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The circulating supply of Tether (USDT) has surpassed $5.3 bln. According to Bitfinex and Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino, it added almost 165 mln tokens in just 24 hours.
Mind blowing #tether +160M in 24h ??? pic.twitter.com/ieOOpt9Vdh
— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) March 17, 2020
The real safe haven
With Bitcoin (BTC) and other major cryptocurrencies erasing nearly 50 percent of their prices, Tether proved to the only safe-haven asset during the Thursday massacre. Investors were converting risky assets into their crypto cash equivalents.
The market caps of some other fiat-pegged stablecoins also swelled. USDC, Tether's closest rival, increased its circulating supply by 31 percent from March 10 through March 15.
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Breathing down XRP's neck
As reported by U.Today, Tether is now well-positioned to become the third-biggest cryptocurrency (only behind Bitcoin and Ethereum) if its circulating supply continues to increase at the same rapid pace.
During the recent market sell-off, the price of XRP crashed to $0.11, which shrunk its market cap to just $4.8 bln. The token is currently trading at $0.14.