#80b

Tether USDT supply reaches $80B for 1st time in almost a year

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Tether’s USDT supply crossed $80 billion for the first time in 11 months earlier today, nearing its all-time high of $83.13 billion.

In 2023, USDT’s supply increased by almost $14 billion in less than 100 days from the $66.2 billion it recorded at the start of the year.

This growth cements USDT’s market dominance among dollar-pegged stablecoins. According to CryptoSlate’s data, USDT accounts for roughly 61% of the total stablecoins in the market.

Besides that, CryptoSlate’s data showed that Tether’s $25.05 billion trading volume in the last 24 hours is six times higher than that of its closest rival, USD Coin (USDC).

Over 50% of Tether’s total supply was issued on Justin Sun’s Tron blockchain, according to DeFillama data.

Tether owes growth to competitors’ troubles

Tether’s growth has coincided with the regulatory and banking troubles for its major competitors, USDC and Binance USD (BUSD).

While BUSD was the fastest-growing stablecoin last year, recent regulatory troubles with Binance, alongside its issuer Paxos, have led to a massive exodus from the stablecoin.

In February, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) ordered Paxos to stop other mints of BUSD. Binance would later be sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over allegations of regulatory violations.

These incidences saw BUSD supply drop to $7.1 billion from a peak of $22 billion in November 2022.

Meanwhile, USDC’s troubles began in March when it was revealed that it was exposed to the U.S. banking crisis. Its issuer Circle said it held part of the stablecoin reserves at the failed crypto-friendly bank Silicon Valley Bank.

Following the news, USDC briefly depegged to as low as $0.87 before later recovering its peg. However, investors’ confidence in the stablecoin remains low as its circulation has steadily declined throughout the past month.

The head of research at Matrixport, Markus Thielin, pointed this out in an April 6 note to clients. Thielin said:

“It would appear that holders of USDC either converted their Circle stablecoin into Tether’s USDT or that they simply sold $10 billion of USDC and bought bitcoin instead.”

According to CryptoSlate data, USDC supply sits at $32 billion at the time of writing.

The post Tether USDT supply reaches $80B for 1st time in almost a year appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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Sporting metaverse at $80B inflection point as World Cup ends

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As the World Cup in Qatar comes to a close, a report from Web3 Studios revealed exciting insights into the sporting metaverse industry, which it claims is “at an inflection point.” It indicated the potential for the industry to hit $80 billion in size by 2030.

The report included contributors from Animoca Brands, FaceIt, ConsenSys, The Football Company, Apex Capital, Upland, LootMogal, and other key players in the space.

The World Cup was well represented by web3 projects and brands, as the below image showcases.

Web3 Studios Report

The document declared that “the sports metaverse space may generate more than $80bn by 2030.” However, the subsequent challenges are being addressed and are critical to the nascent industry’s success.

“- A drastic and fast-paced evolution in consumption pattern – An increasingly demanding and harder-to-engage fan base – A technological landscape that is impossible to keep track with”

Sporting metaverses are described as “a new layer of human interaction,” according to Web3 Studios, creating both virtual experiences and new access points into sports.

As sports teams and celebrities arguably have a more direct impact on people’s daily lives than politicians, the power of the underlying global sports industry is hard to ignore. The sporting community has been an early-stage adopter of “new elements such as NFTs and web3 apps” in an attempt to reach the “holy grail” of optimal fan engagement.

The image below showcases the landscape of web3-enabled sports products, services, and communities.

Web3 Studios Report

In addressing the need for virtual experiences within a heavily physically-focused industry such as sports, the report identified the “binary” reception to web3 by sports fans. While fans often love or hate innovations such as NFTs, Web3 Studios parallels the reception to understanding the technology. Further, it sees the future of collectibles as digital rather than physical.

“In an ever-digitizing world, even our long-loved physical collectibles and sports experiences will eventually become digital, at least to some degree.”

Web3 Studios identified the rise of esports as a core driver and precedent for the future evolution of digital sports. Games such as Dota2 have brought mind-boggling prize pools, while League of Legends and Fortnite have brought hundreds of millions of players into esports.

Web3 Studios Report

However, none of these above games have any form of web3 integration and live firmly in the world of web 2.0. Yet, games of the web2.0 esports world may have led the groundwork for what is to come in web3.

“Pro-active participation” will drive the next leg of sports consumption, according to the report, a prediction that places web3 apparently in the driving seat in terms of technological suitability.

Web3 Studios Report

Historically, sports have been at the heart of live events, with matches played in front of live audiences at stadiums worldwide. Going back to ancient Greece and the first Olympic Games in 776 BC, live sporting events have existed for millennia.

As technology has evolved, first radio, then television, and now the internet has opened these live events up to the world. The makeup of Gen Z’s sports consumption pattern is vastly different from those of the Baby Boomer generation. For example, “Gen Z fans, for example, have a much higher willingness to pay for sports content.”

An example of the growing investment from web3 companies into traditional sports can be seen through the graphic below, which showcases the extraordinary growth in sports sponsorships from crypto projects.

Web3 Studios Report

Critically, a move from “passive to active fan engagement” may be the ultimate catalyst for web3 to make its mark on global sports. Current web3 integrations in the sports industry exemplify Web3’s ability to deliver this improved engagement. Experiences include using web3 to store mementos of significant moments, trading cards, games, fan gear, fan tokens, and esports.

Ralf Reichert, the Chairman of ESL FACEIT Group, commented,

“NFTs and web3 are interesting technologies to enhance fan monetization while the Metaverse is already there, called videogames. A consistent combination with clear fan value will make abigdifference for communitybuildingande-sports.”

Read the full report on the Web3 Studios website.

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