Tether's Flagship Stablecoin, USDT, Has Reached a Major Milestone

Tether's flagship stablecoin, USDT, has reached a major milestone with over 150 billion tokens now in circulation, marking a new all-time high for the world's largest stablecoin.

The announcement, first made by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino on X and later confirmed by the company's Transparency page, highlights the explosive growth of the stablecoin market and USDT's enduring dominance.

"From 0 to $150B. Born in 2014, Tether didn't just launch USD® — it launched the entire stablecoin industry," Ardoino stated in his post. "Today, USD® is trusted by 400+ million people & powers the digital economy. To every user, builder & believer: thank you."

This record-breaking figure comes amid a period of robust profitability for Tether. In Q1 2025 alone, the company reported over $1 billion in operating profit, driven largely by returns on its massive holdings of U.S. Treasuries, which now total nearly $120 billion. The bulk of USDT's backing reserves consists of short-dated government debt, a cornerstone of the company's conservative reserve management strategy.

In comparison, Circle's USDC, which is Tether's closest competitor, has a circulating supply of around $60 billion, while emerging stablecoins like Sky's USDS, Ethena's USDe, and World Liberty Financial's USD1 still remain well below the $10 billion mark.

Despite its global footprint, Tether has long remained on the sidelines in the U.S. market, where regulatory uncertainty and legal scrutiny have posed barriers to entry. However, this appears poised to change.

Speaking at the Token2049 conference in Dubai, CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed Tether's plans to launch a U.S.-compliant, dollar-backed stablecoin later this year. He noted that the forthcoming product would differ in design and implementation from USDT, tailored specifically for the domestic regulatory environment.

"A domestic stablecoin would be different from the international stablecoin," Ardoino said, hinting at features designed to align with U.S. legislative frameworks.

To enable this move, Tether is reportedly ramping up lobbying efforts in Washington, where momentum is building around several crypto and stablecoin-related bills, including the STABLE Act, proposed by House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill and Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair Bryan Steil. These developments suggest that Tether sees regulatory clarity in the U.S. as both inevitable and necessary for long-term growth.

Another major shift in the stablecoin ecosystem is TRON overtaking Ethereum in terms of total USDT issued. As of early May 2025, TRON-based USDT has reached $73.8 billion, narrowly surpassing Ethereum's $71.9 billion.

Since mid-2023, TRON has emerged as the blockchain of choice for large-scale USDT transfers. Thanks to lower transaction fees, TRON has become the preferred platform for exchanges and institutional players moving significant volumes. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than $14 billion in new USDT was issued on TRON.