Tether (USDT), the crypto ecosystem’s dominant stablecoin, has added over $5.25 billion to its market capitalization since the start of March. This boom in stablecoin funding is a good omen for overall market liquidity as it generally provides a baseline that can help meet Bitcoin (BTC) and other altcoins' demands.
For proper reference, the combined spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) market, despite its massive growth thus far this month, has only managed to add less than $4 billion in netflow. That USDT liquidity is higher than the ETF's asset under management (AUM) growth means there is enough stablecoin to fuel both BTC and altcoins' accumulation on exchanges.
Based on the current market outlook, data from CoinMarketCap pegs the market capitalization of Tether at $104,056,161,009. This marks a move from around $98.65 billion at the start of the month, with a steady uptrend masked by the short stint consolidation phase recorded through the month.
Though this supply figure comes with many speculations of improper reserve backing, Tether has always refuted any related claims, with vocal backing from Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether’s custodian.
Tether's relevance on crypto market
Since its creation, Tether has played a key role in bolstering the crypto market’s trading integrity. Many billion dollar trades involving USDT have been recorded lately. Tether’s USDT is hosted on almost every crypto trading platform as it forms a unique pair with the majority of altcoins around.
The company behind the stablecoin Tether Holdings is gradually pivoting away from being just a USDT issuer; it is making a push to become a Bitcoin mining entity and developer with extensive investment in the sector. The connection to Bitcoin has sparked conversations around market manipulation, further FUD that the company has tried to vehemently fight off over the past few years.