Tether credits USDT growth surge to ETF excitement, emerging markets

Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market value, has been breaking new records over the course of 2023, with its market capitalization adding at least $20 billion so far this year.

According to data from the blockchain data provider Whale Alert, Tether has minted 22.75 billion USDT so far this year, with at least 4 billion USDT being issued over the past four weeks.

After starting the year with a market cap of roughly $66 billion, Tether USDT has been steadily gaining momentum, with its market value surpassing $80 billion in April 2023. On Nov. 14, USDT market cap briefly hit $87 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.

ETF excitement and emerging markets driving USDT growth

According to a spokesperson for Tether, the ongoing USDT growth should be attributed to two key reasons, including the ongoing market excitement around the possible approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

"There is a growing interest in Bitcoin from institutional investors, driven by the excitement around the possibility of a Bitcoin ETF," a Tether representative said.

Tether's record-breaking growth has also been fuelled by growing demand in emerging markets, according to the company’s spokesperson. The USDT stablecoin has been "increasingly establishing itself as the de-facto digital dollar" for all emerging markets and developing countries, the representative said, adding:

"There are in fact 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."

Citing public information from the Brazilian government, Tether said that Tether USDT accounts for 80% of all crypto transactions in Brazil. "This pattern is similar to tens of other countries," the representative noted.

USDC fails to gain momentum

While Tether has been seeing this surge, some major stablecoins like Circle’s USDC (USDC) have failed to gain much momentum in 2023. After peaking at $55 billion in June 2022, USDC market capitalization has gradually dropped and continued to decline in 2023. Since January 2023, USDC has lost $20 billion in market value, or about 45%. At the time of writing, USDC's market cap stands at $24 billion, according to CoinGecko.