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On June 12, Tether released a new batch of its $1 billion Tether (USDT) stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain. The last billion dollar minting for the stablecoin issuer will take place within two months of its last minting on April 21st.
Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino revealed on Twitter that the latest USDT mint is part of what the firm calls “restocking” on the Ethereum network. The latest release, however, will not affect the total USDT market capitalization as the latest release is an “authorized but unreleased transaction.” According to Ardoino, the last minted amount will be used as inventory for the next period of requests for release and chain swaps.
PSA: 1B USDt inventory replenish on Ethereum Network. Note this is a authorized but not issued transaction, meaning that this amount will be used as inventory for next period issuance requests and chain swaps.https://t.co/Y1bqxZglgR
— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) June 12, 2023
A chain swap is a process that traders use to transfer digital assets from one blockchain to another. This procedure allows traders to access other supporting blockchains for the cryptocurrency they hold, allowing them to use their digital assets across multiple blockchains.
Ardoino explained that Tether periodically works with various cryptocurrency platforms to help them balance USDT liquidity across different blockchains. For example, if a cryptocurrency exchange has excess USDT liquidity on the Ethereum blockchain and a shortage on the Tron blockchain where it needs to process withdrawals, the exchange will on-chain replace its Ethereum-based USDT with the Tron blockchain.
Related: Tether CTO at USDC depeg: “Bitcoin maxi was right from the start” |PWB 2023
In 2023, Tether issued a total of over $16 billion in new US dollars, and its current market capitalization is over $83 billion. USDT’s dominance in the stablecoin market reached new highs in 2023 as other stablecoin issuers struggled due to the regulatory and banking crises in the US.
Circle-issued USD Coin (USDC), the second largest stablecoin by market cap, was on the verge of overtaking USDT as the largest stablecoin in 2022. delivery significantly in 2023. Circle CEO Jeremy Aller has accused US regulators of depressing the stablecoin’s market capitalization.
Tether did not respond to Cointelegraph’s requests for comment at press time.