Introduction to Cryptocurrencies: USDT, the most popular stable coin

Written by the CoinEx Institution, this series of jocular and easy to understand articles will show you everything you need to know about major cryptocurrencies, making you fully prepared before jumping into crypto!

Many novices of cryptocurrencies may feel confused with the obscure difference between USDT and USD at first . Different as they are, there remain some relations. To some extent, the name USDT is like a biased belief implanted in the minds of novices.

USDT (Tether USD), known as Tether, is a token based on the stable value currency US dollar (USD), launched by Tether. In other words, it serves as a currency to replace the US dollar in digital currency trading platforms. (With 1USDT = 1USD, users can exchange USDT for USD at a rate of 1: 1 at any time)

USDT is not a new token It was launched for trading in 2015 and the world-renowned digital asset trading service platform CoinEx supports USDT trading pairs. There are extensive concerns about how to exchange tokens into fiat currencies after the introduction of cryptocurrency trading. USDT has provided part of the solution, and thus has been highly praised by many investors.

In the white paper “Tether: Fiat currencies on the Bitcoin blockchain”, Tether defines USDT as a digital currency pegged to fiat currencies. All Tethers are are initially issued as tokens on the BTC blockchain through the Omni Layer protocol, at a pegged exchange rate of 1:1 against the USD. After launching USDT, Tether strictly adheres to the 1:1 reserve guarantee, which means that for every issued USDT token , its bank account will have 1 USD funding guarantee.

Many people are fond of USDT precisely because of its specific characteristics. In recent years, it remains one of the most popular stablecoins, with a market share of nearly 3 billion US dollars, leaving behind such stablecoins as USDC, Gemini Dollars and JPM Coin

USDT’s creator, Tether, is one of the top five digital currency companies by cash flow. They earn 3–5% profit from the $2 billion offered by the users around the world, almost without any operating costs. (This is really cool)

USDT is issued and traded through the Omni (formerly known as Mastercoin) protocol, which is a 2.0 currency based on the Bitcoin blockchain. Transaction confirmation and other parameters of USDT are consistent with those of BTC. Users can transfer USD to the bank account provided by Tether through SWIFT, or get USDT through the exchange. Of course, they can also buy USDT with BTC in the exchange. In short, it is quick and easy!

Unlike other digital currencies, USDT boasts some great features:

1.Intuitive

USDT is equal to the US dollar, with 1 USDT = 1 US dollar. Each currency = how much USDT, which is equal to how many US dollars its unit price is.

2.Stable

As Tether is backed by fiat currencies, users can still trade on the blockchain asset market without being affected by the price fluctuations of most blockchain assets.

3.Transparent

Tether’s issuing company, Tether, claims that its fiat currency storage account has regular audits to ensure that each USDT in circulation is backed up by one US dollar. The storage account status is public and can be queried at any time. In addition, all Tether transaction records will be published on the public chain.

4. Low transaction fees

There is no fee for transactions between Tether accounts or between wallets where Tether is stored. Conversion from USDT to a fiat currency requires the transaction fee.

Tether has been frank about the risks of USDT in the white paperAlthough Tether is a decentralized digital currency, Tether company is not that decentralized .. As a centralized depositor of all the assets, the company also faces possibilities of bankruptcy, freezing funds and fund running; what’s more, the re-centralization may also paralyze the entire system. To put it simple: coin speculation could be risky and investors need to be cautious. Such honest companies are hard to find.

Yet in March 2019, Tether changed its terms of service: the USDT’s endorsement altered to 75% USD anchorage and 25% iFinex stock-collateral loans. . In April of the same year, Tether issued an additional 640 million USDT, also pushing itself to the forefront.

So what’s on your mind after reading this article? Why not make your voices heard by trading on CoinEx, or join the official CoinEx’s telegram group at https://t.me/CoinExOfficialENG ?

About CoinEx

As a global and professional cryptocurrency exchange service provider, CoinEx was founded in December 2017 with Bitmain-led investment and has obtained a legal license in Estonia. It is a subsidiary brand of the ViaBTC Group, which owns the fifth largest BTC mining pool, which is also the largest of BCH mining, in the world.

CoinEx supports perpetual contract, spot, margin trading and other derivatives trading, and its service reaches global users in nearly 100 countries/regions with various languages available, such as Chinese, English, Korean and Russian.

Website: https://www.coinex.com/

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Telegram: https://t.me/CoinExOfficialENG