The cryptocurrency market saw a huge portion of its gains wiped out by the Black Thursday crash in March. However, in all of the chaos that followed, stablecoins were the asset class that came out on top. More so, it was Tether , the oldest stablecoin in the world, who stood above everyone else, supporting the majority of crypto-trading in the world.
In fact, following the massive growth in stable coin issues, the USDT supply hit a new record following the crash. Moreover, as the economy of the world has suffered a blow due to Covid-19, the portfolios have started to spend Bitcoin to Tether , some considering it a safer bet.
Source: parts metric
It was a topic discussed by Dan Matuszewski, principal and co-founder of CMS Holdings, in a recent podcast. While shedding light on the use of Tether as a non-banking alternative for normal non-cryptographic businesses, he said:
“If there is business at Tether and, something like, the companies pay each other, I don't think it's zero. I think it is, something is there. I don't think that points at all to this question. "
According to him, there are potentially two types of Tether holders in this case. One whose national currency is in crisis and the other which may contain dollars, but they do not trust the entities in which they can potentially hold it. In scenarios like these, Matuszewski has argued that Tether is an "excellent option".
However, Tether is not removed from cryptocurrency exchanges just to be stored in wallets. It's not even cashed either. Rather, they are held on exchanges.
“There are several reasons why I think this is happening. One of the reasons why certain exchanges will also offer you a certain return. So if you're going to keep it somewhere, you don't want to keep those dollars in your bank account, but maybe you will keep it on an exchange where, you're going to earn a little bit on it. ”
Over the years, Tether has become a popular choice among Asian and European traders as a ramp to the cryptocurrency market, which is why many believe that Tether is today at the center of the functioning of the market.
However, despite its popularity, stablecoin has had its fair share of controversies, including allegations of centralization and market manipulation. In fact, according to the latest charts from the crypto-analysis platform IntoTheBlock, there are currently 9 whales holding 28.89% of Tether's total supply , while 106 large investors hold 27.11% of total coins in circulation.
