Tether, the organization behind the USDT stablecoin, has seen its market dominance increase from 50% to an impressive 71% in 2023, according to data from Glassnode. This growth has attracted negative attention, with a United Nations report linking Tether to criminal activities in Southeast Asia, including money laundering and fraud.
Despite this, Tether’s market value rose by $1 billion on January 12, pushing USDT’s valuation to $95 billion. In contrast, Circle, the issuer of USDC and Tether’s closest competitor, has only $27 billion tokens in circulation and started 2023 with a total of $48 billion USDC, significantly trailing Tether’s market position.
Tether’s financial success extends beyond stablecoins, with a Bitcoin investment portfolio worth approximately $3 billion as of January 4, 2024, proving to be a significant profit source.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CTO who recently took over as CEO, has been actively strengthening ties with U.S. law enforcement. This collaboration has led to the freezing of wallets connected to the OFAC sanctions list and the seizure of over $435 million in illegal funds.
Tether’s widespread use has been implicated in increasing cyber fraud, money laundering, and underground banking in Asia. However, Tether has shown a willingness to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement and regulatory authorities, proactively banning over 1,260 addresses linked to illegal activities, with the banned wallets holding over $875 million in USDT, according to Dune Analytics data.