USDT Adoption Surges: Outpaces Bitcoin and Nears Ethereum in Wallet Count
USDT emerged as a leading digital asset in Q4 2024, with 109 million on-chain wallets holding it, more than double the number for Bitcoin and nearing the 128 million wallets that own Ethereum.
Beyond on-chain activity, 86 million accounts on centralized platforms have received USDT deposits.
USDTs Dominance
According to the second edition of Tether Insights, the stablecoin issuer revealed that exchanges recorded 4.5 billion web visits in the first three quarters of 2024, nearly half from emerging markets, where users frequently use USDT exclusively within platform ecosystems.
Combining on-chain and centralized platform activity, analysts estimate that at least one-third and possibly up to half of the 330 million users who have interacted with USDT still hold it today.
USDT wallets often show signs of reactivation as users receive new funds, particularly for recurring payments. Notably, 29% of wallets with less than one cent of USDT have been reactivated previously. While over half of wallets holding USDT currently have balances below one cent a trend typical of digital asset wallets many are expected to become active again in the future.
Combining 109 million active wallets and 56 million likely reactivations, the total number of USDT wallets reached 165 million, excluding tens of millions of centralized platform accounts.
Approximately 18.7 million wallets hold between one cent and one dollar of USDT. While this balance may appear modest, Tether stated that it can represent a meaningful amount for individuals in emerging markets. Many of these users rely on USDT primarily for payments rather than savings. According to the World Bank, 4.5 billion people, or 59% of the global population, live on less than $10 a day.
That so many people who would typically be unbanked can now use USDT demonstrates the importance of stablecoins in economic development.
USDT Wallets Tower Over Other Stablecoins
USDT continues to dominate the stablecoin landscape, maintaining four times as many active wallets as its competitors. On November 1st, 54 million wallets with balances greater than one cent were linked to USDT, far surpassing the 13.8 million wallets holding other stablecoins. This finding was derived from a review of 25 stablecoins operating on ten blockchains, accounting for 97.5% of the total stablecoin supply.
Meanwhile, USDT has also experienced explosive growth in wallet adoption, surging by 71% in 2023 and 129% the year before. This increase has been primarily fueled by smaller wallets with balances below $1,000, reflecting a shift towards self-custody following the dramatic collapse of FTX.
The stablecoins popularity persisted even during market disruptions like USDC and DAI de-pegging during the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. While USDTs user base expands, other stablecoins have seen limited progress, with 24 alternatives growing only 3% in wallet holders over the past year.
USDC has gained some traction on platforms like Solana and Base, yet USDT still holds over 30% of the wallet share on Solana.
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