What is Tether (USDT)? Is the Interest Rate Too Good To Be True?
What Is Tether?
Tether is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency that is backed by the U.S. dollar. This means there are actual dollars kept in reserves at financial institutions serving as collateral. Stablecoins, when fully backed by the dollar, have a 1:1 relationship with USD.
You can expect stablecoins to stay stable, as the name suggests, unlike their popular cryptocurrency counterparts, Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Understanding Stablecoins
The stablecoin sector aims to avoid volatility and allow cryptocurrency to be a store of value rather than a risky investment. Stablecoins also provide liquidity in a volatile cryptocurrency market where it would be hard to convert back and forth between cash and a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.
The most well-known stablecoins are the USD-backed cryptocurrencies like Tether, Gemini Dollar, and USD Coin. However, other stablecoins use other types of collateral. Some are backed using fiat currencies, like the euro or yen, and others are backed by commodities, such as gold and silver.
Good To Know
Despite the 1:1 ratio of the popular USD stablecoins, there are typically minor fluctuations in the price of stablecoins. Most of the time, you’ll find that stablecoin values can have a difference of 1 to 3 cents.
This is largely due to changes in liquidity and supply and demand, which are driven higher or lower by transactions, trading volume and market volatility.
It is important to keep in mind that some companies are less transparent than others about how much of their stablecoin is actually backed by fiat currency and commodities. Tether itself was embroiled in controversy over its false claims and lack of full backing.
History of Tether and Controversy
Tether began as Realcoin in 2014, and the first tokens were distributed in 2015 on the Bitcoin network. It was one of the earliest cryptocurrencies and one of the first successful stablecoins. Not only was it technologically revolutionary, but it also had a roster of reputable founders including Bitcoin Foundation director Brock Pierce.
However, as quickly as it rose to success, skepticism and controversy followed, which is unsurprising considering the amount of scrutiny the coin received as the first popular stablecoin. Tether has had to get past a few controversies to maintain its position at the top:
Key Events:
-
-
-
- Bitfinex: Tether saw early success by being listed on the Bitfinex exchange, but further digging by researchers uncovered that the two companies had the same management — both companies had the same CEO and CFO — and identical executive structures.
-
- Bitcoin Pump: It seemed that Tether was being artificially pumped into the cryptocurrency market to create liquidity and was a driving force behind Bitcoin’s bull run up to $20,000.
-
- The 2017 Hack: About $31 million of Tether was stolen in the 2017 hack, forcing Tether to create a hard fork.
-
- USD-Backing Controversy: An audit of its dollar reserves that was supposed to happen in 2017 never did. The audit was supposed to ensure its reserves were maintained, but Tether parted ways with the auditors instead.
- Hiding Losses: In 2019, New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the parent company of Tether of hiding an $850 million loss by dipping into the Tether currency reserves. As of 2021, Tether has settled with James, agreeing to pay $85 million and cease trading operations with New Yorkers. Despite this, Tether does not admit fault and claims it simply wants to move on from the matter.
-
-
Tether’s new backing policy now includes loans as well as USD. Despite this change and the previous controversies, new Tether tokens continue being minted as demand continues to increase.
Consider Before Investing in Tether
Tether can be bought on most major cryptocurrency exchanges, but should you invest, considering its history and outlook? Tether, despite having many issues in the past, continues to be a very stable cryptocurrency that is stronger for having gotten past its problems mostly unscathed.
Although competitors have popped up over the years, Tether is still the most popular stablecoin and widely used for trading, loans and earning interest. Tether could potentially be viewed as one of the riskier cryptocurrencies due mainly to its issues with transparency, but it’s still very important in the cryptocurrency world and likely not going anywhere.
Where To Buy Tether and Earn High-Interest Rates
You can buy tether on many major cryptocurrency exchanges and lending platforms. Most will pay anywhere from 6% to 12% in interest just for storing Tether on their platform. Tether will typically earn more interest than other popular stablecoins like GUSD, USDC, and DAI because of its high demand in trading and cryptocurrency loans.
Likewise, you will be able to ask for higher interest rates for Tether on KuCoin, a cryptocurrency-based peer-to-peer lending platform. In fact, it is the cryptocurrency that commands the highest interest rates by far — at an average of 30% to 60% — compared against GUSD, USDC, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.
Whether or not you choose to invest, make sure you understand tax laws around cryptocurrency. Income in the form of cryptocurrency can be taxed, whether earned as interest or capital gains.
BlockFi pays around 9.3% and Binance pays around 6% APY.
Is Tether a Good Investment?
With the creation of Tether and other stablecoins, it is quick and easy to swap any cryptocurrency for Tether, while converting a cryptocurrency to cash would take days and cost transaction fees. This creates liquidity for exchange platforms, creates no-cost exit strategies for investors, and adds flexibility and stability to investors’ portfolios.
Additionally, Tether can be sent anywhere globally much more quickly and with lower fees than transfers at traditional banks and financial institutions. While most people wouldn’t use Bitcoin or Ethereum for purchases and daily transactions due to their high volatility, it makes perfect sense to use Tether.
For these reasons and more, it is still worthwhile to invest in Tether. While Tether is not necessarily a long-term investment that will grow your money by itself, because it stays pegged to the U.S. dollar, there are lending platforms, exchanges, and wallets that will pay you high-interest rates to store USDT on their platform.
Helpful? Useful? Enlightening?
Please consider making a small donation to CoinTutor.org. Any little bit helps the articles keep coming and the forums running. Pick a coin below, donate, and Thank You!
Donate To Address
Donate Via Wallets
Bitcoin- Ethereum
- Tether
- Cardano
- Xrp
- Polkadot
- Litecoin
- Dogecoin
- Usdcoin
- Monero
Ethereum
Tether
Cardano
Xrp
Polkadot
Litecoin
Dogecoin
Usdcoin
Monero
Donate Bitcoin to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Bitcoin
Donate Ethereum to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Ethereum
Donate Tether to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Tether
Donate Cardano to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Cardano
Donate Xrp to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Xrp
Donate Polkadot to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Polkadot
Donate Litecoin to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Litecoin
Donate Dogecoin to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Dogecoin
Donate Usdcoin to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Usdcoin
Donate Monero to this address
Scan the QR code or copy the address below into your wallet to send some Monero
Please Add coin wallet address in plugin settings panel
Related posts
Add a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.