Tether (USDT)is a stablecoin linked to the U.S. dollar, ensuring its value remains constant at $1, though it has experienced slight changes in price over time.
“Your trading performance will be more measurable if you trade around a fixed US dollar account balance,” said Crypto Face. “Sometimes you don’t want to be so exposed to crypto assets and just want to trade them.”
Tether has a bigger market cap than any other stablecoin. More importantly, it has a much higher daily trading volume. Tether routinely has the highest 24-hour trading volume of all cryptocurrencies.
“The advantage that stablecoins have over other types of cryptocurrency is that, under normal circumstances, they maintain a predictable price range. They're not volatile, so they're used differently than the cryptocurrencies that people buy as an investment.“
Tether stands out for providing much needed utility within the crypto ecosystem, though it has also faced significant controversy. For Tether Limited to mint 1,000 USDT, it needs to have $1,000 in its reserves, ensuring that if buyers want their money back, they can get it. Although that's how Tether is supposed to work in theory, the reality is a little more complicated; there have been issues with Tether Limited's trustworthiness regarding its reserves. The company originally claimed that every USDT was backed one-to-one by $1. That turned out to be false.
A lawyer for Tether Limited said in 2019 that 74% of USDT tokens were backed by cash or cash equivalents. But when Tether Limited provided a breakdown of its reserves in 2021, only 2.9% of USDT tokens were backed by cash. The rest of its reserves consisted of secured loans, corporate bonds, and commercial paper.
“If you’re considering tethering your cryptos, you’ve got to keep informed about how these stablecoins are doing,” said Crypto Face. “Never have all your capital in one coin. You never know what could happen.”