Tether Mints $1 Billion USDT for “Inventory Replenish” on Ethereum Network

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Brian Yue

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December 26, 2023 11:41 EST

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Tether has minted $1 billion USDT for an “inventory replenish,” according to CEO Paolo Ardoino.

In an X post on Monday, blockchain tracking platform Whale Alert reported that the Tether Treasury had minted $1 billion of its eponymous stablecoin, USDT.

Tether CEO Ardoino responded to the X thread, saying that the transfer was an “inventory replenishment” on the Ethereum Network.

“Note this is an authorized but not issued transaction, meaning that this amount will be used as inventory for next period issuance requests and chain swaps,” Ardoino wrote.

Inventory replenishment is the process of restocking goods to meet customer demand without accumulating excess stock. It involves forecasting demand, placing orders, and considering factors like lead time and safety stock to maintain optimal inventory levels.

Tether notes that its own inventory replenishment is the process of creating new USDT that is stored in its treasury inventory as “authorized but not issued” USDT.

“These tokens are not part of the total market capitalization of USD₮, as they have not been issued or released into circulation yet,” the company states on its website.

$925 million in USDT is “authorized but not issued” on Ethereum as of Tuesday, according to data from the Tether Transparency page.

Commenters on Whale Alert’s X thread expressed skepticism regarding Ardoino’s comments.

“It would be interesting to examine the document or agreement and learn more about the individuals responsible for this Christmas miracle of creating 1 billion USDTs of thin air,” user @helmutsmeskonis commented. “@paoloardoino are you one of them? .. there are so many questions. Acts like these (if USDT is created out of thin air) seem to be close to financial crimes!”

Others commented that the minting could be used to pump the price of Bitcoin.

“Surprise surprise,” user @D_Rez4X commented. “The only thing that keeps bitcorn pumping.”

“Say it directly you minted it to pump BTC,” user @Karank515 wrote.

Ardoino’s comments echo the wording used in a prior occurrence in September 2023 when Whale Alert identified a similar transaction involving the minting of one billion USDT. During that incident, Ardoino similarly explained that the USDT transaction constituted an authorization rather than an immediate issuance, with the specified amount allocated to serve as inventory for upcoming issuance requests and chain swaps on the Tron network.