USDT (Tether)
USDT is a US dollar stablecoin issued by Tether, backed by reserves and redeemable for dollars by Tether's verified customers. It is the largest stablecoin by circulation, with most of its supply on Tron and Ethereum.
How it works
Tether International, S.A. de C.V., incorporated in El Salvador, issues USDT and is authorised as a stablecoin issuer by El Salvador's National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD). Tether's transparency data showed 181.03 billion USDT in net circulation on 28 October 2026, including 92.29 billion on Tron and 84.38 billion on Ethereum.
Only KYC-verified customers can buy or redeem directly through Tether's website, and Tether reported 819 such customers on 16 February 2026. The minimum is US$100,000. Redemption costs the greater of US$1,000 or 0.1%, acquisition costs 0.1% and verification costs 150 USDT. Redemptions are paid in fiat to the customer's bank account, less fees.
Tether publishes reports on its reserves quarterly, with an independent accounting firm reporting on each, and typically updates circulation figures daily. Holders are not entitled to gains on the reserves above the face value of their tokens. Firms below the direct minimums buy and sell USDT through exchanges and OTC desks.
Example
A firm redeems 500,000 USDT with Tether. The fee is the greater of US$1,000 and 0.1% (US$500), so it pays US$1,000 and receives US$499,000. Selling the same amount to an OTC desk at 0.9995 would return US$499,750, so at this size the desk is cheaper.
Frequently asked questions
Which chain should we use for USDT?
Use the one your partners support. Tron and Ethereum hold most USDT, and Tron blocks become irreversible once 19 of its 27 Super Representatives have built on them, typically in about 1 minute.
Who regulates USDT?
Tether International is authorised as a stablecoin issuer by El Salvador's CNAD. Its treatment elsewhere depends on local law; in the EU, MiCA requires e-money token issuers to be credit institutions or e-money institutions.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis reads USDT balances in wallets through their public addresses, read-only, alongside fiat balances at banks and payout partners.
Compared with
Related terms
Sources
- Relevant Information Document, Tether International, S.A. de C.V. · Tether
- Tether transparency data (USDT supply by chain) · Tether
- Fees · Tether
- Consensus · TRON Developer Hub
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) · EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator