Stablecoin issuer Tether has confirmed to CryptoSlate its expansion of US dollar-backed USDT and gold-backed XAUT stablecoins onto The Open Network (TON) blockchain, as per an announcement on April 19.
The objective of this move is to improve the use of stablecoins for international and peer-to-peer transactions among the 900 million users of the TON-related Telegram messaging platform.
As stated by the company:
“This integration is set to increase activity and liquidity on TON, making it easier for developers and users to access capital for various purposes, while also providing advantages for users to store and transfer USDt using their TON wallet.”
Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, has endorsed this initiative, emphasizing its alignment with the goal of “empowering open financial infrastructure throughout the blockchain industry.”
TON stands out as one of the swiftly expanding decentralized layer-1 blockchains, closely linked with the crypto-welcoming messaging app Telegram. The network’s native token, Toncoin, has exhibited substantial growth, soaring around 135% in the past year to establish itself among the top 10 digital assets by market capitalization.
Tether’s Minting Activity Surpasses $11 billion since March
Tether’s integration with TON comes on the heels of a remarkable surge in USDT stablecoin minting, reflecting the current market trends.
On April 16, Blockchain analyst Lookonchain disclosed that Tether had generated a significant $10 billion USDT since March 1.
Furthermore, recent data from Whale Alert reveals an additional \(1 billion USDT minted from Tether’s Treasury today, bringing the total minted since March 1 to \)11 billion.
Ardoino clarified that the primary aim was to reinforce reserves in anticipation of heightened demand for the stablecoin. He noted that while most minted tokens are authorized, they are not immediately issued but are held in Tether’s Treasury until demand necessitates their release.
Tether holds the position of the largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market and is presently supported on 15 blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Tron, Solana, among others. According to the company’s transparency data, the stablecoin has a circulating supply of approximately \(109.5 billion and a total supply of around \)114 billion.