Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, is facing increased pressure from competitors and politicians, according to its CEO Paolo Ardoino. The company has a market capitalization exceeding $142 billion, more than twice that of its nearest competitor, Circle’s USD Coin. Ardoino claims that competitors are not only focusing on product development but also aiming to “kill Tether” through political maneuvers and legal challenges.
This comes amid analysis from CryptoQuant’s CEO, Ki Young Ju, predicting that most altcoins will not experience significant growth in 2025 unless they have solid revenue-generating models and potential ETF approvals. Ju stresses that the era where all cryptocurrencies see uniform gains is over.
Meanwhile, the fallout from a massive exploit of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, resulting in the theft of $1.4 billion, continues to ripple across the community. The hacker has reportedly laundered over $335 million so far.
In the US, lawmakers have moved forward with a resolution to repeal a contentious tax rule for decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions, set to take effect in 2027, which would require brokers to report digital asset transactions to the IRS. Opponents argue that the rule represents an overreach of governmental authority.
In other news, the Ethereum-based wallet MetaMask is expanding its fiat off-ramp services across 10 blockchain networks, simplifying the process of converting digital assets to traditional currency. This move aims to enhance crypto accessibility and ease the transition for users from crypto to fiat currencies.
Overall, the data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro indicates a downtrend, with most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies ending the week in red. Among them, tokens such as Raydium and Lido DAO are experiencing significant losses, highlighting the volatile nature of the crypto market.
