Tether. USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market value, became the most widely utilized currency for wages and savings on the European crypto banking platform Brighty in 2024. According to Brighty’s study, USDT accounted for a stunning 85% of all crypto deposits, demonstrating its appeal among crypto investors.
In terms of savings, Tether was the second most popular asset after the euro, accounting for 33% of the platform’s business-to-customer (B2C) savings. Meanwhile, competing stablecoins USD Coin (USDC) and Bitcoin each received only 5% of deposits.The research also stated that TRC-20 USDT, created on the Tron blockchain, played a key role in USDT’s dominance. Over 60% of all USDT transactions on Brighty used the Tron-based version, which has reduced fees compared to the Ethereum-based ERC-20 USDT.
Cost efficiency was a major consideration, with 70% of poll respondents stating decreased transaction costs as their primary motivation for using cryptocurrency for payments.The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework may hinder USDT’s future in Europe, despite its dominance. While Circle, the USDC issuer, has obtained a MiCA license, Tether has rejected certain of the framework’s compliance requirements.
This could result in limits on USDT usage by European cryptocurrency service providers.Brighty’s co-founder, Nick Denisenko, highlighted the potential hurdles ahead, adding, “A transition to USDC will be challenging, and users will need significant time to adjust to these changes.”Brighty, a Swiss personal finance platform, blends traditional digital banking with stablecoin benefits to target global digital nomads.
With continuous legislative advancements, the platform is aiming to secure its MiCA license in order to navigate Europe’s growing cryptocurrency ecosystem.The future years are projected to see substantial shifts in user preferences and regulatory compliance, potentially changing the region’s stablecoin sector.