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Tether’s stablecoin, USDT, has surpassed $1 billion in circulating supply on The Open Network (TON), according to data from Token Terminal, a crypto researcher.&nbsp;
The uptake underscores USDT’s dominance among United States Dollar-backed stablecoins and TON chain’s rising popularity despite setbacks to Telegram, the social media platform that created TON chain in 2018. Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, was <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/toncoin-market-cap-ton-ecosystem-whale-concentration-pavel-durov" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/toncoin-market-cap-ton-ecosystem-whale-concentration-pavel-durov">arrested in August</a>.
Tether’s USDT is the stablecoin of choice on many Telegram Mini Apps, which are applications that operate on Telegram’s messaging platform and settle on TON chain.&nbsp;
On Sept. 13, TON Foundation — which took over control of TON chain from Telegram in 2022 — announced a collaboration with Tada, a ride-hailing application in Singapore that will allow users to book rides and pay with crypto. Singapore’s Token2049 conference kicked off on Sept. 16.&nbsp;
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 <img alt="USDT on TON chain surpasses $1 billion: Token Terminal" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/01920153-7118-7298-8cca-d3553948a1d6">
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 USDT on TON chain has surpassed $1 billion. Source: Token Terminal
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Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ton-foundation-tada-partnership-crypto-payments-telegram" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ton-foundation-tada-partnership-crypto-payments-telegram">Ride-hailing app Tada integrates TON crypto payments for Singapore rides</a>
Of the $172 billion in US Dollar-backed stablecoins currently in circulation, approximately $118 billion comprise USDT, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://coinmarketcap.com/view/stablecoin/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">according</a> to CoinMarketCap. Circle Internet Financial’s USD Coin (USDC), Tether’s closest rival, has a market capitalization of roughly $35 billion.
Stablecoin adoption has been gaining steam, with total active wallets more than doubling from 2022 to more than 20 million, according to a September <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://castleisland.vc/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/stablecoins_the_emerging_market_story_091224.pdf" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">report</a> by investment managers Castle Island Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital.&nbsp;
Stablecoins settled transactions worth approximately $2.5 trillion in the first half of 2024, the report said.&nbsp;
<figure>
 <img alt="USDT on TON chain surpasses $1 billion: Token Terminal" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/01920154-2577-7ea7-a613-afacf71f2ae0">
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 Stablecoin active wallets roughly doubled since 2022. Source: Castle Island Ventures, Brevan Howard Digital
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In 2023, Tether clocked some $6.2 billion in profits, surpassing the $5.5 billion earned by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. Like Circle, Tether swaps USDT for dollars and then invests the dollars in low-risk, yield-bearing assets, profiting from the interest.
Tether has been investing those profits in a diverse array of emerging technology companies. In April, Tether bought a $200 million stake in BlackRock Neurotech, becoming the largest shareholder in the brain implant company, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/crypto-company-tether-invests-200-mln-brain-chip-maker-blackrock-neurotech-2024-04-29/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">according</a> to Reuters.
The stablecoin issuer is also building a Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) reserve. In March, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-boosts-bitcoin-reserves" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Tether bought 8,888 BTC</a> worth approximately $618 million at the time of purchase. Its total reserves exceed 75,000 BTC.&nbsp;
Circle has been aggressively competing for market share. On Sept. 17, Circle announced it was <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/usdc-stablecoin-sui-cctp-launch" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">expanding USDC to Sui</a>, a layer-1 blockchain network built using the Move programming language.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/socialfi-gaming-revenue-sky-mavis-discord-metarun-review-web3-gamer/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Web3 Gamer: Axie Infinity creator wants to ditch Discord, SocialFi boosts gaming revenue</a><advertisement>
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USDT on TON chain surpasses $1 billion: Token Terminal

Cointelegraph

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