Overview
- During the recent market downturn Tether’s USDT supply rose to about $186 billion and in some measures its fully diluted valuation briefly edged above Ethereum’s, driven mainly by a fall in Ether’s price.
- Market data showed USDT’s FDV near $191.5 billion versus ETH’s roughly $189.3 billion at the peak of the flip while Ethereum later reclaimed its No. 2 market-cap position.
- Tether has reported more than $193 billion in reserves backing USDT and said it earned over $10 billion in 2025, figures that are drawing increased attention from regulators and market watchers.
- Despite price pressure, institutional buyers continued to add ETH on dips, with SharpLink buying 5,000 ETH and larger treasury moves such as BitMine increasing staked ETH, even as the Ethereum Foundation cut staff and new groups like EthLabs formed.
- Analysts say the episode may mark stronger, persistent demand for stablecoins as dollar liquidity inside crypto, which could leave large pools of ready cash to push prices higher in a rally while also prompting tighter oversight of stablecoin issuers.