Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market value, has been breaking new records throughout 2023, with its market capitalization adding at least $20 billion so far this year.
According to data from the blockchain data provider Whale Alert, Tether has minted 22.75 billion USDT so far this year, with at least 4 billion USDT being issued in the past four weeks.
After starting the year with a market cap of roughly $66 billion, Tether USDT has been steadily gaining momentum, with its market value surpassing $80 billion in April 2023. On Nov. 14, the USDT market cap briefly hit $87 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.
According to a spokesperson for Tether, the ongoing USDT growth should be attributed to two key reasons, one being the continued market excitement around the possible approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
“There is a growing interest in Bitcoin from institutional investors, driven by the excitement around the possibility of a Bitcoin ETF,” a Tether representative said.
Tether’s record-breaking growth has also been fuelled by growing demand in emerging markets, according to the company’s spokesperson. The USDT stablecoin has been “increasingly establishing itself as the de-facto digital dollar” for all emerging markets and developing countries, the representative said, adding:
“There are, in fact, many countries suffering from the devaluation of their national currencies compared to the dollar, hence all the communities living in those countries are seeking protection […] USDT is the most trusted asset for them.”
Citing public information from the Brazilian government, Tether said that USDT accounts for 80% of all crypto transactions in Brazil. “This pattern is similar to tens of other countries,” the representative stated.
While Tether has been seeing this surge, some major stablecoins like Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) have failed to gain much momentum in 2023. After peaking at $55 billion in June 2022, USDC market capitalization has gradually dropped and continued to decline in 2023. Since January 2023, USDC has lost $20 billion in market value, or about 45%. At the time of writing, USDC’s market cap stands at $24 billion, according to CoinGecko.
Rishi Sunak is “absolutely right” to hold off calling an election because it gives voters time to see “the plan is working”, the foreign secretary has said.
Asked what advice he’d give Mr Sunak to close the 20-point gap in the polls with Labour, the former Tory leader said he’d tell him to “stick to the plan” – pointing to inflation coming down and the economy exiting recession.
He added: “The longer actually we have between now and the election, the more you’re going to see the plan is working.”
The next election must be held by 28 January 2025.
Mr Sunak has previously said he intends to call it in the second half of this year, but that has not stopped speculation he could go earlier, possibly holding it in the summer.
Lord Cameron stressed he is “not in charge of election timing”.
But, he added, Mr Sunak “said the second half of the year and I think that’s absolutely right, because you can see the economic plan is working”.
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He claimed Labour is “desperate for the election now because the longer we have between now and the election, the more you’re going to see the plan is working”.
He also insisted Mr Sunak is “definitely” the right person to be leading the party – as he ruled out a possible return to Downing Street to help the Conservatives reverse their electoral fortunes.
Asked about the prospect of going for the top job again, the former prime minister said: “No, no. I am now foreign secretary. I sit in the House of Lords. I’m not in the House of Commons. I’m part of Rishi’s team.
“That is what I’m interested in doing. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
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Election ‘not a foregone conclusion’
If Labour wins the next election, it would end 14 years of Conservative governments under five prime ministers, including Lord Cameron – who stepped down after the UK voted to leave the European Union.