Tether, the stablecoin operator, is strengthening its relationship with Telegram’s Web3 ecosystem by introducing its US dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDT, on The Open Network (TON). This announcement was made on April 19, along with the news that Tether will also launch the gold-pegged stablecoin, Tether Gold (XAUT), on TON. The announcement was made during keynote speeches by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Telegram founder Pavel Durov at the Token2049 crypto event in Dubai. At the same event, Tether revealed its plans to restructure and introduced four new business divisions: Tether Data, Tether Finance, Tether Power, and Tether Edu.
According to Ardoino, TON and Tether share the common vision of an open and decentralized internet, as well as a borderless financial system. He stated, “The launch of USDT and XAUT on TON will enable seamless value transfer, increase activity and liquidity, and offer users a financial experience comparable to that of the traditional financial system.”
This latest development signifies Tether’s expansion across various blockchains, bringing its coverage to 15 chains, including Tron and Ethereum. It is also a significant milestone for the TON network, as its native token, Toncoin (TON), surpassed Dogecoin (DOGE) to become the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap on April 16.
The announcement highlighted that the TON blockchain is integrated with Telegram, which means that USDT and XAUT on TON have the potential to provide a simple and borderless experience for peer-to-peer payments to Telegram’s estimated global user base of over 900 million.
One unique aspect of USDT’s launch on TON is that the TON ecosystem facilitates transfers between fiat and cryptocurrency and aims to surpass traditional finance in terms of efficiency and ease of use, according to Jack Booth, the marketing head of the TON Foundation.
This isn’t the first time that the TON and Tether ecosystems have intersected. Since at least 2023, USDT has been one of the default cryptocurrencies available on Wallet, a third-party custodial wallet for Telegram users, alongside coins like Bitcoin and Toncoin.
Currently, the Tron network is the default blockchain for USDT on Wallet, supporting TRC-20 USDT. Halil Mirakhmed, the chief operating officer of Wallet, stated that TON-based USDT will become another option on Wallet, while TRC-20 USDT will remain available.
At the time of the announcement, the Tron blockchain accounted for the largest share of issued USDT, according to Tether’s data.
This news comes a few weeks after Tether introduced a recovery tool in March 2024, allowing users to migrate USDT between different blockchains. On March 4, USDT reached an all-time high market cap of $100 billion.
Please note that this article contains additional reporting by Felix Ng.