Tether Adds Over 36 Million New On-Chain USDT Users in Q3 of 2024 and Many More Off-Chain
USDT issuer Tether Limited has reported in a new publication that it recorded 36.25 million new on-chain USDT wallets and users in the third quarter of 2024. At the end of the quarter, Tether had 330 million on-chain wallets and accounts in total.
Interestingly, the report specifies that people who only use USDT on centralized platforms, which are “tens of millions more,” are not included in this number.
The Tether Insights Vol 1 report explains that Tether has continuously accelerated user growth volume, adding that every quarter has seen more users than the previous. Also, the report focused on on-chain users, which are users who transfer USDT to a personal wallet or deposit the token into an account on a centralized platform. It explains that off-chain users, people buying or trading on centralized platforms that record transactions within their systems and not on the blockchain, are not included.
The increase in the number of USDT wallets and users points to rising adoption. Currently the largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market, USDT’s usage has spread across several platforms that support crypto, including traditional services. USDT is attractive because it eliminates the need for currency conversions, and prices do not waiver. This is advantageous in industries like online gambling, where price fluctuations would be detrimental to gambling activity. Trust Wallet casinos allow users to place crypto bets and benefit from deposit bonuses of up to 200% and tournament prizes of up to $1 million. As stated by Nick Pappas, these casinos are also secure and protect user data using firewall technology.
USDT is still enjoying plenty of stablecoin market control despite growing competition. Adoption through several platforms is confirmed as a major reason for the increase in on-chain activity. According to Tether’s report, the token’s rapid growth is driven significantly by layer-2 blockchains. Even though USDT is available on several networks, including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Tron, Tether says layer-2 platforms are responsible for the fastest percentage growth over the past year. The report specifies Polygon, Optimism, Solana, Avalanche, and Arbitrum. Tether also notes that recent launches on networks like Celo and TON have contributed significantly to USDT adoption. TON alone has seen impressive growth, adding 3.3 million users in six months. This accounts for 1% of all USDT on-chain users.
Tether explains that the Insights report is necessary because the company’s impact – helping people easily access finance – sometimes goes unnoticed. In some cases, because people buying USDT exist across a varied range of communities and jurisdictions, many stories are not heard.
In an X post, Tether’s Head of Economics, Philip Gradwell, explains that Tether Insights will be a regular series that delves into USDT usage and activity.
The report also contains the methodology used to compile the report, which is heavily based on blockchain data from Chainalysis and Artemis. While Chainalysis covers data from blockchains like Tron, Ethereum, Optimism, Arbitrum, BSC, Avalanche, Polygon, and Bitcoin, Artemis covers TON, Celo, Base, and Solana.
Tether has enjoyed other wins this year, including crossing the $100 billion mark for tokens in circulation in March.
