The Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency stablecoin has reached a historical record in terms of market capitalization, reaching the $100 billion mark. This success reflects a 9% increase since the beginning of this year and the widening gap between Tether and its main competitor in size, USD Coin (USDC).

According to CoinGecko, on March 4, Tether (USDT) temporarily reached the $100 billion mark in terms of market capitalization, which fluctuates depending on the current price and turnover in the market.

At the time of valuation, its market capitalization exceeds the market capitalization of its competitor USD Coin (USDC), issued by Circle, by more than $ 71 billion. However, it should be noted that other data sources, such as CoinMarketCap, have not yet confirmed this record figure for Tether.

Tether's market capitalization is comparable to large corporations such as British oil and gas giant BP and e-commerce giant Shopify.

Tether, according to the description on its website, is a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar, available on 14 different blockchains and protocols. It ranks third in terms of market capitalization after Ethereum (ETH) and has become a key asset for crypto traders who need exchange rate stability related to the US dollar.

Recent weeks have also been characterized by the recovery of the cryptocurrency market, which exceeded the total market capitalization of $ 2 trillion, and the price of bitcoin (BTC) increased by 50%, reaching a two-year high.

Tether claims that each of its USDT tokens is backed by proven reserves in a 1:1 ratio, mainly consisting of U.S. Treasury bills (T-Bills). However, the quality of assets supporting USDT is questionable, and Tether has taken steps to reduce some risky assets.

Despite statements about the termination of lending funds from its reserves by the end of 2023, Tether continues to have loans for significant amounts, but promises to reduce them to zero by 2024.

More than half of all issued USDT is now on the Tron (TRX) blockchain, which, according to a UN report, has become a platform for cyber fraud and money laundering in Southeast Asia. Tether responded to this report by claiming that it was not mentioned in the context of law enforcement cooperation and token tracking.