What is Tether?
The Тether cryptocurrency was designed as a token with the sole purpose of being with a fixed exchange value. It’s tied to fiat currencies such as the US dollar, the Euro and the Yen. It’s commonly referred to as a stablecoin in the sense that it’s always worth $1.00 and is backed by fiat currency of the same amount. If you have $1000 for example, you can exchange them for 1000 Tether. The max supply is limited and is the same as the total supply – 3,080,109,502 USDT. This Tether review will familiarize you with the pros and cons of the token, how to obtain it and which wallets to use for storing it.
Advantages
Compared to traditional cryptocurrencies, the Tether token is a stable alternative among many volatile coins. Other advantages include:
- Backed by many major exchanges
- Low transaction fees when using Tether.to wallets
Disadvantages
The main concern with the Tether cryptocurrency is that the system isn’t fully trustless. You have to put your faith either in Tether or the appropriate banking institution that controls the assets. Further drawbacks include:
- Several unclear audits
- Risks due to the holding of funds by Tether and connected banks
- Centralized operation of the Tether Limited company
History and Evolution
Tether is one of the first tokens ever developed. It all started with a whitepaper published in January 2012 where J.R. Willet, now known as the inventor of ICOs, went on to expand on the possibility of new currencies based on the Bitcoin Protocol. He implemented his idea under the name Mastercoin, while the company he established was the Mastercoin Foundation. Later, the name was changed to the Omni Foundation which is still valid to this day.
Originally known as Realcoin, back in July 2014, Tether has come a long way. The first tokens issued on the Bitcoin blockchain were launched in October, the same year. In the following month, Reeve Collins, one of the founders of the project announced the transition to the name “Tether”. The precursor to Tether, Realcoin, was established not only by Collins but also Brock Pierce and Craig Sellars. Their partnership continued into the launch of Tether as well, which interestingly, ran no ICO whatsoever.
Tether’s Future
Tether, the world’s most prominent stablecoin is under scrutiny by investors. One of the key characteristics of a stablecoin is its absolute transparency, which according to Mike Novogratz, Tether has not offered to its investors. If the currency and the team behind it are seeking to regain trust, they need to reassure current and potential backers that they’ll be more open about their operations.
Tether Blockchain
The tether token differs from traditional cryptocurrencies as it doesn’t have its own blockchain. For example, it is issued through the Omni Layer Protocol on Bitcoin’s blockchain. In June 2017 it was announced that it would also become available on Litecoin’s network via the Omni layer as well. In September 2017, Tether announced the future release as an ERC-20 Token on Ethereum blockchain having a trading pair fixed between ETH/USD and ETH/EURO. Currently, the Omni foundation and Charlie Lee have provided the market with 4 distinct Tether token versions with no information on any future plans to implement other currencies.
How to Get Tether Tokens at Exchanges
If you understand what Tether is, you will know that you are protected from the volatility of the crypto market. As it’s anchored to the USD, you can expect a relatively stable price that’s not going to fluctuate a lot. It’s especially useful when the market takes a dive, as you’ll have the opportunity to buyout cheaper cryptos using your stockpiles of USDT tokens.
Something important to note, trading fiat currencies for tokens is a rare occasion. There are exceptions, however, as is the case with Tether. That is due to the fact that its popularity skyrocketed. Otherwise, most exchanges offer only crypto/token pairs. Below you’ll find a list of my top recommendations for buying Tether.
| Exchange | Buy Tether with: | Buy with Fiat Money: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin, Ethereum + 80 more | USD, EUR, GBP | Trade now | |
| Bitcoin, Ethereum + 300 more | – | Trade now | |
| Bitcoin, EOS + 500 more | – | Trade now |
Wallets for Tether
To start trading crypto using Tether tokens, you’ll first need a wallet for your token. You can store and/or buy USDT tokens using the official Tether wallet. It’s an online version and as such, doesn’t require installation, only a registration. You can find a link to it down below. Your other option would be to store your tokens on the exchange you purchased them from, however, for security reasons, I would recommend you avoid that method.
- Official compatible wallet: https://wallet.tether.to
Alternative Wallets for Tether
As with traditional crypto coins, there are different wallets available for USDT tokens too. You can explore the different options listed below, as some of them offer better security or a more user-friendly interface.
Web Wallets
News
Unfortunately, there is no official roadmap available for the development of the Tether cryptocurrency. However, you can keep track of news surrounding the token on their Announcement page.