Tether Price
A stablecoin is a token designed to hold a steady value rather than float freely, and USDT is the oldest and most heavily traded example of that idea. It exists because settling in bank dollars is slow and bound by opening hours, while moving a token between …
Market data via Binance · signals computed live from daily closes · not financial advice.
Supply structure
Tether has no fixed maximum supply. Circulating supply is a curated estimate used to derive market cap.
Convert Tether to US Dollar
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About Tether
A stablecoin is a token designed to hold a steady value rather than float freely, and USDT is the oldest and most heavily traded example of that idea. It exists because settling in bank dollars is slow and bound by opening hours, while moving a token between wallets takes minutes at any hour. The thing to hold onto is that USDT is a dollar-denominated claim on a company, not a dollar sitting in your own bank account.
No algorithm enforces the price. The issuer creates tokens when approved customers pay it dollars and destroys them when those customers redeem, and that open door is what gives arbitrage traders a reason to buy below a dollar and sell above it. That is how the <a href="/glossary/peg/">peg</a> is held in place from one day to the next. Behind the promise sits a pool of reserves the issuer manages, so the strength of the peg is really the strength of that promise.
In practice USDT is the market's default unit of account. Most trading pairs on most exchanges are quoted in it, so it is where traders sit between positions. It also carries value between venues quickly, settles cross-border business payments, and serves as informal dollar access for people whose home currency is unstable. It is issued on several different blockchains, so the same ticker behaves differently depending on the network you send it over, and choosing the wrong one is a common and expensive mistake.
The honest framing, then, is that owning USDT is a credit decision about an issuer. What backs the tokens, and how thoroughly outsiders can verify it, is a question that has followed this stablecoin throughout its life, and each holder has to weigh it themselves. The issuer can also freeze balances at named addresses, so this is not censorship-resistant money in the way a base-layer coin is. A peg holds only while its mechanism does. Our <a href="/learn/stablecoins-and-their-risks/">guide to stablecoin risk</a> and our <a href="/category/cryptocurrencies/stablecoins/">stablecoins coverage</a> go further.
Tether vs peers
| Coin | Price | 24h | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tether USDT | $1.00 | +0.00% | $140.00B |
| Bitcoin BTC | $64,311.57 | +0.19% | $1.28T |
| Ethereum ETH | $1,870.92 | +0.55% | $225.45B |
| BNB BNB | $568.54 | +0.61% | $79.60B |
| XRP XRP | $1.10 | +0.66% | $63.69B |
| USD Coin USDC | $1.00 | +0.01% | $60.05B |
Tether FAQ
Is holding USDT the same as holding US dollars?
No. A bank dollar is a claim on a regulated bank, usually with deposit insurance behind it. USDT is a claim on a private issuer that promises to redeem tokens for dollars. If that promise weakened, nothing in the token itself would protect you. Treat it as an instrument that tracks the dollar, not as a dollar, and size your exposure with that difference in mind.
Why does USDT sometimes trade slightly above or below a dollar?
Because the market price is set by buyers and sellers, not by the issuer. Redemption keeps the two anchored, but redemption is not instant and is not open to everyone, so short-lived gaps appear whenever demand spikes or confidence wobbles. Small drifts are routine market noise. A large, persistent gap is the market pricing in doubt about the mechanism, and it is worth understanding why before acting.
Which blockchain should I use when sending USDT?
Whichever one both the sender and the receiver actually support. USDT exists as separate tokens on several networks, and they are not interchangeable in transit. Sending to an address on the wrong chain, or to an exchange that only credits one network, is one of the most common ways people lose funds. Always send a small test amount first, then the rest once it arrives.
Can my USDT be frozen or blacklisted?
Yes. The issuer retains the ability to blacklist addresses, which stops the tokens at that address from moving. This is normally used in response to law enforcement requests involving theft or fraud, and it has recovered stolen funds. But it is a real difference from a permissionless coin: the asset carries a central party who can act on your balance, and that is part of what you accept when you hold it.
Is USDT safe to hold for long periods?
It carries a distinct set of risks from a volatile coin, not fewer of them. You are exposed to issuer solvency, to regulatory action against the issuer, to the security of whichever chain and wallet you use, and to the platform holding it if you leave it on an exchange. Many people treat stablecoins as a resting place rather than a destination, and spread that risk across more than one issuer.
How does USDT differ from other stablecoins?
Stablecoins fall into rough families. Fiat-backed ones like USDT rely on an issuer holding off-chain assets and honouring redemptions. Crypto-collateralised ones lock volatile assets on-chain, over-collateralised and openly auditable, but exposed to crashes. Algorithmic designs try to hold a peg with incentives alone and have failed badly in the past. Each family trades one type of trust for another, and none of them removes trust entirely.
Last updated Jul 25, 2026