Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino shared on social media that this issuance is “authorized but not yet issued,” meaning the tokens are not currently in circulation.
Tether, a major stablecoin issuer, printed an additional 1 billion dollars’ worth of USDT stablecoins on the Ethereum blockchain. This move was made to “refresh inventory” in preparation for an anticipated increase in demand.
This issuance occurred on December 25th and was first reported on social media by Whale Alert. It was shortly confirmed by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, who wrote on X:
“PSA: 1 Billion USDt inventory replenish on Ethereum Network. Note this is an authorized but not issued transaction, meaning that this amount will be used as inventory for next period issuance requests and chain swaps.”
Inventory Refresh
Inventory refresh means restocking supplies to meet customer demand. In the context of Tether, it refers to the creation of new USDT tokens held in the Tether treasury. These tokens are considered “authorized but not yet issued,” meaning they are not yet in circulation or contributing to the current total market value of USDT.
According to data from Tether’s transparency page, as of December 26th, there are USDTs worth 925 million dollars of this kind on Ethereum. The stablecoin issuer experienced significant growth over the past year; its market value increased by approximately 38%, rising from 66 billion dollars to 91 billion dollars.
Reasons for this impressive growth include excitement and anticipation regarding the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Additionally, Tether’s increased involvement in Bitcoin-related activities contributes to this growth. These activities include investing in the primary cryptocurrency Bitcoin and starting Bitcoin mining operations.
Despite concerns about transparency and reserves, USDT continues to be the preferred stablecoin for most people trading cryptocurrencies worldwide.
Concers About Transparency
Despite the statement from Tether’s CEO, this action has raised doubts among some industry observers and participants.
The transparency and decision-making processes behind these large-scale printing operations have raised many questions. Commentators on social media platforms and some industry observers discuss the potential impact of this move on the Bitcoin price.
As of now, Tether has not provided additional comments about this recent issuance. This development continues to be a hot topic of discussion within the cryptocurrency community.
