Tether, the stablecoin operator, is deepening its relationship with Telegram’s Web3 ecosystem by introducing its stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT), on The Open Network (TON).
On April 19, Tether Operations announced the launch of Tether USDT, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, and Tether Gold (XAUT), which is pegged to gold, on the TON blockchain. The announcement was made during the Token2049 crypto event in Dubai, where Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Telegram founder Pavel Durov delivered keynote speeches.
During the event, Tether also revealed its restructuring plans, which included the introduction of four new business divisions: Tether Data, Tether Finance, Tether Power, and Tether Edu.
Ardoino stated that TON and Tether share a common vision of an open and decentralized internet and a global financial system. He believes that launching USDT and XAUT on TON will facilitate seamless value transfer, increase activity and liquidity, and provide users with a financial experience comparable to traditional systems.
This development marks another milestone in Tether’s expansion across various blockchains, as it now covers 15 blockchains, including Tron and Ethereum.
The launch of USDT and XAUT on TON is significant for the TON network, which surpassed Dogecoin as the ninth-largest blockchain and cryptocurrency by market value on April 16. This move has the potential to offer a simple and borderless experience for peer-to-peer payments to Telegram’s estimated 900 million global users.
One unique aspect of USDT’s launch on TON is that the TON ecosystem allows for seamless transfers between fiat and cryptocurrencies and aims to surpass traditional finance in terms of efficiency and user-friendliness, according to Jack Booth, the marketing head of TON Foundation.
This is not the first time that the TON ecosystem has intersected with Tether. Since 2023, USDT has been one of the default cryptocurrencies available on Wallet, a third-party custodial wallet for Telegram users. With the launch of USDT on TON, Telegram users will have another option, alongside TRC20 USDT on the Tron network.
At the time of the announcement, the Tron blockchain accounted for the largest share of issued USDT, according to data from Tether transparency.
The news follows Tether’s launch of a recovery tool in March 2024, which allows users to migrate USDT between different blockchains. On March 4, Tether’s USDT stablecoin reached an all-time high market cap of $100 billion.
It is worth noting that this article is a creative re-expression of the original content and does not reflect real events or quotes.