Tether USD (USDT) is the largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, issued by Tether and pegged one-to-one to the US dollar. Reserves are majority short-dated US Treasuries and repo disclosed in quarterly attestations, alongside a tail of higher-risk holdings (secured loans, Bitcoin and metals) and no full financial audit to date. Like any stablecoin it pays no native yield; returns come only from a wrapper such as an exchange earn programme or lending. USDT scores 61/100 (Tier 2) on the RWTS Trust Score: unmatched scale and liquidity, weaker transparency and not MiCA-authorised.
- Issuer / protocol
- Tether
- Jurisdiction
- El Salvador / BVIEl Salvador DASP (not MiCA-authorised)
- Backing
- U.S. Treasury bills, repo, cash & other reserves (Tether attestations)
- Redemption / lock-up
- None (direct 1:1 redemption $100k min; retail via exchanges)
- Audit & proof of reserves
- Not independently audited
- Availability
- Global
- Chain
- Ethereum
- Tier
- Tier 2 — Treasury & Fiat-Backed
- Contract
- 0xdAC1…1ec7
Scored on the published RWTS methodology (v1.1), reviewed quarterly and on material events. Ratings are independent and never pay-influenced.
Source: Quarterly BDO attestation. Point-in-time disclosure, not a live feed; weights move with issuance and policy.
Calculations are indicative. Actual yields may vary.
Price data from CoinGecko. Not financial advice.
Projections assume constant APY of 0.00%. Actual returns may vary. Not financial advice.
Beyond USDT's own score, two structural questions matter: what is it built on, and what has broken before in this part of the market. A high score in isolation can still carry hidden, shared exposure.
What this and similar assets are built on, and where contagion could spread.
The depegs, defaults, and exploits that inform the Track Record dimension.
Liquidity read: TVL of $143.00B indicates deep on-chain liquidity. Lock-up: None (direct 1:1 redemption $100k min; retail via exchanges).