Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, announced a major cross-chain swap on November 6, 2024, transferring over $2 billion worth of USDT to the Ethereum network.
The move involves transferring 1 billion USDT from the Tron network, 600 million USDT from Avalanche’s C-Chain, 300 million from the NEAR protocol, 75 million from Celo, and 60 million from EOS. This swap was made on behalf of a large, unnamed exchange shifting USDT holdings from cold wallets to Ethereum.
Tether assured that this swap wouldn’t impact the total supply of USDT. This comes amid rumors, sparked by a Wall Street Journal report, suggesting that the U.S. government is investigating Tether over possible money laundering and sanctions violations. Following these reports, fears caused a brief drop in the crypto market.
To calm concerns, Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, clarified the company’s reserves during a speech at an event in Switzerland. He shared that Tether’s assets backing USDT include about $100 billion in U.S. Treasury bills, 82,000 Bitcoin (worth $6.2 billion), and 48 tons of gold, which recently reached a record price of $2,790 per ounce.
In October 2024, USDT’s market cap hit $120 billion, reflecting strong trading activity. Despite this, data from Chainalysis suggests that many people now use stablecoins like USDT as a store of value, especially in countries where local currencies are losing value.
This cross-chain transfer highlights Tether’s strong position in the crypto market while easing fears about its stability, even amid ongoing regulatory scrutiny.
Also Read: Buterin’s ‘The Splurge’ to Strengthen Ethereum’s Future
