All you need to know about Tether, world’s third-biggest cryptocurrency
Tether (USDT) became the first cryptocurrency to receive the stablecoin status.
What is a stablecoin?
Stablecoins differ from other cryptocurrencies by a fixed cost tied to the value of fiat currencies corresponding to each stablecoin. Thus, stablecoins are the so-called stable tokens with a certain price, the market value of which is tied to a real asset.
Unlike conventional cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are backed by fiat currencies that can be traded on exchanges. In addition, stablecoins are considered a reliable store of value over an unstable economic situation.
Stablecoins provide the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of tokenized currencies, including security, privacy, low fees, and transparency, while helping to alleviate the problem of volatility. New competing stablecoins could take even more share of the stablecoin market.
What is Tether?
The name Tether itself was first assigned to the USDT stablecoin by the issuer holding the same name, Tether Limited. Over time, the same company issued several more assets to link them to other fiat currencies including Japanese yen (JPYT), euro (EURT), and Offshore Chinese Yuan (CNHT).
Therefore, in the cryptocurrency community, the word Tether in most cases is understood to be USDT. It should be borne in mind that this asset is not similar to the dollar. Its main purpose is to facilitate the trading of digital currencies, as well as the transfer of funds between users.
The story behind a successful project
In 2012, IT engineer J.R. Willet has found a way to create new assets based on Bitcoin. His technology was tested for a year and in July 2013 the Mastercoin cryptocurrency was released. Later, an organization under the same name was created to promote this protocol. It was later renamed as the Omni Foundation.
In 2014, the project leaders Brock Pierce and Craig Sellar joined forces with Reeve Collins. Together they launched the Realcoin startup. Over the same year, the Realcoin cryptocurrency entered the market. It was developed on the basis of the Bitcoin blockchain using the Omni Layer protocol.
The combination of several important characteristics made this asset both attractive and competitive:
- exchange rate stability;
- full transparency;
- high level of reliability;
- security.
Even before the end of 2014, the Realcoin was rebranded. As a result, the cryptocurrency received a new name — Tether (USDT). In the beginning of 2015, it was included in the listing of several exchanges and began to trade in pairs with different digital currencies.
Previously, the creators of Tether claimed that each unit of this asset is backed by one US dollar. Yet after the litigation in 2018, the position of management changed. Today, the “USDT collateral” should be understood not only as a cash dollar, but also as loans issued by partner companies.
Tether features
The main difference between this stablecoin and Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) is that it does not have transaction blocks and is backed by fiat currency reserves. Thus, Tether does not have its own Blockchain. For the implementation of tokens, ready-made foreign decentralized systems are used. You can buy USDT using money transfers to the accounts of Tether Limited.
The functioning of this stablecoin is supported by various open protocols. One of them is Omni Layer.
Among the principles of consensus of different currencies:
Fiat money uses the principle of Proof of Solvency — proof of solvency.
Cryptocurrency works on Proof-of-Work (proof of work), Proof-of-Stake (proof of share), or other algorithms.
As for Tether, the Proof of Reserves method is used — proof of reservation.
Such format of work involves two following processes:
On the Bitcoin blockchain, the amount of tokens is verified. For this, standard tools from the public domain are used.
The total value of tokens is confirmed by dollar reserves in bank accounts. To monitor the situation, audits are periodically carried out by independent auditors.
The amount of available funds is published by Tether Limited on its official website.
Advantages of Tether
The USDT cryptocurrency has a number of important advantages that deserve attention:
- Full transparency of calculations. The creators of the asset claim that they are constantly analyzing the correspondence between the money in the company’s vault and the overall balance of client accounts. Information on both indicators is publicly available and is regularly updated.
- High speed of transactions. Sending and receiving coins takes a minimum amount of time. This payment format is much faster and more convenient than transfers in dollars. Especially if the participants in the transaction are located in different countries.
- Low volatility. An advantage that is important for those who are looking for a capital preservation tool. The token rate does not fluctuate as much as the BTC price, there are practically no fluctuations.
- Low commission. Executing transactions between two Tether accounts is quite cheap.
- The use of different blockchains. USDT is transferred to any wallets that support this token. Using this method of transferring funds is more convenient than transferring even fiat currency (in particular, the dollar).
- High level of stability in the market. Tether is backed by the most demanded fiat currency in the world.
- Good protection against attacks by scammers and hackers. The coin has received all the benefits of the highest protection from blockchain technologies.
- Popularity. Tether is used by many traders. And on the Internet you can find many crypto platforms that accept it as a trading asset or payment unit.
For those who trade on the crypto market, fixing profits in Tether is a profitable and convenient solution. When a trader withdraws a profit in cryptocurrency, he risks losing part of his income due to a depreciation. Yet, if you exchange the coins received after the closing of the transaction for USDT, then there will be no losses, since the rate of this token has minimal fluctuations.
USDT supported by the Quppy Wallet application
Since the beginning of May, the Quppy Wallet application provides the whole range of its crypto and fiat services with USDT. This means that all Quppy Wallet users can now buy, sell and exchange Tether using the Quppy multicurrency IBAN account in euros, dollars and British pounds directly.
The Quppy Team offers a special cashback cashback on exchange volume until May, 31, 2022. For every 500 EUR in crypto-fiat and fiat-crypto exchange operations performed, you’ll get 15 EUR. Valid for the exchange of the first 5 000 EUR. For more information, kindly check the Quppy official website www.quppy.com .
