Stablecoin issuer Tether is set to launch its U.S. dollar-backed USDT and gold-backed XAUT stablecoins on The Open Network (TON) blockchain.
USDT will debut on TON on April 20, with XAUT following suit in the near future, as revealed by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino to The Block. While USDT is already accessible across numerous blockchains, TON marks the second blockchain venture for XAUT, following its presence on Ethereum, Ardoino noted.
Ardoino emphasized, “The introduction of USDT and XAUT on TON will facilitate seamless value transfer, bolstering activity and liquidity, and providing users with a financial framework akin to traditional financial systems.”
By integrating USDT and XAUT into the TON blockchain, Tether aims to broaden the reach of decentralized applications spanning various sectors, including payments and gaming.
Tether’s expansion onto TON coincides with heightened attention on the Layer 1 blockchain. In February, messaging platform Telegram disclosed plans to distribute advertisement revenue to channel owners and allocate rewards via Toncoin, TON’s native cryptocurrency. Toncoin has ascended to become the ninth largest cryptocurrency, boasting a market cap of $24.4 billion, as per The Block’s Toncoin Price Page.
Ardoino highlighted the synergistic potential between Telegram’s vast ecosystem of 900 million monthly active users and Tether’s global user base exceeding 300 million. He expressed optimism regarding the reciprocal empowerment of both ecosystems.
Tether’s TON integration aligns with the backdrop of USDT’s circulating supply surpassing 109 billion. The stablecoin’s total supply, inclusive of authorized but unissued tokens, now exceeds 114 billion, according to The Block’s Data Dashboard. While XAUT maintains a comparatively smaller scale, its total supply presently exceeds 246,000 units.
