Stablecoin issuer Tether confirmed to CryptoSlate its expansion of US dollar-backed USDT and gold-backed XAUT stablecoins onto The Open Network (TON) blockchain, according to an April 19 statement.
The move aims to enhance the utilization of stablecoins for cross-border and peer-to-peer transactions among the 900 million users of the TON-related Telegram messaging application.
According to the firm:
“This integration is poised to boost activity and liquidity on TON, simplifying access to capital for developers and users across various use cases while offering benefits for users by allowing them to hold and move USDt with their TON wallet.”
Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, affirmed this initiative, adding that it aligns with its objective of “powering open financial infrastructure across the blockchain space.”
TON is one of the rapidly growing decentralized layer-1 blockchains, owing to its association with the crypto-friendly messaging platform Telegram. The network’s native token, Toncoin, has demonstrated robust growth, surging approximately 135% over the past year to secure a position among the top 10 digital assets by market capitalization.
Tether mints $11 billion since March
Tether’s integration with TON follows a significant surge in USDT stablecoin minting, keeping pace with current market conditions.
On April 16, Blockchain analyst Lookonchain reported that Tether had minted a substantial $10 billion USDT since March 1.
Moreover, recent data from Whale Alert indicates an additional $1 billion USDT minted from Tether’s Treasury today, bringing the total minted since March 1 to $11 billion.
Ardoino explained that the primary objective was to bolster reserves in anticipation of increased demand for the stablecoin. He added that while most minted tokens are authorized, they are not issued immediately. Instead, they remain in Tether’s Treasury until demand necessitates their circulation.
Tether is the largest stablecoin in the crypto market and is currently available across 15 blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and others. According to the firm’s transparency page, the stablecoin has a circulating supply of approximately $109.5 billion and a total supply of approximately $114 billion.