoin—to move currencies in a transparent, efficient, and decentralised way. It was the first to navigate the complex banking systems as a truly unique financial innovation that the world has never seen before and learned a valuable lesson.
Tether was created to aid faster and cheaper borderless transactions with increased payment security, price stability, accessibility, as well as giving its customers and business more control over their funds, especially in emerging markets like Africa. These initiatives, led by Tether’s executive leadership, is demonstrative of its commitment to transparency and being stewards of promoting the understanding and utility of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
When it comes to investments, institutions need to follow a higher set of standards. These standards will lead them to adopt crypto into portfolios only as they get comfortable understanding the risks and as regulations, market integrity, and transparency continue to evolve. Tether is ready and willing to interact with regulators across global markets.
