Tether Expands Dollar, Gold Stablecoins to Boost Telegram Payments

Tether announced its intention to enhance peer-to-peer payments on Telegram by extending its dollar-pegged USDT and gold-backed XAUT tokens to the TON network, catering to Telegram’s vast user base 900 million.

Originally initiated by Telegram, the TON network has experienced rapid expansion, fueled by incentives to onboard Telegram users. Tether, the entity behind the $108 billion market cap USDT, disclosed plans to integrate the dollar-pegged stablecoin and its gold-backed counterpart XAUT natively on The Open Network (TON), a blockchain closely associated with the messaging app Telegram.

Tether’s transparency page revealed that $10 million worth of USDT has been authorized on the TON blockchain, with $3 million already issued. This strategic move aims to facilitate “borderless, peer-to-peer payments” among Telegram’s extensive user base and bolster the burgeoning TON ecosystem, enabling users to leverage the stablecoins in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, emphasized the significance of this expansion, stating that the launch of USDT and XAUT on TON would enable seamless value transfer. This move aims to increase activity and liquidity while offering users a financial experience akin to those found in the traditional financial system.

The Open Network operates as a decentralized layer-1 network initially spearheaded by Telegram but operating independently due to regulatory concerns. Recent months have witnessed a surge in TON’s ecosystem, propelled by incentives for Telegram user adoption, with monthly active addresses surpassing 1.7 million from less than 100,000 six months ago.

Despite a momentary dip of up to 15% in the TON token following the announcement, it remains up 7% over the past 24 hours and has tripled in price this year, amassing a market capitalization of nearly $25 billion. Telegram’s crypto wallet supports various blockchains for deposits and withdrawals, with trading fees substantially reduced to encourage TON adoption.

Ramp Network, a fintech firm bridging crypto with traditional banking infrastructure, announced plans to facilitate purchases and withdrawals of USDT on TON following the announcement. Starting with fiat-to-USDT on TON on its platform, Ramp Network intends to integrate with third-party wallets supporting TON-based assets and later incorporate off-ramp capabilities.

Szymon Sypniewicz, CEO of Ramp Network, articulated the company’s vision, stating, “Crypto transactions should be as simple as texting,” underscoring the potential to enhance the lives of millions within the TON ecosystem through accessible, low-cost crypto transactions.

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