Tether ( USDT ), the largest stablecoin by market value, has been breaking new records over the course of 2023, with its market capitalization adding at least $20 billion so far this year.

According to data from the blockchain data provider Whale Alert, Tether has minted 22.75 billion USDT so far this year , with at least 4 billion USDT being issued over the past four weeks.

After starting the year with a market cap of roughly $66 billion, Tether USDT has been steadily gaining momentum, with its market value surpassing $80 billion in April 2023. On Nov. 14, USDT market cap briefly hit $87 billion, according to data from CoinGecko.

Tether credits USDT growth surge to ETF excitement, emerging markets image 0 Tether USDT all-time market capitalization. Source: CoinGecko

According to a spokesperson for Tether, the ongoing USDT growth should be attributed to two key reasons, including the ongoing market excitement around the possible approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

“There is a growing interest in Bitcoin from institutional investors, driven by the excitement around the possibility of a Bitcoin ETF,” a Tether representative said.

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Tether's record-breaking growth has also been fuelled by growing demand in emerging markets, according to the company’s spokesperson. The USDT stablecoin has been “increasingly establishing itself as the de-facto digital dollar” for all emerging markets and developing countries, the representative said, adding:

“There are in fact many countries suffering from the devaluation of their national currencies compared to the dollar, hence all the communities living in those countries are seeking protection [...] USDT is the most trusted asset for them.”

Citing public information from the Brazilian government, Tether sai that Tether USDT accounts for 80% of all crypto transactions in Brazil. “This pattern is similar to tens of other countries,” the representative noted.

While Tether has been seeing this surge, some major stablecoins like Circle’s USDC ( USDC ) have failed to gain much momentum in 2023. After peaking at $55 billion in June 2022, USDC market capitalization has gradually dropped and continued to decline in 2023. Since January 2023, USDC has lost $20 billion in market value, or about 45%. At the time of writing, USDC 's market cap stands at $24 billion, according to CoinGecko.

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