Stablecoins Tether and Circle’s USDC dominate the market.
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Telegram users can now start making stablecoin USDT payments to each other via the encrypted messaging service’s connected blockchain.
Telegram, which has about 900 million users worldwide, said on Friday that users on the app can now choose to send USDT, a stablecoin developed and issued by Tether, over the open network (TON).
TON is a blockchain network that was originally developed by Tether but was later taken over by open source developers. It integrates with Telegram app.
Blockchain technology is the basis for most cryptocurrencies.
how it works
Users must first access the wallet bot on Telegram (which can be found using the search bar in the app) and then set up a crypto wallet.
Thereafter, users will be able to purchase USDT and send money to other users by selecting Tether’s token as a payment option.
The move could help make Tether’s USDT token more mainstream.
Stablecoins are becoming a more popular alternative to fiat currencies for users looking to buy and sell digital currencies. These tokens are cryptocurrencies whose price is pegged to an underlying asset, which is typically a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar.
Stablecoins maintain this peg by always holding an asset equal to the total amount of their token issued.
Still, they remain controversial. Regulators, investors and analysts have questioned the origins of some stablecoin reserves, particularly those of Tether.
Critics have also questioned whether Tether has enough capital to withstand a “bank run” after the Tether token temporarily fell below $1 on multiple occasions.
In the case of Tether, its token is fully backed by high-quality reserves and has always been able to meet withdrawal requests even in difficult times.
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