The journey of the dollar-pegged digital economy has been quite the adventure since stablecoins first hit the scene, and tether (USDT) has emerged as the undisputed heavyweight. This week, the stablecoin’s valuation has soared to $140 billion, and exactly one year ago, on Dec. 16, 2023, its supply was at 90 billion coins. That’s a hefty increase of $50 billion in just 12 months.

Despite only being a slice of the $3.73 trillion crypto world, USDT commands 67.31% of the $208 billion stablecoin realm. It’s also been the top dog in trading volumes all year, above all the other stablecoins and even bitcoin (BTC). Right now, out of 140 billion Tethers, 76.92 billion are issued on Ethereum, while 61.75 billion have been minted on the Tron network, which means 138.67 billion USDT are on these two networks, with the rest scattered across several other blockchains.

In the last 40 days alone, USDT’s supply has grown by about 20 billion coins. Remember when USDT was mostly on the Omni chain when it first launched? Well, it then made its grand entrance on Ethereum and for many years it dominated there. Fast forward to the first half of 2024, Tron was the new favorite, but Ethereum has once again taken the crown. As of Dec. 16, 54.94% of all circulating USDT is issued on the Ethereum blockchain.

This month, tether’s supply grew by 10.4%, but Circle‘s usd coin (USDC) wasn’t far behind, with a 15.3% increase. Meanwhile, Ethena’s yield-bearing stablecoin USDE had a blockbuster month, growing by 87.1%. Moreover, Ethena just dropped a new stablecoin this week, backed by Blackrock’s BUIDL assets. Although USDC and USDE are making strong moves, USDT still remains the king, sitting comfortably on its throne while others try to keep up with their growth spurts.

While USDT reigns supreme, don’t let the shiny numbers fool you. The crypto world is as unpredictable as a roller coaster in a thunderstorm. Remember, supply growth doesn’t guarantee stability or value. With fresh challengers like Ripple’s fiat-pegged coin stepping into the ring and other stablecoins ramping up their game, the big question looms: Can USDT hold onto its throne, or is it destined to become just another twist in crypto’s roller-coaster tale? The clock is ticking, and only the future holds the answer.

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