Tether Smashes Records: 500 Million Users Now Hold $182 Billion USDT in Historic Crypto Adoption

Tether's unstoppable rise redefines global finance as the stablecoin giant hits unprecedented adoption milestones.

The Mass Adoption Tsunami

Half a billion users worldwide now trust Tether's digital dollar—proving crypto's mainstream moment isn't coming, it's already here. With $182 billion circulating through global markets, USDT has become the undeniable backbone of cryptocurrency trading and cross-border payments.

Banking's Silent Disruption

While traditional banks debate stablecoin regulations, Tether quietly builds the financial infrastructure of tomorrow. The sheer scale of adoption demonstrates what happens when people vote with their wallets—choosing borderless, accessible digital dollars over legacy banking systems.

Wall Street analysts watch in disbelief as Tether's growth outpaces entire banking sectors—proving once again that in finance, sometimes the biggest revolutions come from outside the marble halls. Because nothing says 'financial innovation' like watching traditional bankers scramble to understand technology that's already serving 500 million people.

Tether plans to launch another dollar-backed stablecoin

Bloomberg reported last month that Tether is planning to raise approximately $20 billion at a valuation of around $500 billion, representing about 3% of the company. The initiative would make the stablecoin issuer one of the most valuable private companies globally, alongside high-tech companies like OpenAI and SpaceX.

On-chain data revealed that USDT’s stablecoin supply is at around $182 billion. Circle’s USDC follows with about $75 billion of stablecoin in circulation.

“Programmable money is the ultimate social network. A peer-to-peer construct that transports both information and value.”

–Paolo Ardoino, Founder and CEO of Tether.

Cryptopolitan previously reported that Tether, based in El Salvador, plans to launch a dollar-backed stablecoin, USAT, designed for the U.S. market. Bo Hines, CEO of Tether’s newly-established U.S. arm, mentioned at a conference in Seoul that the company doesn’t plan to raise money for the initiative. Instead, the transaction WOULD include new equity rather than existing investors selling their shares to raise capital. 

The El Salvador-based firm has faced scrutiny for not providing a full independent audit on its stablecoin balance sheet, but has released quarterly attestations signed by BDO Italia. Ardoino hinted that obtaining a review from the top audit firms, including Deloitte, EY, PwC, or KPMG, is a top priority for the company.

Tether also reported a record quarterly net profit of $4.9 billion in Q2, surpassing its previous net profit record of $4.52 billion set during the first quarter of 2024. The stablecoin issuer maintained that it’s among the largest holders of U.S. government debt globally, and its milestone also followed the U.S.’s decisive steps to establish stablecoin rules through the introduction of the GENIUS Act.

Stablecoin legislation expands USDT’s presence

Ardoino was present as U.S. President Donald TRUMP was signing the stablecoin legislation, which creates a federal regulatory framework for fiat-pegged tokens. The bill requires stablecoins to be fully backed by U.S. dollars or similarly liquid assets, and it also mandates annual audits for issuers with a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion.

The new stablecoin legislation has led more traditional banks to start planning the launch of their own dollar-backed digital assets. Financial institutions co-owned by JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are among the top traditional banks threatening Tether’s dominance in the stablecoin market.

Ardonio told Bloomberg that those competitors might surpass Tether in the short term in the U.S., but he believes that the USDT issuer has better technology. He argued that Tether has a much better understanding of the stablecoin market than any other company. Tether’s CEO also maintained that the firm does not plan to go public like its competitor, Circle.

Tether has had a different trajectory in Europe after the implementation of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. The regulation instructed exchanges across the region to stop offering stablecoins that are not compliant with the new rules by April 2025. The rules affected Tether’s USDT since it doesn’t meet MiCA’s regulatory requirements.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) allowed stablecoin issuers to use their digital assets for a limited period until March 2025. The initiative led to major exchanges removing USDT pairs, causing its market share to drop from 70% in November 2024 to nearly 60% by October 2025.

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