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Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT), has quashed the rumours about launching an official Tether Chain. In a post on X, he wrote, “Tether is not planning to build an official blockchain at this time.”
In another post on November 4, Ardoino said that the main reason behind Tether not launching an official blockchain anytime soon is that “neutrality is very important.”
Instead, Tether has backed the integration of its stablecoin on other networks, working to support for gas fees, he added.
Further, Tether is currently only interested to “partner up with other companies and communities.” The CEO wrote that the company’s motto is “Unstoppable TogETHER,” rather than trying to centralize everything.
Tether, on November 1, announced the launch of its Dirham-pegged stablecoin on TON Blockchain. The stablecoin will be made by Tether in a joint venture with Phoenix Group and Green Acorn, as announced at the Gateway 2024 event in Dubai.
Additionally, he also emphasized that the company is gearing up to release 2 new products this month, calling it “Tethember.”
However, he added later that Tether has pushed back the product launch date, amid US November elections. “Any product/announcement done this coming week would end up likely obliterated by the election noise,” Ardoino wrote.
Further, Ardiono told Cryptonews at the Plan B forum in Lugano, Switzerland, that Tether is more focused on maintaining its stablecoin dominance amid increasing competition from other issuers.
Tether’s Decision to Step Down from the Blockchain Bandwagon
The stablecoin issuer has been reiterating that blockchain is a ‘saturated market.’ In an interview with Bloomberg, the CEO noted, “blockchains will become almost a commodity in the future.”
“Launching a blockchain ourselves might be not the right move. There are very good blockchains.”
Per DefiLlama’s data, of the 322 chains, the top 5 control over 75% of the total value of assets locked. Ethereum is the market leader with about $47.64 billion in TVL, comprising 55.24%. TVL refers to the overall value of crypto deposited in the protocol.
For a blockchain to be successful, some key factors such as high speeds, low fees and strong security are important. Ardoino said that its better to stay blockchain “agnostic,” as long as there is highest level of security and sustainability.