Tether’s USDT sees 36 million new users in Q3 as on-chain adoption surges globally

The world’s largest stablecoin, USDT, now has 330 million users on-chain, according to the latest insights shared by its issuer, Tether, on October 16. The number that only accounts for the on-chain wallets holding USDT highlights the level of adoption for USDT 

According to the inaugural Tether Insights from the company’s head of economics, Phillip Gladwell, the user count has actually increased significantly over the past year, with USDT seeing an average increase of 9% over the last four quarters. He noted that the recently concluded Q3 was the best so far, as the USDT user number grew by 36.25 million.

Gladwell said:

“USDT has seen significant adoption, with 330 million on-chain wallets and accounts, a proxy for users, ever receiving USDT by the end of Q3 2024 – that is equivalent to the population of the USA!”

The report focused only on those who transfer USDT via blockchain networks when determining a USDT user, as this is publicly available data. This meant that off-chain trading of USDT through centralized exchanges was not considered. However, Gladwell acknowledged that adding off-chain accounts will provide a clearer picture of how many people are using USDT and expects that the number could increase by tens of millions.

Nevertheless, the massive number and growth trajectory show how crucial Tether USDT is in global transactions. The company CEO Paolo Ardoino also admitted this, saying, “USDt has become the digital dollar for emerging markets and developing countries. Numbers don’t lie.”

TON and Layer-2 networks driving USDT user growth

Meanwhile, the upward trend in the number of USDT users on-chain is down to Ethereum layer-2 networks and The Open Network (TON). Tether Insights data shows that Ethereum L2s such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon saw 302%, 173%, and 142% growth, respectively, in their number of on-chain USDT wallets and accounts over the last 12 months.

However, Layer-1 networks such as Avalanche, Solana, and BNB Smart Chain also recorded a significant increase in USDT wallets. Still, TON and Celo, two networks that just got USDT integrations this year, saw the most growth. In the last six months, TON added 3.3 million USDT users, while Celo saw 132k users.

Data from Cryptoquant also highlights the popularity of USDT on the TON blockchain. Crypto analyst Maartun noted that TON used Jetton as its token standard, similar to ERC-20 on Ethereum, and USDT has been the most popular Jetton on the TON blockchain in the last 30 days.

He said:

“USDT Tether has become the most popular Jetton over the past 30 days, with 4,542,418 transactions during this period. Additionally, around a month ago, USDT transactions on TON exceeded $300 million.”

The popularity of USDT on TON is not surprising, given its integration into Telegram and its use for several transactions within the social platform.

Tether maintains stablecoin dominance as it diversifies

Meanwhile, USDT’s dominance in the stablecoin market currently looks unassailable, with almost 1% growth over the last month. According to Defillama data, USDT currently has a 69.33% dominance, with its market cap at $119.8 billion and its closest competition, USDC, at $34.622 billion.

With the sustained user growth, USDT looks positioned to maintain its dominance despite the several other stablecoins already surfacing. Its pole position is mostly due to its adoption in developing economies, compared to other stablecoins that have focused on regulated markets.

Still, Tether, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, is preparing for a future in which the stablecoin market becomes crowded. It has been investing in other industries, and the CEO recently said it is exploring commodities trading and TradFi.