Tether’s USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin, has reached a market capitalization of over $160 billion for the first time. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino described the milestone as a “new mind-blowing” achievement in a post on X, emphasizing USDT’s growing role as a digital dollar for billions of people in emerging and developing markets. The stablecoin had surpassed $150 billion in May.

According to Ardoino, USDT is now used by over 400 million people globally, with 35 million new wallets added each quarter, particularly in regions where it functions as a reliable substitute for the U.S. dollar.

Blockchain data from DefiLlama shows that the majority of USDT is hosted on Tron, which holds around $81 billion, followed by Ethereum with $65 billion. Other networks such as BNB Chain, Solana, and Polygon hold significantly smaller shares—$6.8 billion, $2.3 billion, and $1.1 billion respectively.

Tether reports that 81.5% of USDT’s reserves are held in cash and cash equivalents, primarily short-term U.S. Treasurys. Bitcoin accounts for 5.1% of the backing. As of Q2 2025, Tether holds over $127 billion in U.S. Treasurys, placing it among the world’s largest holders, alongside countries such as South Korea and Germany. The company reported over $1 billion in operating profit in Q1.

Tether has continued to mint new tokens, including $1 billion on Wednesday and more than $4 billion over the past week. The company also announced that it will cease redemptions of USDT on five legacy blockchains—Omni Layer, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, EOS (now Vaulta), and Algorand—starting September 1. This decision reflects a shift in focus toward networks with greater scalability, active development, and stronger community participation, according to Ardoino.

The stablecoin sector continues to expand, supported by increasing regulatory clarity. Fiat-pegged digital assets are increasingly being adopted as the internet’s preferred settlement layer, with 2024 transaction volumes surpassing those of Visa and Mastercard combined.

This growth coincides with U.S. regulatory efforts to establish a legal framework for stablecoins. The GENIUS Act, which has received bipartisan support and passed the Senate in June, aims to regulate the sector.

However, progress has stalled in the House of Representatives after a key procedural vote was blocked. A standalone vote on the measure is expected Thursday.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-usdt-market-cap-hits-160b-emerging-markets-growth

https://x.com/paoloardoino/status/1945454937145495862

https://x.com/whale_alert/status/1945480469786591633

https://tether.to/en/transparency/?tab=reports