Tether introduces recovery tool for USDT migration between blockchains as market cap hits $100 billion. Learn about USDT's significance and its dominance in cryptocurrency trading volume.
Leading stablecoin issuer Tether has introduced a novel solution aimed at facilitating the seamless migration of its Tether (USDT) stablecoin across various blockchain networks as USDT surges past a monumental $100-billion market capitalization.
On March 4, Tether unveiled its blockchain recovery initiative, designed to ensure uninterrupted access to USDT in the event of disruptions encountered by any of the numerous blockchain networks utilized for USDT transactions.
As per Tether's data, USDT is presently operational across 14 blockchains as of March 4, including Tron, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Omni. Tron and Ethereum emerge as the dominant blockchains for USDT, collectively constituting 94% of all issued USDT, with Tron at 51% and Ethereum at 43%.
Despite its significant reliance on blockchains like Tron and Ethereum, Tether iterated in its latest announcement that USDT remains "independent of blockchains," emphasizing that blockchains serve merely as a conduit for transactions.
To mitigate the risk associated with potential blockchain instability or unavailability, Tether has introduced its official recovery mechanism, empowering users to migrate USDT seamlessly between blockchains. Tether elaborated:
“Users will have the ability to authenticate ownership of their addresses on an inactive blockchain and designate a recipient address on another compatible blockchain, following which Tether will facilitate the transfer of USDT between the two.”
According to the announcement, affected USDT holders will be able to initiate the migration process either through a web interface or command-line tools. The process entails cryptographically signing a migration request to verify ownership of Tether tokens, a functionality accessible through browser extension wallets like MetaMask and hardware wallets such as Ledger or Trezor.
Furthermore, a command-line interface enables users to input their private key directly, enabling them to sign the requisite message using an open-source script on their local machine, the announcement elucidated.
Cointelegraph reached out to Tether for comment, although no response was received at the time of publication.
Tether’s launch of the recovery tool coincides with USDT achieving a significant milestone in terms of market valuation, with its market cap breaching $100 billion on March 4, marking a historic first.
At the time of writing, USDT ranks as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, trailing behind Bitcoin (BTC) valued at $1.4 trillion and Ether (ETH) at $442 billion, as per data from CoinGecko.
Conversely, USDT leads the pack as the cryptocurrency with the highest daily trading volume, with $132 billion worth of crypto trades and transactions facilitated through USDT daily as of March 5. BTC and ETH trail USDT in terms of trading volumes, with daily transactions valued at $82 billion and $33 billion, respectively.