Tether Set To Launch Stablecoin Pegged To The British Pound

Tether Operations Limited, the Hong Kong-based firm behind the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDT, has revealed plans to launch another stablecoin dubbed GBPT. The token is expected to be pegged to the British Pound Sterling at a 1:1 ratio.

GBPT will become the fifth fiat-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether

In an announcement on its official website, the stablecoin issuer disclosed that the GBPT is expected to launch in early July, noting that it would initially be launched on the Ethereum blockchain. There is the likelihood of broader support in the future as was the case with USDT.

The GBPT will become the fifth fiat-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether. The USDT, dollar-pegged; EURT, Euro-pegged; CNHT, offshore Chinese Yuan-pegged; and the most recent MXNT, Mexican Peso-pegged are the four fiat-pegged stablecoins the firm currently issues.

Tether noted that this recent move is in large part influenced by the UK Treasury’s initiative to make the country “a global crypto hub”, and the UK government’s plans to make stablecoins an accepted form of payment. The firm wishes to make sure that UK residents have seamless blockchain transactions when these are actualized.

“We believe the United Kingdom is the next frontier for blockchain innovation and the wider implementation of cryptocurrency for financial markets”, said Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Tether, noting that Tether is willing to work with the British regulators in actualizing this goal.

Recent moves reveal Tether’s expansion plans

Tether appears to be expanding of late despite the recent messy situations surrounding stablecoin issuers within the crypto space especially as seen with Do Kwon’s Terra. 

Late last month, the company entered the Latin American market with the launch of its Mexican Peso-pegged stablecoin, MXNT, with initial blockchain support of Ethereum, Polygon, and Tron. According to Ardoino, the launch was motivated by the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies in Latin America.

In light of the recent issues with stablecoins especially as they concern Terraform’s UST collapse and Tron’s USDD current depeg challenge, Tether has moved on several occasions to calm the minds of investors regarding the state of its stablecoins as multiple concerns brew. 

The USDT is currently trading against the dollar at 0.999 with a market cap of $66.9 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $48.2 billion (down by 8.59% in the past 24 hours) as indicated by CoinMarketCap.