October 2024 was a banner month for Tether (USDT), the king of stablecoins, as its market capitalization soared past $120 billion, according to an X post from @AltCryptoGems on October 21. Up 15% from September’s $104 billion, per CoinMarketCap, Tether’s ascent reflected a ravenous demand for dollar-pegged assets in a crypto ecosystem buzzing with activity. Bitcoin hovered near $70,000, altcoins like Solana and Cardano posted double-digit gains, and trading volumes spiked—Tether powered it all, facilitating over 60% of exchange activity. “USDT’s the oil in this engine,” said analyst Nisha Gopalan. “October showed its dominance isn’t fading.”
The boom had multiple drivers. Stripe’s $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge, finalized October 15, sent shockwaves through fintech. “Stablecoins are the bridge between TradFi and DeFi,” Bridge CEO Zach Abrams told Bloomberg, unveiling plans to integrate with Stripe’s payment rails. The deal spotlighted stablecoins’ utility—fast, borderless settlements—at a time when crypto’s $2 trillion market cap demanded liquidity. Meanwhile, Russia’s October 10 unveiling of crypto mining hubs with BitRiver hinted at state adoption, with analysts speculating Tether would grease cross-border trades. “USDT’s the dollar where fiat can’t go,” Gopalan noted, citing sanctions-hit regions.
Institutional moves fueled the fire. PayPal, already in the stablecoin game with PYUSD, reported a 25% uptick in crypto payments, while Visa’s Coinbase partnership (more on that later) boosted fiat-to-crypto flows. “Stablecoins are eating wire transfers’ lunch,” said Timothy Smith of Fintech Weekly. Tether’s supply growth—$16 billion in 30 days—mirrored this shift, with exchanges like Binance and Kraken holding record USDT balances. An X post from @AltCryptoGems on October 22 flagged a flip: BTC balances on exchanges hit a five-year low, suggesting hodling, while USDT reserves swelled.
But Tether’s rise stirred unease. Its reserves, supposedly 1:1 USD-backed, remained a black box despite 2021 promises of audits. “$120 billion? Show the receipts,” one X user demanded, echoing a chorus of skeptics. Tether’s rebuttal—a Q3 attestation claiming $97 billion in cash and equivalents—did little to quiet critics. Ties to Howard Lutnick’s Cantor Fitzgerald, now linked to Trump’s Commerce Secretary pick, added fuel: “Political cover or coincidence?” Tran of Coinpedia asked. “Utility’s winning, but trust’s on life support.”
Traders shrugged. USDT’s peg held steady at $1, and its 24-hour volume topped $80 billion by October 28, dwarfing BTC’s $35 billion. “It’s the plumbing—nobody cares about the pipes until they leak,” one X user quipped. October’s boom hinted at a stablecoin reckoning: Tether’s grip tightened, but cracks lingered. “It’s too big to fail—until it isn’t,” Gopalan warned. For now, the market ran on its rails.
