Tether, the organization responsible for the USDT stablecoin, experienced an impressive rise in market dominance from 50% to 71% in 2023, according to data released by Glassnode.
Critical Report on Tether!
According to a report published on Monday by the United Nations, Tether’s growth has managed to attract bad actors such as criminals, money launderers, and fraudsters in Southeast Asia. In the latest development of Tether’s rise, the company acquired an additional 1 billion dollars on the evening of January 12, raising USDT’s market value to 95 billion dollars. In contrast to Tether’s exponential growth, Circle, the closest competitor responsible for the USDC stablecoin, recently filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Despite this move, Circle only has 27 billion tokens in circulation and is starting 2023 with a total of 48 billion USDC, significantly less than Tether’s dominant market position. Additionally, Tether’s financial success extends beyond stablecoins. As of January 4, 2024, its Bitcoin investment portfolio, valued at approximately 3 billion dollars, proved to be a significant source of profit.
Key Figure at Tether Company
Paolo Ardoino, who has been the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for a long time, took over the CEO role from Jean-Louis van der Velde at the end of last year. Since taking on this new role, Paolo Ardoino has been actively strengthening ties with U.S. law enforcement. This move can be exemplified by collaborative efforts that led to the freezing of wallets connected to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list and the seizure of more than 435 million dollars in illegal funds.
Furthermore, different reports claim that Tether’s widespread use is clearly evident in the increase of cyber fraud, money laundering, and underground banking cases in Asia. While crime groups in Asia increasingly use USDT, Tether has shown a willingness to collaborate with U.S. law enforcement and regulatory authorities. According to data from Dune Analytics, Tether has taken proactive measures by banning more than 1,260 addresses linked to illegal activities, with the total amount of USDT in these banned wallets exceeding 875 million dollars.
