The stablecoin Tether (USDT) is reportedly shifting its focus to European, Middle Eastern, and African markets due to regulatory constraints in the United States. On-chain data shows that USDT is more widely used in these regions, particularly in developing countries. Tether, Inc. plans to target alternative chains with cheap transactions to tap into these markets. Chainalysis data indicates increased USDT activity from countries such as Russia, Iran, Rwanda, and Turkey, which coincide with regions with higher crypto adoption rates. Concerns about USDT usage include the potential for terrorism financing and involvement in scams. Despite a minimal slide in value, Tether, Inc. denies being under investigation by US authorities. The company's quarterly report shows that its conservative investments are adequate, and it has $6 billion in excess reserves. USDT is widely used as a payment tool and has replaced Bitcoin and Ethereum in some cases. Ethereum-based USDT is the most widely used version in decentralized finance (DeFi) and on exchanges. USDT is also used on the Toncoin chain, which has been tied to Eastern European activities. While USDT is still available for trading on Binance, it has been phased out of some Euro Area products. Circle USD (USDC) has emerged as a competitor to USDT, surpassing it in terms of supply growth in the past month. The supply of USDC has grown by 959.4 million tokens, compared to 792.4 million for USDT.



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