Tether, a leading stablecoin issuer, announced a significant cross-chain swap of over $2 billion USDT across several blockchain networks to Ethereum.
Swap Details
According to Tether, 1 billion USDT will be swapped from the Tron network, 600 million USDT from the Avalanche C-Chain, an additional 300 million USDT from the NEAR protocol, and 60 million USDT from the EOS network will be transferred to Ethereum. The company explained that this swap was carried out on behalf of a large unnamed exchange wishing to transfer its USDT holdings from cold wallets to the Ethereum blockchain.
Market Reaction
The announcement of the large cross-chain transfer of USDT comes amid unconfirmed reports from the Wall Street Journal about a U.S. government investigation into Tether for alleged money laundering and sanctions violations. As a result, crypto markets briefly dipped due to investor fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
Tether Reserves and Capitalization
At the PlanB event in Lugano, Switzerland, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino provided details on the company's reserve assets. In October 2024, Tether's USDT reached a market capitalization of $120 billion, seen by many traders as a proxy for increased digital asset market activity.
This extensive cross-chain USDT swap underscores Tether's significance in crypto markets and its rising market capitalization, despite mounting pressure and concerns over its operations.
