Tether Mints $2B USDT: Fueling the Next Crypto Rally?
Tether has minted $2 billion worth of USDT, leading to fresh speculation about a potential market rally. Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, quickly clarified the two Ethereum-based transactions.
Tether’s $2B USDT Mint: Liquidity Preparation
Tether created the USDT in two separate transactions, each totaling $1,000,999,999 and occurring two minutes apart. Whale Alert, a blockchain tracking platform, reported the information on X.
The transactions, originating from the Tether Treasury, were recorded on the Ethereum network. This follows Tether’s previous mint of $3 billion USDT seven days earlier.
Following the tweet, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino clarified in an X post that the USDT was minted as inventory and is not yet in circulation.
According to Ardoino, the transactions were authorized but not issued, meaning the USDT will serve as inventory for future issuance.
The tokens may be deployed to exchanges or institutions based on demand or used for chain swaps between blockchains. This is standard practice for Tether, especially during periods of rising stablecoin demand.
Tether often pre-mints tokens to quickly meet future liquidity needs. While these mints are not immediately available in the markets, pre-minting USDT typically indicates meeting future expectations from exchanges or crypto whales. This pattern has been observed in previous market cycles.
USDT is a common trading collateral and entry liquidity. Exchanges may request USDT in anticipation of user inflows or a sharp rise in trading volumes.
Market Boom?
Although the newly minted tokens are currently unutilized, historical data suggests that inventory USDT usually moves within days. The mint occurs during an uptrend in the broader crypto market.
Bitcoin is trading above $110,000, and Ethereum is gaining momentum. With $2 billion now in the treasury, markets may be preparing for renewed upward momentum. The timing of this depends on how quickly the minted USDT is activated.
Earlier, Tether's CEO confirmed plans to launch a U.S.-specific stablecoin, following the signing of the Genius Act into law.