In a significant announcement, leading cryptocurrency stablecoin Tether announced the launch of their new asset. The new asset is a Tether (USDT) token built on the Tezos blockchain. They aim to expand their digital footprint across the digital payments and decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.
The press release says that USDT on Tezos will power revolutionary applications across payments, DeFi, and more. The greater context was given as to the intended utility of Tether tokens in a conversation with representatives from this company.
"Tether tokens are not an investment but a utility for engaging in internet commerce, combating volatility, and providing a safe haven for remittances. Tether tokens can be securely stored, sent, and received across the blockchain and are redeemable for the underlying asset, subject to the terms of service and fee schedule."
The list of blockchains continued to grow, with the representative revealing that Tezos will be one of 12 such blockchains on which the asset will become accessible.
The blockchains are:
Paolo Ardoino, the CTO at Tether, expressed his enthusiasm for this launch,, saying it will help fuel their growth in coming years.
The self-amending nature of Tezos means it can automatically upgrade itself without needing a hard fork. Hard forks are a popular way of deploying new functionality that requires upgrades, making previous blocks and transactions incompatible with the protocol. Its groundbreaking features made it an attractive platform for brands and institutions looking to get into DeFi.
Tezos has a thriving DeFi ecosystem with yield farming protocol Youves, decentralized exchange, and EVM bridge Plenty. It's also home to automated market maker Vortex, among others.
Tezos has a lot of potential for decentralized finance. As it stands now, there are many benefits to having USDT on the platform, such as easier access and reduced costs when interacting with dApps or wallets. However, one significant advantage is that "on and off-ramps into the Tezos DeFi ecosystem will become more simplified and efficient."