Tether: 109 million on-chain wallets hold USDT

Tether says that of the millions of on-chain wallets that had received the USDT stablecoin by the end of the third quarter of 2024, more than 109 million are holders.

In a Dec. 9 blog post, Tether noted that millions of users currently utilize the Tether (USDT) stablecoin as their bank account. In October, the company released a report that showed 330 million users, represented by on-chain wallets and accounts, had received USDT as of the end of September, 2024.

However, the report noted that many more users with USDT solely use it off-chain. This means that adoption for the world’s largest stablecoin by market cap is wider than the indicated data, Philip Gradwell, head of economics at Tether, said.

USDT on-chain holders

As of the start of Q4, 2024, there were 109 million users with USDT in on-chain wallets. This figure dwarfs Bitcoin (BTC) wallets by more than double, and isn’t far off the 128 million wallets that held Ethereum (ETH) on-chain at the start of October.

In addition to the 109 million on-chain USDT wallets, Tether estimates that two-thirds, or about 56 million, of wallets that use the stablecoin on centralized platforms are holders. Partner details suggest most crypto exchange users across emerging markets use the platforms to exclusively buy, hold, and transfer USDT on platforms such as Binance, Coinbase, and OKX.

According to the Dec. 9 report, a total of 165 million or more hold the stablecoin on-chain. The continued reactivation of wallets amid repeat payments also suggests many more users trust and value USDT’s utility “as a store of value,” Tether noted.

Tens of millions of accounts could hold USDT on centralized exchanges and trading platforms.

Notably, 18.7 million wallets hold between one cent and $1 of USDT, while 31.5 million wallets currently hold $1 to $1,000 in USDT. Data shows on-chain USDT wallets outpace all other stablecoins by nearly 4x, with 54 million compared to 13.8 million wallets for competitors.

USDT’s market cap stood at over $137 billion as of writing, more than three times of closest challenger USDC (USDC). The USDC market cap currently stands around $40 billion.