Tether, the world's leading stablecoin issuer, has officially surpassed 500 million users worldwide.
CEO Paolo Ardoino has described this as the "biggest financial inclusion achievement" in history.
Retaining first-mover advantage
The firm, which was founded back in 2014 by former child actor Brock Pierce and two other entrepreneurs, pioneered the stablecoin model, becoming a true trailblazer.
Despite various controversies, the stablecoin firm has managed to remain on top, and USDT is still the dominant stablecoin with a market cap of $182 billion.
According to the Tether boss, 37% of USDT users are actually holders. "They are using USDT as their savings account because, you know, they don't have local banks," Ardoino said.
He has noted that USDT protects holders from developing countries against currency debasement, given that it does not depreciate as their national currency. In such a way, people can become richer by simply parking their money in a safer fiat currency.
Expanding the greenback's influence
Ardoino has been vocal about USDT's role in expanding the role of the US dollar.
In a February post, the Tether boss stated that the most widely used stablecoin is "the most successful" tool for maintaining the hegemony of the greenback.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team