Major stablecoin company Tether is expanding its stablecoin offering with a new cryptocurrency pegged to the British pound sterling (GBP).
Tether officially announced on June 22 that its upcoming GBP-pegged stablecoin, GBPT, will launch in early July and will initially support the Ethereum blockchain.
GBPT will be a stable digital currency pegged on the 1:1 ratio to the GBPT, aiming to provide a faster and cheaper option for asset transfers.
GBPT joins a family of four other fiat currency-pegged Tether tokens, including the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, USDT. Other stablecoins include the euro-pegged EURT, the offshore Chinese yuan-egged CNHT as well as the recently launched MXNT, the Mexican peso-pegged stablecoin.
According to the announcement, GBPT will be built by the team of developers behind Tether USDT and operate under its main website, Tether.to.
“We hope to help lead this innovation by providing cryptocurrency users worldwide with access to a GBP-denominated stablecoin issued by the largest stablecoin issuer […] Tether is ready and willing to work with U.K. regulators to make this goal a reality and looks forward to the continued adoption of Tether stablecoins”.
Tether chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino pointed out the the United Kingdom is a major location for the next wave of industry transformation, adding:
The announcement also mentions that HM Treasury in April 2022 announced plans to make the country a global cryptocurrency hub and bring stablecoins into its regulatory framework. The United Kingdom’s Economic and Finance Ministry also planned to amend its regulatory framework to include stablecoins as a means of payment.
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Tether’s GBPT launch comes amid the company’s main stablecoin, USDT, dropping below $70 billion in terms of market capitalization for the first time since October 2021. The stablecoin previously reached a value above $80 billion in May 2022.
Tether’s shrinking market cap came amid the ongoing market decline and uncertainty around stablecoins, triggered by failure of algorithmic stablecoins like Terra USD. In contrast to algorithmic stablecoins, asset-backed stablecoins like Tether tokens are 100% backed by cash or cash equivalents like bank deposits, Treasury bills and others.